Elijah Valerjev is a graduate of UC Davis, where he earned his degree in Molecular and Medical Microbiology. Elijah’s passion for both science and creative writing led him to explore the intersection of these fields, using science as a structured path to channel his creativity.

With a strong interest in promoting equity in science, Elijah is dedicated to making complex scientific concepts accessible to a general audience. He believes it is essential for younger generations to see individuals who look like them in prestigious fields like science, as this representation can inspire and empower them.

Elijah aspires to work as a creative writer while traveling for research. Outside of his professional and academic pursuits, he enjoys practicing Spanish, baking, and boxing. Though born in the United States, Elijah is the child of immigrant parents and shares Latin ancestry, making him uniquely connected to multiple identities. He finds comfort in meeting others with diverse backgrounds and experiences similar to his own.

Olivia Zhang is an undergraduate student at the University of Florida studying Geography and Data Science and pursuing a certificate in Geographic AI. Having grown up in coastal cities, she is passionate about leveraging geospatial data to better understand human-environment interactions in a changing climate.

As a CDLS Early-Career Fellow, Olivia is helping plan the GIS for Community Health program with Esperanza Community Housing, combining storytelling and geospatial data. She also works with trubel&co, a nonprofit organization that hosts workshops to teach high school students how to use GIS (geographic information systems) to map environmental justice in their communities.

Throughout all her work, she brings creativity and passion for exploring the world through data. She has created artworks with geospatial data to raise awareness of climate change. Olivia was featured in the Climate Storytelling 2075 Anthology with Over the Years, a digital artwork showing a timelapse of sea level rise in Florida.

Matthew is an undergraduate student in the Mathematics department at UCLA. His involvement with CDLS began in Summer 2024 where he joined collaborative research on the efforts of community grassroots movements and non-profit organizations in catalysing public policy as well as studying the historical and contemporary influence of the federal court system on environmental protections. He also contributed to CDLS’ student-led publication, “Climate Currents,” where he authored an op-ed highlighting the role of youth civic participation in creating a sustainable future.

He is passionate about working in the intersection of fiscal & public policy, legal frameworks, and sustainability to redesign the notion of what a successful national economy is. As such, Matthew is beginning a new research project dedicated to studying the role of government in a sustainable economy and the failures of the free market in addressing the existential crisis of the 21st century. In his spare time, Matthew also enjoys snowboarding, volleyball, marathon running, intermediate level sudokus, and the reality TV show, Survivor.

Minna Ho is an Early Career Fellow pursuing her PhD in the Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences department at UCLA advised by James C. McWilliams studying physical oceanography. She did her undergraduate at UCLA where she was an Undergraduate Research Scholar in the Sustainable LA Grand Challenge and participated in the UCI’s Water-PIRE UPP Down Under. She went on to complete her Master’s degree in Civil Engineering at UCLA advised by Timu Gallien. Following her Master’s, she worked at the Southern California Coastal Water Research Project (SCCWRP) as a Scientist in the Biogeochemistry Department modeling the effects of anthropogenic coastal inputs on ocean acidification and hypoxia. 

Her research uses numerical ocean modeling to understand the mechanisms controlling wastewater plume dispersal, fate and transport of wastewater discharge and its effect on eutrophication, small-scale modeling of the “gray zone” in which we partially resolve turbulent motions in the boundary layers, and coupling of nearshore physics with surface gravity waves and biogeochemical processes. Her work on modeling the effect of wastewater recycling and nutrient management on coastal eutrophication has been featured in the Los Angeles Times.  

She has presented her research to inform management decisions to several stakeholders of SCCWRP, including the California State Water Resources Control Board, Ocean Protection Council, Los Angeles Sanitation District, Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts, Orange County Sanitation District, and San Diego Public Utilities Department. She is a board member of the California Estuarine Research Society, a non-profit organization dedicated to the improvement of education and research regarding California’s and Baja California’s estuarine and coastal environments. She is also a board member of the Society for Gender Equity in Geosciences at UCLA, an organization to promote gender equity in the geophysical sciences through outreach, community building, institutional reform, and career development.

Her long-term interests include using ocean modeling to understand and predict the effects of human impacts on the ocean to guide coastal management, climate adaptation, and the intersection of communities and the coastline.

She is a Vietnamese American first-generation graduate student who grew up in Orange County, California.

Juan is a dedicated third-year undergraduate at UCLA, majoring in Political Science and International Development. Born and raised in San Jose, California, Juan has a growing interest in environmental law and is focused on preparing for law school. As a Restoration Technician at Sage Hill, he plays a pivotal role in conservation efforts, specializing in the removal of invasive species and the planting of native plants. Juan’s commitment extends beyond ecological restoration; he is deeply involved in enhancing the site’s accessibility. His initiatives include working alongside other fellows on the installation of student-friendly benches and pathways to make Sage Hill more inclusive, especially for students with disabilities. Since joining the UCLA Sage Hill team in 2024 as part of the College Corps fellow program, Juan has been instrumental by participating in restoration projects, aiming to preserve the last natural habitat on campus and enhance its ecological diversity and ecological health.

Daniela is a 3rd year undergraduate student, majoring in Political Science and International Development studies. She is a dedicated student with a passion for law, disability rights, and wildlife conservation. Through her role as a restoration technician with College Corps, she has contributed to habitat restoration through efforts in cultivating native plant species, eliminating invasive vegetation, refurbishing outdoor spaces, and managing seed plots to promote biodiversity. Volunteering at Sage Hill has provided her with the opportunity to engage in meaningful environmental stewardship, allowing her to take an active role in restoring and protecting one of UCLA’s most vital natural spaces.

Juana is a junior English major at UCLA, as well as a transfer student from East LA College. Born in Tijuana, Mexico, Juana moved to the United States at the age of 13 and have resided in Southeast Los Angeles since the age of 14. Juana has been volunteering at Sage Hill since September 2024 as a Restoration Technician, working to nurture and grow the native species of plants that once inhabited and continue to inhabit this land. Juana is a College Corps Fellow for the academic year 2024-2025. Juana helps with removing litter; weeding out invasive species of plants; raking and trail maintenance; seed collection and cleaning; watering and planting (reintroduction) of native plants; and bench construction and painting. As a student of literature, Juana sees the narratives present in everyday life, including the history of Sage Hill; how a hundred years ago it was a thriving environment of hundreds of unique Californian species of plants and animals. But, a campus had to be built, and little by little those native species were driven out or disappeared. Juana hopes that Sage Hill can be restored and transformed into a tiny time capsule of how the land on the UCLA campus looked before it became a campus, and can become a place to admire the environmental history of Los Angeles, not only as a hub for science studies, but also for students in the humanities.

Luciana is a second-year undergraduate majoring in Political Science with a Spanish Minor. She hopes to pursue a career in law with a focus on immigration law. Through the College Corps Fellowship, she can learn more about the restoration and conservation of native plants throughout Sage Hill. She has done various tasks throughout her time at Sage Hill, such as removing invasive species, cleaning up the trails, restoring benches, creating study plots, and growing and planting native plants. Sage Hill has provided a place to de-stress and reconnect with nature. She enjoys learning how to help enhance the biodiversity of the last natural habitat at UCLA.

Antony Orme, professor emeritus of geography who served as dean of the social sciences division in the UCLA College, died May 30, 2020 after almost a half century of service to the campus. He was 83 years old.

Orme was a dedicated geomorphologist, whose research focused on a variety of geographical systems, from the mountains to the sea.

Shortly after his retirement from teaching, Orme took on his final administrative role, as director of the University of California’s White Mountain Research Center, from 2012 to 2016. At the center he undertook a highly successful reorganization and renovation of operations and facilities. With multiple research stations that were more than 14,000 feet in elevation, the task was daunting. His achievements at the White Mountain Research Center marked an incredible capstone to a distinguished career of research, education and service.

Colleagues remember Orme, who earned his undergraduate and doctoral degrees from the University of Birmingham, as particularly fond of coastlines. He taught in the geography department at UCLA from 1968 to 2010 and served as department chair from 1974 to 1977. He was dean of social sciences from 1977 to 1983.

Orme was also keenly interested in the history of geology and geomorphology, which the study of landforms, their processes, form and sediments at the surface of the Earth, and published scholarly pieces on that topic. He served as an editor for journals, books and book series. 

He also was a gifted cartographer and scientific illustrator who could visually bring to life the objects of his study. During his career, Orme was honored with awards including Honorary Life Member and Honorary Fellow of the British Society for Geomorphology, Founders’ Medal and Frost Lecturer, British Geomorphological Research Group,  Mel Marcus Distinguished Career Award from the AAG Geomorphology Specialty Group, and  the UCLA Edward A. Dickson Emeriti Professorship Award.

Orme’s greatest contributions was as an inspiring teacher and mentor of graduate students. During his career at UCLA he supervised more than 20 doctoral dissertations. Students and faculty in the department remember his geological and geomorphological knowledge as encyclopedic and his enthusiasm infectious.

Orme is survived by his wife Amalie, a professor of geography at Cal State Northridge, his sons Mark and Kevin, and daughter, Devon. His daughter, who is an assistant professor of Earth sciences at Montana State University, recently gave birth to a daughter.