People, Center for Diverse Leadership in Science

Leadership

Aradhna Tripati

Professor, Center for Diverse Leadership in Science Director & P.I.

IoES, Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences

Krystle Cobian

PhD Candidate

Graduate School of Education & Information Studies

Jessica Heckman

Institute of the Environment and Sustainability Coastal resilience and equitable coastal decision making

Sylvia Hurtado

Professor; Advisor, Center for Diverse Leadership in Science

Jennifer Jay

Chair, B.S. in Environmental Science; Professor

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Ingrid Maradiaga

Programs Officer

Center for Diverse Leadership in Science

Marilyn Raphael

Director, Institute of the Environment and Sustainability

Professor, Department of Geography

Shanna Shaked

Senior Associate Director for Physical Sciences Initiatives; Advisor, Center for Diverse Leadership in Science

Physics & Astronomy

Researchers

Jesse Bloom Bateman

Diversity Faculty Fellow and Assistant Professor

SUNY Cortland

Brandon Hunter

Postdoctoral Researcher

Columbia University, Center for Rural Enterprise & Environmental Justice

Suzanne Pierre

Founder, Lead Investigator

Critical Ecology Lab

Cristian Román-Palacios

Assistant Professor of Practice

University of Arizona

Past Researchers

Yama Dixit

Postdoctoral researcher

European Institute for Marine Studies (IUEM)

Rae Spriggs

Manager of Climate Action Research

Luskin Center for Innovation

Yan Zeng

Visiting professor

Chinese Academy of Sciences

Students

Naomi Adams

Investigating the cumulative impacts of lead exposure from aggregative pathways

Regina Adigwe

Institute of the Environment and Sustainability Integrated and sustainable solutions for water and sanitation challenges

Blanca Alvarez

Graduate Student

Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences

Alexandrea Arnold

Graduate Student

Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences

Dayanni Bhagwandin

Graduate Student

Chemistry and Biochemistry

Hayley Bricker

Graduate Student

Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences

Ileana Callejas

Graduate Student

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Morgan Carrington

Graduate Student

University of Texas at Austin

Elijah Catalan

Institute of the Environment and Sustainability Harnessing eDNA to inform ocean justice

Robert Dellinger

Graduate Student

California State University, Northridge

Sedonna Goeman-Shulsky

Working with tribal communities towards environmental justice

Mariah Gomez

Graduate Student

Chemistry and Biochemistry

Adiba Hassan

Graduate Student

Center for Diverse Leadership in Science

Randy Flores

Graduate Student

Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences

Ixchal Gonzalez-Trujil

Undergraduate Student

Santa Monica College

Jessica Heckman

Institute of the Environment and Sustainability Coastal resilience and equitable coastal decision making

Danielle Hoague

Institute of the Environment and Sustainability Improving public health through scientific knowledge and community exchange

Paige Hoel

Graduate Student

Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences

Greg Jesmok

Graduate Student

California State University, Northridge

Musibau Francis Jimoh

Graduate Student

Materials Science and Engineering

Jade Knighton

Graduate Student

Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences

Arely López

Undergraduate Student

Geography and Political Science

Jamie Lucarelli

Ph.D. Candidate

Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences

Jordyn Moscoso

PhD Student

Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences

Ani Mustafa

Graduate Student

Chemistry and Biochemistry

Zoe Pierrat

Graduate Student

Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences

De’Marcus Robinson

Graduate Student

Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences

Carolyn Rodriguez

Graduate Student

UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies

Ashley Jiwon Shin

Ph.D. Candidate

Chemistry and Biochemistry

Taylorann Smith

Graduate Student

California State University, Northridge

Francisco Spaulding-Astudillo

Graduate Student

Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences

Hannah Tandy

Graduate Student

Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences

Robert N. Ulrich

Ph.D Student

Earth, Planetary and Space Sciences

Deepshikha Upadhyay

Graduate Student

Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences

Tanner Waters

Institute of the Environment and Sustainability Using environmental DNA for marine restoration and conservation

Past Students

Marjan Kris Abubo

Undergraduate Student

Environmentalists of Color Collective at UCLA

Leo Albea

Undergraduate Student

Environmentalists of Color Collective at UCLA

Ella Bushnell

Undergraduate researcher

Macalester College

Valeree Catangay

Undergraduate Student and UC Carbon Neutrality Initiative Fellow

Environmentalists of Color Collective at UCLA

Biao Chang

Graduate student

China University of Geosciences

Marcus Enriquez

Undergraduate student

California State University, Los Angeles

Liliana Jeanine Epps

Undergraduate Student

Environmentalists of Color Collective at UCLA

Emma Finn

Undergraduate Student and UC Carbon Neutrality Initiative Fellow

Environmentalists of Color Collective at UCLA

Naarai Hernandez

Undergraduate student

Santa Monica College

Joslyn Santana

Undergraduate Student

Environmentalists of Color Collective at UCLA

Ronald Thompson III

Undergraduate

Institute of the Environment and Sustainability

Stephen Thompson

Graduate Student

University of South Florida

Lian Mae Agriam Tualla

Undergraduate Student

Environmentalists of Color Collective at UCLA

Alexandra Valencia Villa

Graduate Student

University of Wisconsin-Madison

Lenny Washington III

B.A. '21

Geography/ Environmental Studies

Board of Advisors

Affiliates

The Center for Diverse Leadership in Science combines mentorship, financial support, and skills training. Our fellows work in diverse research teams and are part of a diverse community of scientists which fosters social belonging. As part of their participation, fellows engage in community outreach and serve as ambassadors, while the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability’s communications team works to amplify their voices.

Situated in Los Angeles, UCLA offers unparalleled opportunities for reaching diverse communities. With 224 languages spoken in the city, no majority population, and 40 % of its residents born outside the United States, it is hard to find a city anywhere in the world with such cultural and ethnic richness. Our Center’s faculty and students embrace and value this diversity, and have received national and international recognition for their efforts on behalf of diversity and the scientific breakthroughs it has enabled.