Workshop Facilitators
Elena Seymana Nourrie (Hopi, Cherokee, Mexican) is a mother, community member, advocate, social justice educator and consultant with over 15 years of experience in education and community-based settings. Elena has held leadership roles within several Native American organizations, elementary and high school special education, private academic success and research sectors, and higher education. She is also a co-founder of two non-profit organizations, Native American Pathways based in Hoopa, CA and So’oh-Shinálí Sister Project based in Southeast Los Angeles. Her work integrates Indigenous core values with emphasis on interconnectedness, kinship, and culturally-rooted, community-driven responses to support the contemporary visibility, equity, and inclusion of Native Americans. Elena earned her bachelor’s degree in English with an emphasis in Education and a minor in Psychology at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. She also earned her master’s degree in Higher Education with an emphasis in Student Affairs from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
June Marisa Kaewsith, also known as “Jumakae,” is a multidisciplinary artist, wellness consultant, and storytelling coach. After spending her twenties as an artist and community organizer inside of nonprofit organizations, she began craving an alternative narrative to healing and justice beyond the struggle. Curiosity led her back to Thailand, where she studied with a traditional midwife to learn the ways of her ancestors. That’s when she realized the importance of restoring and awakening the role of healers within every community. Thus sparked her calling to assist others in remembering their magic.
Jeanne Scheper is Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Gender & Sexuality Studies at UCI and author of Moving Performances and the forthcoming edited volume The Specter and the Speculative: Afterlives and Archives in the African Diaspora. They are a long-term collaborator with UCI Libraries zine fest and are currently working on a cross-campus collaboration Crossing Pride. (Please link if you can to: https://hq.humanities.uci.edu/humanitiescenter/spotlight_det.php?id=2615
Zhena Morillo (they/them)
is an advocate and research assistant with a passion for zines, equine therapy, and community archiving. They hold a B.A. in Psychological Science and interned at UCI CARE in the Holistic Healing program in 2021. They now advocate in the anti-human trafficking program and are certified in SA, DV, and HT counselor advocacy through the YWCA-GGSV. They are a research assistant to Dr. Jeanne Scheper, and a research intern for Crossing Pride: Queer and Trans Refugee Transnational Storytelling and Digital Archiving project led by Dr. Anna Winget. Zine-maker of Healing in Flux: Thinking Through Non-Binary which is archived in the Digital Transgender Archives and UCI Library, Special Collections & Archives.
Dr. Anna Winget
Anna Renée Winget (they/them) is currently a UCHRI Scholar and lecturer of theatre at Loyola Marymount University and Pomona College. They recently served as Mental Health Project Manager and Researcher at RFSL, Sweden’s national organization for LGBTQI rights. They hold a doctorate in drama from UCI, focused on gender, performance, and healing. Their collaborative storytelling project, Crossing Pride aims to develop sustainable creative healing, networking, and archiving by and for queer and trans refugees who are stateless, seeking asylum, or are otherwise displaced. www.annawinget.com IG: @2queernheal
Trace serves as the Director of the Learning and Academic Resource Center, where they oversee peer-led tutorials and learning skills coaching. Their background is in developmental writing instruction and gender studies, and 2023 will be their eleventh year as UCI staff. As a first gen grad, Trace is interested in ways that institutions of higher learning can serve as sites of liberation and strive for equity, to serve every student in pursuit of their passions as well as academic goals.
is part of LPL Business Solutions, a service that provides industry-trained LPL professionals who can help simplify operations and streamline LPL advisors’ practices. With a decade of experience in both traditional and digital marketing, Elizabeth designs and executes marketing strategies to help advisors grow their business. Prior to joining LPL, she worked as the Marketing Coordinator at Canterbury Consulting, where she focused on building events, proposals, presentations, and online marketing initiatives that promoted Canterbury’s services and brand.
is a Queer Person of Color, identifying as a nonbinary, who has dedicated much of their adult life to social justice work. As a poet, artist, and activist; they believe that their litany of identities & experiences gives them a unique perspective on liberation work. Deejay is currently the Assistant Director of the UC Irvine LGBT Resource Center. Their responsibilities include coordinating campus-wide programs, networking with campus offices and community resources, as well as the daily management of programs and services at the LGBTRC. They assist in providing one-on-one support for students, staff, and faculty around LGBTQQIA+ issues, racial justice, identity development and other social justice issues.
Emily has been a Support Specialist in OIT since graduating from UCI in 2017. They do quality assurance and other support work on the OVPTL IT team which provides IT support to the Division of Undergraduate Education and other units. They participate in OIT’s new Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Belonging workgroup and the UCI IT Accessibility Workgroup, and they have given presentations at UC Tech to educate people about accessibility and supporting nonbinary coworkers. Emily is passionate about queer & trans issues and has found community in their local roller derby league.
Bibi is currently Director of Western Region Retail Sales at Hormel Foods and has been with the organization for 25 years across various functions of sales, marketing, brand management and more.
is a Sales Leader and Mentor with 25+ years’ experience recruiting, facilitating, and developing Individuals and Managers to create willful Teams thru Leadership, Coaching and Empowerment.
As an Energy Leadership™ Master Practitioner (ELI-MP) and current student at the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching (iPEC) Lana is working toward her Certification in Professional Coaching and is currently working with Professionals at all levels to help them tap into their leadership potential to motivate themselves and others toward transforming their life and work.
Malena is currently an Account Executive III with Coca-Cola Bottling with a long family history within the Consumer Packaged Goods industry. Malena resides in Sacramento, California with her two beautiful daughters, Peyton and Paislee. Some of Malena’s favorite Coca-Cola products include smartwater alkaline, Topo Chico, BODYARMOR Lyte, Monster Ultra Peachy Keen, and Coca-Cola Vanilla Zero Sugar. A fun fact about Malena is that she played Water Polo at a collegiate level.
is in Client Account Leadership at Accenture, where she serves as a champion for utilities, energy, natural resources, and automotive industry clients from innovation strategy to industry transformation. Megan is also elected to serve on the Municipal Water District of Orange County Board of Directors, where she currently serves as President and the first Asian American female to serve on the board.
is Regional Vice President of Marketing Cloud Sales at Salesforce and is passionate about helping companies transform and grow their businesses through the
use of technology. She currently leads the Commercial Marketing Cloud business across the West. Before her 5 years at Salesforce, Pamela spent 15 years in various sales leadership roles at CATALINA Marketing, FIJI Water and MolsonCoors. Pamela holds both an MBA in Marketing and BA in
Communication and Spanish from Arizona State University. Outside work, Pamela loves to spend time with her husband and twin boys, is an avid runner, reader, and volunteers for her children’s local elementary school foundation as the Chairman of their Board.
Breaking Barriers Panel
Dr. MARITZA SALAZAR
Professor Salazar joined The Paul Merage School of Business in 2016 as an Assistant Professor of Organization and Management. Her research focuses on learning and innovation in teams and organizations. Her scientific research yields novel insights that enhance the competitiveness of firms, the effectiveness of teams, and the quality of the work experience for individuals
Neda Moayedi currently serves as the Director of the SAGE Scholars Program. A proud UCI alumna, her personal mission is to encourage others to realize (and celebrate) their potential within, and to break down the barriers they may encounter on the journey to achieving their dreams. Neda has extensive experience in career coaching, teaching career courses, and facilitating professional development workshops. She leverages her strength-based leadership philosophy and blended experiences to inspire others to find fulfillment and purpose in a world obsessed with defining success for them. Neda is dedicated to empowering others to thrive by sharing a combination of wellness strategies, which include variety of resources, tools, and practices for students to create their own definition and roadmap to success.
Dr. Marcelle Hayashida is associate vice chancellor for Wellness, Health & Counseling Services at the University of California, Irvine where she oversees Campus Recreation, the Office of Campus Social Work, CARE, Child Care Services, the Counseling Center, the Disability Services Center, the Student Health Center, and the Center for Student Wellness & Health Promotion.
Dr. Hayashida is a licensed clinical psychologist in California, and she has worked in a variety of settings including private practice, college counseling centers, and as assistant professor of Psychology and Black Studies at Pomona College. She received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Michigan and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Vassar College.
Dr. Hayashida has authored articles on African American mental health and college mental health, and she has presented nationally and internationally on a variety of topics including trauma-informed care on campuses, mindfulness in higher education, threat assessment on campuses, and Black women’s leadership in higher education. She is a member of the American Psychological Association, American Association of Blacks in Higher Education, Association of Threat Assessment Professionals, and Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education (NASPA).
Benis Egoh is an Assistant Professor in the Dept of Earth System Science (ESS) at the University of California, Irvine. She is an expert in modeling, mapping, and valuing ecosystem services, the benefits humans get from nature. As an interdisciplinary scientist, her work cuts across various disciplines, including conservation, restoration, economics, and hydrology. She helped develop a framework for mapping ecosystem services now used in 27 European Union (EU) countries. Benis is widely published and has generated several well-cited papers and policy documents (>11000 citations). She was the lead author for the Intergovernmental Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) and an executive member of the Ecosystem Services Partnership (ESP). She is both a SLOAN and HELLMAN fellow for 2022/2023.