Melva G. Alvarez is the statewide coordinator for the Puente Project’s Math and Science (MaS) initiative serving community college faculty and students across California. With nearly 20 years of experience, she has created student-centered programs that support first-generation community college students, focused in STEM. A Puente alumna herself, Melva is committed to equity and community-building, drawing from her own journey as a first-generation, parenting college student.

Mariana (she/her) is a third-year doctoral student in the School Organization and Educational Policy track with a designated emphasis in Feminist Theory and Research. Before coming to UC Davis, Mariana studied Education Studies and Public Health at UC San Diego and conducted education research under the mentorship of Dr. Frances Contreras. Currently, Mariana is a member of Dr. Natalia Caporale’s Equity in STEM Education lab.

Background

Horacio Corona Lira was born in Las Tortugas, Michoacán, Mexico, and raised in Lindsay, California. He is the first in his family to attend and graduate from college, receiving a bachelor’s degree in psychology with minors in education and Chicano studies from the University of California at Berkeley. He attributes much of his success to the work ethic instilled in him by his parents and his campesino upbringing. Horacio has over 10 years of professional experience in student affairs, student equity, and leadership in higher education.

With over 25 years of experience in higher education, Gerry Panelo Elizondo has served in a variety of leadership roles across public and private institutions within and beyond California. Her career has spanned student affairs, academic affairs, finance and administrative services, with functional expertise in areas such as commuter and non-traditional student services, student unions, campus activities, residence life, enrollment management, and auxiliary services.

Rebecca Farivar serves as the Senior Manager of UC Berkeley’s Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) where she collaborates with faculty and staff to support the university’s teaching mission. Prior to joining CTL, she worked with university faculty to develop fully online courses as an instructional designer, a role she stepped into after teaching English literature, writing, and language classes at universities and community colleges in Germany and California for several years.

Michelle Kreuzer-Moore, MBA, serves as the assistant dean of Student and Academic Affairs at UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education (CPE). With more than 25 years in higher education across public, private, nonprofit, and for-profit settings, she specializes in serving adult and nontraditional learners. At CPE, Kreuzer-Moore leads multiyear strategy in learning innovation, instructional design, enrollment management, new program development, digital marketing, alumni engagement, and learner support.

Teresita Martinez is a first-year Ph.D. student in the School Organization and Education Policy program and a graduate student researcher in the California Education Lab and the Wheelhouse: The Center for Community College Leadership and Research at the University of California, Davis.

Research Interests

Community-based participatory research; Indigenous knowledge systems; Climate adaptation; Community science; Land stewardship; Social-ecological systems resilience; Environmental justice; Critical place-based environmental education; Youth environmental stewardship

Cindy Parks is an second year doctoral student in the School of Education, and instructor in the Redwood SEED Scholars program. As a neurodiverse person, Cindy is passionate in her belief that educating parents, teachers, mentors and community members about their children’s and students’ neurodevelopmental needs can result in the implementation of parenting and learning strategies that will help children and families to live more harmonious, productive and loving lives.

Education:

• Ed.D. – Educational Leadership – UC Davis (in progress)
• M.A. – Spanish, Applied Linguistics & Graduate Certificate in Second Language Studies – Purdue University
• B.A. – Art, specialization in Photography – University of La Verne

Research Interests:

Background

Robert Penman has more than two decades of experience in undergraduate admissions, recruitment, and outreach, most of that time at the University of California. He joined UC Davis as executive director of Undergraduate Admissions in 2021. In his role, he provides leadership for the recruitment and admissions of undergraduate students, as well as four K-to-14 outreach and academic preparation programs, and serves as the university’s chief outreach officer.

Luly (she/her) is a first-generation Arab American Higher Education Professional whose professional background includes residential life, student advocacy, restorative justice, and Title IX work, with current service at UC Berkeley as an Advisor directly supporting over 150 student groups within Organization Advising and Student Involvement Services (OASIS).

Ân Tạ is a doctoral student in the CANDEL program with over 15 years of experience advancing equity-centered initiatives across K–12, adult education, higher education systems, and communities. His research focuses on collaborative, community-led strategies to address complex social challenges and empower historically underserved populations to lead transformative change.

Erin Winters is a doctoral student and GAANN Fellow in education with an emphasis in learning and mind sciences, specializing in educational measurement and statistics. 

Her research considers different approaches for validating the scores from high stakes and large scale for different uses.  She’s particularly interested in examining the effectiveness of different statistical approaches for establishing the instructional sensitivity of tests and assessments, especially as they relate to research design. 

Zedonis is the Director of Membership Services for the California Community College Athletic Association (3C2A), a role she has held since March 2022. She oversees membership governance, committee operations, legislative processes, and works closely with Conference Commissioners on appeals and interpretative matters.