Jared Beldon
Program Advisor, GEAR UP Rural Valley Partnership, College Opportunity Programs
Mike Bettes
Program Advisor, ETS Redding, College Opportunity Programs
Mike Bettes joined the UC Davis School of Education in January 2026 as an Educational Talent Search (ETS) Advisor. He provides academic advising and early college preparation to middle school students in Shasta County, helping them build foundational skills that support future post‑secondary success. He leads site‑based programs that foster a college‑going culture, including workshops on high school transition, career exploration, and financial literacy.
Samuel Blanco III
Director, Pre-College TRIO Programs, ETS/Upward Bound UC Davis Campus, College Opportunity Programs
Mark Cayabyab
Program Advisor, ETS UC Davis Campus, College Opportunity Programs
Damian Chapman
Assistant Dean, Finance, Administration and Strategy Development
Susanna Cooper
Executive Director, Wheelhouse
Before joining the School of Education to initiate Wheelhouse, Ms. Cooper served as an independent consultant and as longtime advisor on pre-K-to-14 education issues for the leader of the California State Senate. In that role, she shaped and shepherded the Pro Tem’s education agenda, provided counsel on education budget matters, and led multi-year campaigns to increase quality pre-kindergarten opportunities for low-income children, reduce the number of high school dropouts, and strengthen high school-post-secondary pathways.
Alyss Foge
Program Advisor, ETS UC Davis Campus, College Opportunity Programs
Elizabeth Zeiger Friedmann
Research Fellow
Betsey Friedmann is a research fellow at Wheelhouse and the California Education Lab. She received her Ph.D. in Education with an emphasis in School Organization and Educational Policy from the University of California, Davis. Her research focuses on issues related to college access and success, including financial aid and transfer pathways from community colleges.
Jacqueline Galicia
Academic Coordinator, Upward Bound UC Davis Campus, College Opportunity Programs
Jennifer Gama-Rodríguez
Assistant Director, ETS UC Davis Campus, College Opportunity Programs
Angel Gomez
Program Advisor, ETS UC Davis Campus, College Opportunity Programs
Maddy Gorrell
Senior Writer
As Senior Writer, Maddy oversees content strategy and creation that promotes faculty and graduate student research. She also leads production of the monthly newsletter and collaborates with stakeholders on website changes.
Chris Griesemer
Executive Director, Sacramento Area Science Project and Director, Young Scholars Program
Eva Guralnick
Director of Marketing and Communications
Eva Guralnick joined the UC Davis School of Education in June 2015 as the Director of Marketing and Communications. As the chief marketing officer for the School she manages all branding and outreach efforts.
Anna Harrison
Program Assistant, Upward Bound Siskiyou, College Opportunity Programs
Peggy Harte
Youth Education Program Manager, Center for Community and Citizen Science and Program Coordinator, Sacramento Area Science Project
Peggy Harte develops citizen science curriculum as well as professional learning opportunities for K-12 educators, engaging with students and teachers across a variety of projects ongoing at the Center for Community and Citizen Science. She is a former classroom teacher and elementary science specialist with over 20 years of experience.
Sylvia Hill
Program Policy Analyst, ETS/Upward Bound Shasta, College Opportunity Programs
Andrew Hood
Program Director, Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program Track 2 Project, Supervisor, Math Credential
Andrew Hood is the Program Director for the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program Track 2 Project. Andrew is a former middle and high school math teacher, and currently also supervises in the UC Davis teacher credential program. Andrew earned a bachelor’s degree from UC Santa Barbara (2012) and a teaching credential, M.A., and Ph.D. from UC Davis (2014, 2015, and 2025). His work focuses on supporting prospective math teachers, strengthening pathways into the profession, and expanding equitable STEM learning opportunities for all students.
Alexandria Hurtt
Research Fellow
Alexandria Hurtt is a Research Fellow at the California Education Lab at the University of California, Davis. Her research interests include college access and readiness, examining the role of school inputs on students’ trajectories. Prior to her role at the Lab, she worked at a charter school in New Jersey helping to develop English curriculum for middle school students. She holds a Ph.D.
Karina Jimenez
Administrative Assistant
Karina Jimenez is the Administrative Assistant for the California Education Lab and Wheelhouse. She assists with research and administrative activities across the two centers. Before working for the School of Education, Karina worked as a Peer Advising Counselor and Special Projects Assistant for the UC Davis Center for Educational Opportunity Program. Karina holds a B.A. degree in History and two minors in English and Latin American and Hemispheric Studies from the University of California, Davis, and graduated with High Honors.
Akemi Joe
Business and Financial Services Specialist
Akemi Joe earned a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from UC Davis in 2014. She brings with her an extensive knowledge of the campus from her previous work at the School of Education Student Services, Office of the Chancellor and Provost, and Design and Construction Management.
Rae Johnsen
Program Policy Analyst, GEAR UP Rural Valley Partnership, College Opportunity Programs
Anne Jones
Assistant Dean of Student Affairs and Community Partnerships
Anne Jones is the Assistant Dean of Student Affairs and Community Partnerships for the School of Education. She provides leadership, planning and management of programs and services in all areas relating to student services, school partnerships and K-12 youth programs, creating and overseeing services that promote student and academic success. As a key advisor to the Dean and member of the Senior Leadership team, Jones plays a central role in student and academic program planning, policy setting, outreach, strategic planning, organizational development, and risk management.
Car Mun Kok
Director of College Opportunity Programs
Dr. Car Mun Kok joined the UC Davis School of Education in November 2021 as the Director of College Opportunity Programs, housed under the REEd Center. Car Mun provides leadership for the federally funded GEAR UP, Educational Talent Search and Upward Bound programs which serve middle and high school students throughout the Sacramento Valley and Northern California areas.
Yiwang Li
Postdoctoral Fellow
Dr. Yiwang Li is a Postdoctoral Scholar on the California Teacher Pipeline Project at UC Davis. He earned his PhD in Education Policy Analysis and Leadership from the University of California, Riverside’s School of Education. His research focuses on three primary areas: (1) the teacher workforce, (2) college access, persistence, and attainment, and (3) the application of machine learning methods in education research.
Nicole Miller
Program Assistant, ETS/Upward Bound UC Davis Campus, College Opportunity Programs
Alyssa Macias
Assistant Director, Upward Bound UC Davis Campus, College Opportunity Programs
Robin Martin
Director of Educational Research and Evaluation
Robin Martin joined the UC Davis School of Education in 2016 as the Director of Educational Research and Evaluation. She brings more than two decades of experience leading large- and small-scale research and evaluation studies across K–12, higher education, and public sector contexts. With a strong background in both qualitative and quantitative methodologies, she offers extensive expertise in research and evaluation design, measurement, project management, mixed-methods analytics, and dissemination of findings.
Sophia Meals
Marketing Specialist
As the Marketing Specialist, Sophia works on marketing strategy and develops content for everything from social media to the website, print pieces, and beyond. She loves building relationships across campus, tracking social media analytics, and the oxford comma.
Ryan Meyer
Executive Director, Center for Community and Citizen Science
I direct the Center for Community and Citizen Science at the UC Davis School of Education. Our mission is to help scientists, communities, and other members of the public collaborate on science to address environmental problems as a part of civic life. Learn more and sign up for our mailing list here.
Lola Muldrew
Associate Program Chair, Teacher Education
Education
Ph.D., Math Education, University of California,
Davis, December 2012
Dissertation Title: The Meaning of Adversity within
Traditional K-12 Math Classrooms in the United States from the
Perspective of African-American Individuals
Advisor: Dr. Rebecca Ambrose, School of Education
Master of Arts in Teaching Mathematics (M.A.T.), University of California, Davis, June 2007
Christina E. Murdoch
Executive Director, Center for Applied Policy in Education (CAP-Ed)
Center for Applied Policy in Education (CAP-Ed)
Christina E. Murdoch serves as Executive Director of the Center for Applied Policy in Education within the UC Davis School of Education. Her primary areas of research and engagement with the field include education leadership, policy and practice with an emphasis in collaborative networks and a collective inquiry model for systems improvement. She joined the School of Education in Fall 2012.
Sherrie Reed
Executive Director
Sherrie Reed serves as Executive Director for California Education Lab. In this role, Sherrie is managing and directing the research efforts of numerous federal and foundation grants and supporting the faculty Principal Investigators. These projects represent unprecedented collaboration among the primary public education segments in the state of California, including formal partnership between the University of California, Davis and the California Department of Education, and collaboration with the California State University Chancellor’s Off
Mary M. Reid
Director of Student Support, Outreach, Recruitment and Student Experience
Bree Rodriguez
PhD/MA Graduate Program Coordinator
About:
Briana (Bree) Rodriguez currently serves as the Ph.D./MA Graduate Program Coordinator in the School of Education. Bree began her career at CSU, Fresno in 2018, and joined UC Davis a year later in Fall 2019. A majority of her career has been spent working exclusively with graduate students and programs. In her spare time she enjoys baking, traveling, and shuttling her son from one activity to the next.
Professional Philosophy:
Jasmine Sandhu
Program Advisor, ETS UC Davis Campus, College Opportunity Programs
Brent Sasaki
Assistant Director of Development
Brent Sasaki holds over 26 years of experience in sponsorship and business development. He specializes in corporate partnerships and account management, and has a proven track record of delivering results, providing excellent customer service, and generating innovative and creative ideas.
Douglas Snell
Project Manager, Center for Community and Citizen Science
Doug Snell is a program manager at the Center for Community and Citizen Science in the School of Education collaborating with a non-profit to develop participatory science programs for delivery to incarcerated persons in correctional facilities. Doug retired from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation in 2024. For years he worked with art, music, gardening, and other programs solving the many logistical challenges to bring innovative programs to underserved populations.
Kate Stephensen
Director of Student Services and Undergraduate Programs
LaToya Thompson-Hervey
Program Advisor, ETS UC Davis Campus, College Opportunity Programs
Amanda Toering
Academic Personnel Analyst, Associate Deans’ Office
Maile Weldon
Program Advisor, ETS UC Davis Campus, College Opportunity Programs
