Fall 2023

Meet Our Panelists

Benjamin Noble (PhD, Washington University in St. Louis)
Assistant Professor, Political Science, UCSD

Ben Nobel is Assistant Professor of Political Science at UCSD. His research focuses on American institutions, the U.S. presidency and executive-legislative separation of powers using text-as-data methods. His work contributes to our understanding of presidential agenda-setting, going public, and how interbranch conflict shapes what politicians say and how they say it.

Before joining the Political Science Department at University of California San Diego, Ben received his PhD in Political Science and BA in History from Washington University in St. Louis.

 

Teddy Martinez (MIA, 2019)
Senior Research Manager, San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation

Teddy is a Senior Research Manager focused on economic growth and development in the San Diego region, at the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation. He has been recognized as San Diego Business Journal’s Top 50 Latino Leaders of Influence and 40 Top Next Business Leaders under 40. Teddy has worked at the California State Assembly, as Economic and Political Researcher for the United Nations, and he was a Senior Manager for the City of San Diego prior to his current position.

Teddy received an MA in International Affairs from School of Global Policy and Strategy (GPS), UCSD in 2019.

 

Mingi Chung (PhD in Experimental Psychology, 2021)
UX Researcher, Amazon

Mingi is currently working as a UX researcher at Amazon. Previously she was a Senior Research Assistant at Samsung Economics Research Institute. She has 7 years of experience in human motivations, emotions, and behaviors.

Mingi received a PhD in Experimental Psychology from UCSD in 2021. Prior to UCSD, Mingi completed her MA in Personality and Emotion Psychology from Seoul National University.

 

Summer 2023 - September 28, 2023

Meet Our Panelists

Tanvi Jaluka (MPP 2021)
Research Manager, IPA

Tanvi Jaluka is currently working as a Research Manager, Financial Inclusion for the Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA). She conducts research on gender and international development using impact evaluations, survey data, and other empirical methods. In particular, she studies the impact of digital tools on women's financial inclusion and economic empowerment.

She graduated from the School of Global Policy and Strategy (GPS) at UCSD in 2021 with a master's in public policy (MPP) degree.

 

Claire Levesque (MS 2022)
Clean Hydrogen Specialist, CEC

 

Claire Levesque is currently working as a Clean Hydrogen Specialist for the California Energy Commission. In this role, she supports the implementation of the $100M Clean Hydrogen Program in California. Prior to this work, she has worked for various organizations including the Virgil Group and the US House of Representatives.

She graduated from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography with a master's in Climate Science and Policy degree in 2022.

 

Michel Estefan (PhD)
Assistant Teaching Professor, UCSD

 

Michel Estefan is currently working as an Assistant Teaching Professor of Sociology at UCSD. He is a political sociologist that studies the rule of law from a comparative and historical perspective and a committed teacher with a practice and research focus on inclusive and equitable pedagogy. 

He received a BA in international relations and a MA in human rights from Universidad Iberoamericana (Mexico City). He received a MA in Latin American studies and a MA and PhD in sociology from the University of California, Berkeley.

 

Dohwan Kim (PhD 2022)
Senior Engineer, Qualcomm

 

Dohwan Kim (He/Him) is a Senior SoC Thermal Engineer at Qualcomm. Before coming to Qualcomm full-time, he interned as SoC Thermal at Qualcomm, as well as Stack Process Engineer at Bloom Energy. He was awarded by ASME for experimental research and quantitative data analysis with computer vision on two-phase heat transfer and fluid mechanics.

He graduated from UCSD with a degree in Mechanical Engineering in 2017 and he received his PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Penn State University in 2022.

Summer 2022 - September 27, 2022

Join GPSA and its grAdvantage partners for our first in-person career night event in over two years, Developing Your Professional Skills! This career night is open to returning and incoming graduate and professional students interested in learning about the various resources on campus that support your career development and to hear from alumni and current students that have utilized these services as students and in their careers. Our speakers will share their experiences with three topics: teamwork and leadership, research, and networking. The first 75 participants of the night will be provided with two free drink tickets and all guests are welcome to enjoy a selection of food and beverages while they network with our staff, alumni, and their fellow students. 

Panelists:

Belinda Panelo

Peter Foo

Quynh Nguyen

Fall 2022 - November 17, 2022

Dr. Christopher Dillon, as the Director of Translational Science Immunopharmacology, Chris leads a team of fourteen people working on an oncology drug development portfolio focused on immunological mechanisms.  Chris started his tenure at Pfizer in 2016 as a Senior Scientist in the In Vivo Pharmacology group within the Oncology Research Unit after completing his postdoctoral training in the lab of Doug Green at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital where he focused on cell death, particularly the development biology of necroptosis, a programmed form of necrotic cell death.  Chris has a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Biochemistry from UC Davis and a Ph.D. in Biology from MIT, where he worked on generating lentiviral shRNA transgenics under the mentorship of Luk Van Parijs and Phil Sharp.  Chris enjoys mentoring and developing the potential of his team members while advancing research to support the development of lifesaving therapies that enhance patient lives.

Dr. Rachel Flanagan is a graduate of UC San Diego, receiving both M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering. During her academic career, Dr. Flanagan became an expert at molecular dynamics simulations of mechanical shock behavior, emphasizing the role of material defects during dynamic loading. Her work has been recognized by the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration and the UC Library System.

During her time at UC San Diego, Dr. Flanagan’s leadership within the community was recognized such as the MAE Department’s Graduate Student of the Year in 2018, the Buzz Woolley Award for Engineering Leadership in 2019, and the Henry Booker Award for Ethical Engineering in 2021. Dr. Flanagan served as President of the Graduate & Professional Student Association for the 2019-2020 academic year. Presently, she is a Deputy Engineering Team Lead and a Principal Systems Engineer at Northrop Grumman. She is also a member of Northrop Grumman’s Future Technical Leaders’ program, a one-of-a-kind accelerator for elite technical professionals to develop their career paths.

Hema Kopalle (she/her) is an interdisciplinary scientist, educator, and public servant from the Bay Area (CA). She has worked in Mental Health, Equity Diversity Inclusion, and Accessible Education for 10+ years. Hema is currently a Pre-Doctoral Candidate in the Yeo Lab, where she studies activity-dependent RNA localization in neurons.

Hema is committed to redesigning how holistic safety is implemented in our community, particularly the development of inclusive prevention and response strategies. She is actively working on developing a resource database for the Gateway Center and building a strategic plan for long-term holistic wellbeing at UC San Diego.

Britni Warner, PhD, is a results-oriented talent development leader and influencer with 10+ years’ experience in designing development initiatives to impact strategic business outcomes. Britni is passionate about enabling leaders, managers, and employees to achieve their fullest potential.

Currently Britni works as Head of Talent Development and Engagement with Sony Electronics. In addition, Britni manages the team budget, supports the performance management cycle, develops custom content for workshops, works with HR Business Partners to create focused development for hi-potential employees, and coordinates strategic development efforts.

Britni holds a Master of Arts in Industrial-Organizational Psychology, Master of International Business Administration, and a PhD in Organizational Psychology from Alliant International University.

Winter 2023 - January 26, 2023

Dr. Caleb Christianson graduated from UC San Diego with a MS and PhD in Nanoengineering in 2015 and 2019, respectively. Caleb's dissertation topic was on developing actuators and sensors for soft, swimming, bioinspired robots under the direction of Prof. Michael Tolley. While at UC San Diego, he also helped create and run the Association for Robotics Graduate Students (now RoboGrads) to help build interdisciplinary collaboration and community amongst graduate students. Since graduating, Caleb has worked at Dexcom, a medical device company that develops continuous glucose monitors (sensors), in early stage R&D as a Staff Medical Device Engineer. 

Dr. Samantha Streuli is a postdoctoral researcher in the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health at UCSD. She received her PhD in anthropology in 2021 with a focus on medical anthropology. Her work is focused on community-engaged research and health equity for marginalized people, especially disabled people and immigrant and refugee communities. Dr. Streuli has also worked as a community health specialist and researcher with a local non-profit organization. Dr. Streuli is a first-generation student from a working-class background who values mentorship and prioritizes supporting students from underrepresented communities. 

Ross Turner is a 4th year PhD candidate studying Materials Science and Engineering with research focusing on the processing and synthesis of high thermal conductivity materials for use in high-powered laser applications. Ross credits his research interests in part to the late Prof. Joanna McKittrick for giving him the opportunity to conduct research as an undergraduate. Prior to starting the PhD, Ross worked for five years in industries ranging from deep sea robotics to aerospace and defense. In addition to his research and classwork, Ross focuses on giving back and improving community through mentorship of FRC teams, judging FLL competitions, and supporting the UCSD AIAA student organization. Ross graduated with a MS in Aerospace Engineering from UC Los Angeles in 2013, and a BS in Aerospace Engineering from UC San Diego in 2012.

Samuel Wilson graduated with an MS in Mechanical Engineering a PhD in Oceanography from UC San Diego in 2013 and 2016, respectively. After graduating, he spent five years working at GoPro on the Advanced Technology Team, where he developed and deployed machine learning models for GoPro's video editing app. Today, he works as an ML Research Engineer at Amazon Web Services where he designs datasets, data pipelines, and the accuracy metrics related to Video and Image Processing Algorithms. 

Spring 2023 - April 27, 2023

Alfredo Barcenas served as the Interim Executive Director for the Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) at Cal State San Bernardino (CSUSB) for the 2021-2022 academic year responsible for leading the financial operations of ASI, the development of student officers and board members, overseeing the legislative affairs and productions teams, and managing all corporate personnel. Prior to assuming the executive role, Alfredo oversaw civic engagement and government relations as the Associate Director of ASI, leading CSUSB to be named the CSU campus with the most creative approach for registering students to vote and with largest percentage of its student body registered to vote as part of the California Secretary of State Ballot Bowl. During his collegiate career, Alfredo was elected to serve as the Vice President of University
Affairs for the California State Student Association (CSSA) and as Student Body President for ASI in which he focused his terms on issues and policies related to social justice, Title IX, and affordability within the CSU system. In 2019, Alfredo was named the outstanding employee within the Division of Student Affairs at CSUSB for his work in ASI, was the recipient of the 30 under 30 award for California’s 47th Assembly District, and was awarded the 2022 ASI Presidents Award. Alfredo is a member of the CSUSB Latino Alumni Chapter Board of Directors, is an alumnus of the Sidley Austin LLP Pre-Law Program, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI) and the Postsecondary National Policy Institute (PNPI), and is a previous Chair of the CSUSB Staff Council. Alfredo received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Cal State San Bernardino and a Master’s in Public Policy with a concentration in Higher Education from the University of California, Riverside.

Dr. Patricia Mahaffey (Patty) is currently the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Student Life at UC San Diego. Prior to this position, Patty served as the Dean of Student Affairs at Muir College where she held responsibility for all aspects of student life at the college. Her history and record of accomplishment of student-centered leadership continues to be a valuable asset to the Student Affairs team. In addition to her responsibilities as an AVC, Patty is an adjunct faculty member at San Diego State University and regularly co-teaches courses with UC San Diego Extension. Dr. Mahaffey holds a doctorate in Educational Leadership from UC San Diego and California State University, San Marcos, a master's in Counseling and Guidance from California Polytech State University and a bachelor's degree from the University of California. 

Dr. Jessica Moreton received her PhD in Chemistry from UC San Diego in early 2020. She studied a class of materials called metal-organic frameworks, publishing seven papers in the field and presenting her work at several conferences. While at UCSD, she was the president of the Society for Women in Graduate Studies in Chemistry & Biochemistry (SWIGS) and was honored with several fellowships and memberships, including the Bouchet Honors Society. Upon defending, Jessica received the NSF/ASEE IPERF (Innovative Postdoctoral Entrepreneurial Research) Fellowship, which funded a one-year postdoctoral appointment at Matrix Sensors, Inc, a startup working to commercialize the materials she studied in her PhD. At MSI, she is currently a Senior Scientist and runs the chemistry department of the company, managing a team of three research associates.

After graduating from UC San Diego in 1994, Jeff Silver began a career in technology sales with Maxwell Technologies. After receiving his MBA from UC Irvine in 2002, he transitioned to executive positions in marketing with Capital One and Kemper Insurance and then on to building a business with Rough Draft Brewing Company in 2012.  Jeff’s hobby turned passion then career began shortly after graduating from UCSD as he began making beer with a home brewing kit he received as a gift from his parents. With many a batch tested on his roommates and fraternity brothers, he eventually became an award winning home brewer with local and national honors.  Rough Draft began with support and investment from a number of UCSD and UCI class mates and has grown to multiple locations with a constantly rotating selection of beers on tap.

Spring 2022

Dr. Alexandra Elata is currently a program and operations manager for the autoimmune research group at ModernaTX. Before Moderna, she worked in the ag-tech industry as a Soy project manager, science portfolio manager, and had an internship in venture capital. Alex holds a BS in Molecular Biology from UCSD (2011) and a PhD in Neurosciences from UCSD (2018) and currently lives in the Boston area.

Dr. Lauren Curley defended her dissertation in Cognitive Science at UCSD in June of 2019. After a brief 6 months in a postdoctoral position, she moved into a data scientist role at Northrop Grumman for two and a half years. She is currently transitioning into a new role at Meta as an Analytics Business Partner. Prior to defending her dissertation, she also spent about a year and a half as a project manager at a tech startup in the La Jolla area. Lauren received a Bachelor's of Science in Brain, Behavior, and Cognitive Science from the University of Michigan. During her time at U of M, she worked as a research assistant and lab manager across three different labs over the course of 3 years.

Dr. Maya Sapiurka is the Associate Director of Administration of the Interdisciplinary Program in Neuroscience at Georgetown University. A graduate of the College of William and Mary, Dr. Sapiurka received her PhD in Neuroscience from UCSD in 2016, where she studied the brain structures involved in spatial and non-spatial working memory in the labs of Drs. Robert E. Clark and Larry Squire. Before joining Georgetown, Dr. Sapiurka was the Scientific Training Manager at the Society for Neuroscience. In her spare time, Dr. Sapiurka enjoys telling museum visitors about megafauna, playing D&D, and chasing her cats off of the kitchen counters.

Dr. Zohreh AkhavanAghdam is a Field Application Scientist at 10x Genomics, where she scientifically partners with customers from academia and pharmaceutical companies as they develop single-cell experiments utilizing 10x technologies. Prior to 10x, she worked at a small biotechnology start up called Cell IDx, where she developed multiplex immunofluorescence and multiplex immunohistochemistry panels to predict immuno-oncology response and served as point of contact for departmental contracted pharma service projects. Zohreh holds a BS in Cellular and Molecular Biology from UCLA (2010) and a PhD in Biological Science from UCSD (2017), she was involved with the Graduate Student Association and was a Rady School of Management Micro-MBA Program Committee Member.

Fall 2020

Dr. Lisa Adamiak graduated with her PhD in Chemistry at UC San Diego in 2016. Following a postdoctoral position at UCSD, she moved to the Bay Area and joined the Marketing team at Unchained Labs as an Applications Scientist. She then moved back to San Diego, where she is now working as a Senior Scientist at Roswell Biotechnologies developing “out of this world” sequencing technology.

Dr. Micaela Smith received her undergraduate degree in Ethnic Studies from the University of California–San Diego and her PhD in American Studies and Ethnicity from the University of Southern California. As a San Diego native, Micaela is especially grateful she can pursue post-academic professional growth securing and implementing large-scale grant-funded initiatives for University of San Diego, UCSD and now for Hospital Infantil, a children’s hospital in Tijuana.

Dr. Min Zhang is a social scientist passionate about using data and experimentation to boost happiness, inclusivity, and productivity. She received her PhD in management from UCSD’s Rady School of Management, doing research on social hierarchy and prosocial behavior. After a few years of career exploration, including an internship in people analytics, and applying for both academic and industry jobs, she is currently working as a people research scientist in a sizable tech company. 

Dr. Eugene Sato works as a Project Manager for the Tricorder Development Program at UCSD. After completing his doctorate in bioengineering in 2016, Eugene served as the Technical Director for the final round of the Qualcomm Tricorder XPrize (QTXP) competition hosted at UCSD, in which he oversaw the human testing program for one-of-a-kind medical tricorder systems at the Altman Clinical and Translational Research Institute (ACTRI).    He is currently a Project and Operations Manager at the ACTRI overseeing a series of Tricorder spinoff projects, managing two new ACTRI Centers, and providing operational support for the CCR Clinic.

Spring 2020

Dr. Sowparnika Balaswaminathan received her PhD in Anthropology from UC San Diego in 2018. Her research interests include museums, art and craft, and postcoloniality. She is currently the Peter Buck postdoctoral fellow at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. Her research examines the construction of heritage and traditional arts in South Asia through museums and handicraft policies, and their impact on contemporary artisan communities and uses ethnographic and archival methods. She is currently working on a book project about the ethical life and aesthetic practice of bronzecasters in South India. Sowparnika worked as an Instructional aide at the Making of the Modern World Program at UC San Diego for over 5 years and was a lecturer at the Department of Anthropology. She also served on the Humanists@Work Advisory Board which advocated for valorizing student labor and incorporating professionalization into graduate training curricula.

Dr. Landon Klein is a Senior Consultant at California State Assembly Privacy Committee

Dr. Tara Pixley (@tlpix) is an Assistant Professor of Journalism at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. As a scholar of documentary media, her research interests include journalism studies, visual culture and critical race, gender and queer theory, particularly as it relates to re-visioning oppressed populations in the digital new(s) media sphere She is an award-winning journalist, filmmaker and photographer who co-founded Reclaim Photo and Authority Collective — two organizations dedicated to de-colonizing visual media industry practices. Her film and photographic work intersect with her scholarship, each addressing the problematics of representation and the possibility of contemporary visual media to reimagine historically misrepresented/underrepresented communities. Dr. Pixley’s published work appears in Black Scholar: Journal of Black Studies & Research; Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly; HuffPost; ESPN Magazine; Nieman Reports; Newsweek; New York Times; ProPublica; PhotoVoice; PDN Magazine and the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities. She is currently working on a monograph chronicling the move toward equity and inclusion in the visual journalism industry as well as producing a documentary film about progressive media movements online.  Dr. Pixley received her PhD in Communication from UC San Diego and an MFA in Photography from SCAD.

Dr. Erik G. Shipton is a Physics Research Scientist, Facebook 

Dr. Kara Wentworth leads impact strategy and analysis for Twin Cities PBS, one of the US’s largest public television producers.  She is an expert in creative qualitative research, community-focused strategy, and communication. Her doctoral research focused on small slaughterhouses as sites of state-sanctioned killing where difference and what lives matter get carved out each day (UCSD PhD Communication and Science Studies, 2016). Her current role began as an ACLS/Mellon Public Fellows Postdoctoral Fellowship in 2017-2019.

Spring 2019

Winter 2019

Steve Chapple is a Visiting Scholar from Yale University at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.  His latest book is BREAKPOINT: Reckoning with America's Environmental Crises (co-author Jeremy BC Jackson, Yale Univ Press 2018.)  He is Executive Director of the San Diego Unified STEAM Leadership Series which bridges the public high school system with hitech business and science in San Diego to empower students to live their passion and get better jobs and careers.  He is the co-founder of Intellectual Impact, which produces video and film; writes the Intellectual Capital newspaper column; and consults to certain biotech companies including BioFluidica, which makes an advanced chip for capturing circulating cancer cells in the blood, and fetal cells as well.  His advice: when in doubt, create your own job!

Dr. Matthias Blume is VP of Retail Lending at Applied Data Finance.  Previously, he was Chief Risk Officer at the FinTech startup LoanHero and Chief Analytics Officer at the AdTech startup Covario.  He served as Director of Analytics for two of San Diego's larger data science companies, FICO and CoreLogic, after starting his career as a Data Scientist in 1997.  He has focused on innovation, creating a dozen new products, and has been fortunate to continue some research in machine learning and natural language processing in the corporate environment. Matthias earned his BS in Applied Physics from Caltech in 1987.  He took five years off -- working as an engineer and literally traveling around the world -- before returning to school to earn his PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering from UCSD.  At UCSD, his goal was to apply insights from natural neural systems in artificial neural networks, so he also spent a lot of time in Cog Sci, Psychology, Neuroscience, CS, and the Salk Institute. 

Fall 2018

Bozena Pajak is the Head of Learning Science at Duolingo, a language learning company with over 300 million users worldwide. She leads a team of linguists and language experts responsible for improving how Duolingo teaches. Bozena graduated from Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland, and received her PhD in Linguistics from University of California, San Diego in 2012. Before joining Duolingo in 2015, she completed a postdoc at University of Rochester, and then worked as a researcher and lecturer at Northwestern University in Chicago. In her research she's been mainly interested in how people's prior language knowledge affects the way they learn additional languages, and what kinds of pedagogical techniques lead to most effective learning.

Andrew Chang is currently a Field Medical Director with Pfizer Oncology, specifically focusing on GU malignancies.  Prior to this role, Andrew worked in the Pfizer Global Product Development organization as a Clinical Pharmacology Lead to help bring new oncology medicines to patients.  In addition, he is a volunteer clinical instructor with the UCSD Skaggs School of Pharmacy.  Andrew graduated from UCSD with his PhD in Biomedical Sciences in 2012 and PharmD in 2013.  His thesis adviser was Dr. Jing Yang where he studied the molecular mechanisms of breast cancer metastasis.  He enjoys running marathons, playing tennis, and traveling during his free time.

Summer 2018

Jeff Lievense has experience with 36 years of pioneering and productive leadership in industrial biotechnology. Broad and deep experience in process development, project and functional management. Key contributor to commercial development of a dozen fermentation and chemical products, including milestone achievements in the field. Built effective organizations in large companies, small companies, start-ups and non-profits. Noted for technical excellence, commercial focus, high enthusiasm, interdisciplinary teamwork, direct communication style and courage. 

Mallory Collins' interests lies in identifying and executing consumer-centric marketing programs and advertising campaigns that are backed by data and insights. I have a background in using market research and quantitative measurement as a tool to formulate and analyze effective strategy per business goals, and a passion for working with brands to identify and capitalize on new marketing opportunities within an ever-evolving, digital world.

Claudia Mowery has worked 16+ years with General Atomics Aeronautical Systems and Northrop Grumman; part of the booming Unmanned Air Vehicle industry. I have pursued the many aspects of the engineering design, analysis, manufacturing, and test processes of two specific unmanned air vehicles throughout my career. I have rounded out my “technical only” experience with business savvy as a recent EPSE graduate from UC San Diego.