Katherine ‘Kat’ Parpana, M.A. serves as a Diversity and Inclusion Educator for the University of California, Davis in the Office of Campus Community Relations, a unit in the Office of the Chancellor. Kat supports the campus diversity education program, which includes being called upon by academic and administrative departments regarding diversity and inclusion issues. Kat worked for Academic and Student Affairs since 2011 in various advising capacities, in addition to working for the UC Davis campus since 2008. This allowed her to gain experience and knowledge in the various intersections of diversity, equity, and inclusion education and advocacy work, especially as it relates to underrepresented and underserved student populations. Prior to joining the Office of Campus Community Relations team in 2019, Kat served on many campus initiatives and constituency groups dedicated to the advancement of marginalized and underrepresented scholar and staff organizations on campus, including the “Developing Deeper Advising Relationships” modules.

Heather Rico’s employment with People Development Systems and Sacramento State University as a Trainer combined with her experience as a Business Analyst with Intel Corporation brings valuable firsthand knowledge to share with her students. She teaches strategic problem solving, essential analytical skills, critical thinking tools, customer service skills, and Microsoft Office applications. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Communications with an emphasis on Organizational Communications from Sacramento State University.

Rachel de los Reyes is a Student Affairs Officer responsible for advising graduate students on degree milestones, Graduate Council and campus policies, graduation requirements, mentorship issues, and admission requirements. She serves the Humanities, Arts, and Social Science programs, including the School of Education. She has been at UC Davis since 2007. Prior to her arrival at Graduate Studies, she worked in the College of Letters and Science Dean’s Office and the Financial Aid and Scholarships Office. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of California, Davis and her Masters’ degrees in Higher Education Leadership and Higher Education Policy from CSU Sacramento and Walden University. She is currently working on her Ph.D in Education.

Devin L. Horton is the Graduate Diversity Officer for STEM disciplines at UC Davis. With nearly 10 years of experience in teaching and program development, Dr. Horton has a strong background in mentoring and student success. A Los Angeles native, Dr. Horton was the first in her family to attend college and the only one to earn a Ph.D. She obtained her B.S. in Biology from Tuskegee University and her Ph.D. in Cellular and Molecular Biology from the University of Michigan. It is her experience as a first-generation, socioeconomically disadvantaged student that fuels her passion for providing effective and comprehensive student support.

Lindsey Dunn serves as an Associate Ombudsperson in the Ombuds Office at UC Davis. Lindsey holds a Master’s Degree in Conflict Analysis and Resolution from George Mason University. Previously, Lindsey served as a Program Manager & Facilitator for Adventure Associates, Inc. a teambuilding and leadership training company. She has significant mediation experience and has worked as a Conflict Resolution and Training Consultant and as a Conflict Analyst with nonprofit organizations in Washington, DC.

Dana Hinojosa, MDR, currently serves as the Interim Director of the Ombuds Office at UC Davis. She previously served as the Assistant Director of Learning and Engagement at Pepperdine University where she facilitated trainings for faculty and staff on topics such as conflict management, negotiation, and productivity in the workplace. Dana earned a Master of Dispute Resolution from Pepperdine's Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution and is an experienced mediator.

Tracey Pereida is an Academic Human Resource Analyst in Graduate Studies. She provides, training, analysis, interpretation and recommendations related to new and existing campus and system-wide academic personnel policies, procedures and practices as they relate to graduate students and postdoctoral scholars. Tracey advises the administration, deans’ office staff and faculty and staff on all matters related to graduate student and postdoctoral scholar academic personnel policies, procedures, and practices, including contract issues, performance management, leaves of absence, eligibility, restrictions, compensation, and a wide scope of other issues. After a career in private industry specializing in human resource administration, Tracey joined UC Davis. Tracey has been with the Graduate Studies team for over 13 years.

Teresa Dillinger passionate about helping graduate students and postdoctoral scholars achieve success both at UC Davis and in their chosen career paths. She is the director of GradPathways Institute for Professional Development, co-director of the Professors for the Future program, and serves on the management team for the Leaders for the Future program. Dr. Dillinger is also the nationwide project lead for ImaginePhD, an online career exploration and planning platform for humanities and social sciences PhDs. Teresa has over 18 years of experience in career and professional development programming and advising. She completed both her master’s and Ph.D. degrees in Geography at UC Davis before embarking upon a career in academic administration.

Amanda Kimball is a project/policy analyst in the Analysis & Policy group of Graduate Studies. Prior to joining Graduate Studies over two years ago, she spent 15 years working at the UC Davis Graduate School of Management (GSM), first as a GSR while she was a PhD student in the Economics program and later as a full-time Research Specialist. While at the GSM, Amanda co-authored with faculty, managed a research grant, coordinated the curriculum development process for the MSBA program, and authored the UC Davis Study of California Women Business Leaders for six years. Amanda hails from the Washington, D.C. area, where she previously worked for the Corporate Executive Board, the Investment Company Institute, and Capital One.

A leader in nonprofit and academic organizations for over two decades, Paul David Terry works in the intersection between graduate student recruitment, nonprofit and volunteer management, public health and cultural competencies to help organizations maximize their messaging and influence with targeted online audiences. His in-depth experiences across various sectors (healthcare, academia, government and nonprofit) gives him a unique perspective on how to optimize engagement with targeted networks, including graduate and undergraduate students, staff, faculty, and alumni.