Workshop Facilitators
Workshop Block 1: Apply Professional and Personal Skills
Reclaiming Your Space: Cultivating Authenticity and Empowerment
Beyond Budgeting with SheVest
Dr. Lori Ochoa is the founder and owner of Life by Design Inc., a personal development coaching company that utilizes psychological and behavioral strategies. She earned her doctoral degree in Psychology with a focus on Behavior Analysis and has been a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) since 2008, specializing in behavioral health and maximizing human potential. As a coach, speaker, and workshop leader, Dr. Ochoa works with individuals, companies, and organizations to foster personal development.
In addition to her coaching practice, she is the co-founder and Executive Director of Bloom Behavioral Health, a company dedicated to providing behavioral health therapy. Dr. Ochoa also serves on the Board of Directors for The Women’s Empowerment Network and The Local Wellness Foundation. Her coaching, training, and mentorship programs are rooted in Acceptance and Commitment Training (ACT), an evidence-based approach designed to enhance psychological and behavioral flexibility, optimizing well-being and empowering individuals. Dr. Ochoa’s mission is to help people unlock their potential, enhance their well-being, and thrive in life by utilizing the principles of psychology and behavior.
Elizabeth Lee is Associate Vice President, Marketing Specialist at D.A. Davidson & Co. supporting D.A. Davidson Equity Capital Markets. Leveraging over a decade of experience in both traditional and digital marketing, Elizabeth designs and executes creative brand awareness and growth strategies for investment banking, institutional equity research, capital markets, and capital advisory services.
Prior to joining D.A. Davidson, Elizabeth was a Senior Marketing Consultant with LPL Financial supporting affiliation models and product development, and Marketing Coordinator at Canterbury Consulting focused on digital marketing and new business development. She graduated from UC Irvine with a Bachelor’s of Arts in English and minored in Literary Journalism.
As the chair of SheVest, a women-focused financial education initiative within UCI’s Center for Investment and Wealth Management, Elizabeth is passionate about changing the narrative around women and money. She believes financial literacy is key to achieving independence and freedom, and spends her free time supporting UCI’s CIWM as a board member and volunteer.
The Art of Negotiation
Alicen Bosley, M.S.
Alicen Bosley (she/her) is the Program Coordinator for the UC Irvine Womxn’s Center for Success, where she leads initiatives that empower and support womxn on campus through advocacy, education, and community-building. With a BS in professional psychology from Bellevue University and an MS in legal studies from Purdue Global University, Alicen integrates a social justice framework into her work, particularly in the areas of reproductive justice and policy. Her passion for womxn’s health is deeply personal, as she navigates life with endometriosis—a lived experience that fuels her commitment to improving health outcomes and accessibility for marginalized communities. This May Alicen will begin her doctorate journey at Claremont Graduate University where she aims to advance womxn’s health policy, ensuring that advocacy translates into tangible protections and resources for those most affected.
Sydney Torres, M.S.
Sydney Abril Torres (She/Hers/Ella) is a chicana boricua student affairs professional and wellness practitioner and is the Director of the Womxn’s Center for Success at UC Irvine. During the past decade in higher education, Sydney has found joy in developing and growing community spaces through strategic planning and developing social justice resources and initiatives. Sydney has served in roles in both the UC and CSU systems and has represented campuses in system wide, state wide, and national organizations. Her expertise has been developed in womxn and gender services, reproductive justice, financial liberation and wellness promotion. Sydney is a proud UC alumna graduating with her BA in Urban Studies from the University of California, Irvine, before she obtained her MS in Higher Education Administration from Florida State.
The Power of Connections – Build Your Network, Build Your Future
NextUp | Non-profit Advancing Executive Women in Business
Katherine O’Connor
Katherine O’Connor, with a background in animal science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, has been a key player in the food industry since 2016. She currently serves as the Social Media Chair for FISMC and is actively involved in NEXTUP, focusing on empowering and connecting future female professionals in the industry.
Heather DeLuca
Heather, a seasoned expert in the arcade vending industry, has 19+ years of experience boosting revenue in restaurants, grocery stores, and arcades. A former president of the Food Industries Sales Managers Club and past advisor to the Illuminators, she is also involved in Next Up’s college outreach program. Passionate about mentoring, she will publish a guidebook this year to help parents support their teens in securing lucrative jobs after graduation.
Liz Gustafson
Liz Gustafson, a UC Irvine FEMBA alumna and 2023 Shelby Report Woman of Influence, is a sales strategy professional in the CPG industry known for building meaningful connections. As Vice President of the Food Industry Sales Managers Club of Southern California and a dedicated volunteer with NextUp, Illuminators, and CASA OC, she is passionate about mentorship, networking, and creating opportunities for others.
Workshop Block 2: Implement holistic practices that center physical, emotional, spiritual, and community well-being.
Building Communitea 101
Inner Child Altars & Rituals: Resourcing Safety and Joy from Within
Bianka Gravillis (she / her)
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Bianka Gravillis has always had a passion for gathering people. In 2022 Bianka founded Teaparty4blackgirls, a nonprofit dedicated to taking care of Black Womxn. Over the past 2 years, Bianka has hosted over 13 events with sponsors such as Ami Cole, Mother Denim, and Topicals. The various intimate events and mixers have been centered around Black women getting to know one another, finding new ways of supporting one another and keeping brands accountable for taking care of women of color. Bianka has plans for 2024 such as more intimate events, clubs for people to come together through their common interest and grand summits to celebrate and educate women of color!
Cynthia Alonzo Perez, LCSW (she/her/ella)
Cynthia is a first gen creative, author, therapist, mother and inner child advocate. Cynthia believes “Inner Child Healing IS Intergenerational Healing” so much that she created courses and books to dive into the science and indigenous intersections of inner child healing as ancestral connection and a conscious awakening. Cynthia has a B.A. in Xicane/Latine Studies and a Master’s in Social Work but her inner child is in many ways her creativity co-pilot and has shown her this expansive way of “working”. Cynthia is the host of the podcast Confetti All Around and has a wellness agency called Rooted in Reflection.
Tuning In: A Sound Bath for Mindfulness
Radical Well-being
Eli Pascal, Director, UCI CARE (they/them)
Eli brings over 20 years of experience in advocacy, student affairs, organizational consulting, and non-profit administration. Additionally, Eli has a background in marketing, development, adjunct faculty, and as a mental health professional and trauma counselor. They received their B.A. and Master of Social Work degrees at Marywood University in Scranton, PA, where Eli established the first ALLY program at a Catholic university in the United States. Eli joined UCI CARE in 2015 as the Assistant Director and supported the growth of the holistic healing program, provided oversight of prevention efforts, supervised interns, peer educators and staff, and supported grant writing efforts. As the Director of CARE, Eli continues to support departmental programs while engaging in campus, community and systemwide initiatives and projects in support of survivors of violence. Eli also serves as a consultant for the Department of Justice’s Office of Violence Against Women and a faculty member for the National Organization for Victim Assistance.
Destiny Nava (She/Ella)
Destiny Nava is currently pursuing a Master of Arts in Communications with a concentration in Tourism and Entertainment from California State University, Fullerton. She has an interest in the representation and depictions of women of color, and the LGBTQ+ community in the media, as well as the cultural influence and impact of these depictions on audience behavior, self-esteem, and overall mental well-being. She also obtained her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with a minor in Queer Studies from CSU Fullerton. She has previous experience working in identity centers as a Programming & Activity Lead at CSU Fullerton’s Latinx Community Resource Center during her undergraduate studies.
Breaking Barriers Panel
Dr. Benis Egoh, (she/her)
Associate Professor, Dept. of Earth System Science
Dr. Egoh is an Associate Professor in the Department of Earth System Science at the University of California, Irvine. She is an expert in modelling, mapping and valuing ecosystem services, the benefits humans get from nature. She applies her modeling work within the context of benefits from restoration, climate change impacts, sustainability in the oil palm sector as well as understanding carbon emissions. She is also interested in the links between ecosystem services and human health and acted as a reviewer for The World Wildlife Fund’s “One Health” framework. She is a member of the National Academies’ Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology (BEST). She has a strong focus on policy and was actively involved in the development of a framework for mapping ecosystem services that is currently being used in 27 European Union (EU) countries. While working for the European Commission, Dr. Egoh’s work was pivotal in implementing the integration of ecosystem services into the EU biodiversity strategy for 2020. She is widely published and has generated several well cited peer reviewed papers and policy documents (>15,000 citations). She is a coordinating lead author for the Intergovernmental Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) (Business and Biodiversity Assessment) and was memembr of the executive committee for the Ecosystem Services Partnership (ESP), a vibrant global network of about 4,000 scientists working in the ecosystem services field. She has been named a Sloan Research Fellow for 2022 and a Hellman Fellow in 2023.
Senior Staff Psychologist at UCI Counseling Center
Dr. Stella Ko is a counseling psychologist dedicated to supporting students in identity exploration, cross-cultural adjustment, LGBTQ+ concerns, and stress management. Originally from Taiwan, she takes a bilingual, strength-based, and evidence-based approach, fostering a collaborative and nonjudgmental space for healing. She is committed to culturally responsive care and trauma-informed interventions. Dr. Ko values outreach as a preventative approach to destigmatizing mental health, and she usually integrates arts and creativity into educational workshops. She hosts the weekly Queer Care group at the LGBT Resource Center, serves on the UCI Transcare Team Task Force, and previously coordinated the LGBTQ Mentoring Program. Her diverse experience includes work in correctional settings, career services, and international student services.
Gwendolyn Kuhns Black (Gwen/She/Ella)
Assistant Vice Chancellor, Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action
Gwen Black is the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action and a member of the leadership team in the Division of Equal Opportunity and Compliance. Her career at UCI has focused on compliance with laws, regulations and university policies on nondiscrimination, accessibility, privacy and public records. She serves as a resource to the campus in addressing these areas and works to promote equity, diversity and inclusion through participation on campus wide committees.
Gwen loves data and volunteering in the community. She spent over seven years on the Institutional Research & Planning team at UC Santa Barbara prior to transferring to UC Irvine and has served on numerous community nonprofit boards and committees that support human relations, women’s advancement and foster youth. Gwen began her career in the University of California as a first-generation student who grew up in a bicultural household and multicultural communities on or near Air Force bases. Her background, education and experiences over decades has cemented Gwen’s commitment to equal opportunity for all.
Sherwynn Umali (She/Her)
Deputy Chief of Staff, Student Affairs
Sherwynn Umali (she/her) is the deputy chief of staff for UC Irvine’s Division of Student Affairs, where she leads strategic initiatives and marketing communications. With nearly two decades at UCI, she previously served as associate dean of students, overseeing student activity and identity-based centers that shape campus culture and spirit.
Beyond higher education, Sherwynn consults for private and non-profit organizations on communication, team building, leadership, and equity. A creative at heart, she is also a freelance graphic designer and photographer. On weekends, she treasures time with her partner, two hilarious kids, two dogs, and a few quirky reptiles.
She is a proud UCI alumna with a B.A. in Psychology & Social Behavior and an M.A. in Education, Leadership, and Policy Studies from the University of Maryland, College Park.