Graduate Student

Quennie Dong

Quennie Dong is a third-year doctoral student in the School Psychology program at the University of California, Berkeley. Quennie graduated from the University of California, Irvine with a BA in Psychology and Social Behavior and a minor in Education. She then attended Florida International University and received her EdS in School Psychology.

Quennie’s current research interests focus on inclusive socioecological systems of support for educational leaders, teachers, and youth. Her research focuses on empowering the Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) community, critically...

Haider Ali Bhatti

As a child, Ali and his family immigrated to the United States from Pakistan and settled in Englewood, New Jersey. As a proud New Jerseyan, he earned his Bachelor's degree in Biological Sciences at Rutgers University–New Brunswick, followed by a Master's degree in Biological Science Education at the Rutgers Graduate School of Education. After graduating, he taught high school biology and also worked at Khan Academy as a biology content creator.

Currently, he’s a PhD candidate in the SESAME program at the University of California, Berkeley. His research focuses on how we can make...

Jin Hyung Lim

Jin Hyung Lim is a PhD student in the 2022 cohort of the School Psychology Program at the Berkeley School of Education. He is a recipient of a prestigious scholarship for his five-year PhD study funded by Korea Foundation for Advanced Studies (KFAS). He obtained BA in Education (with Summa Cum Laude) and MA in Special Education at Seoul National University in South Korea. When he was in Korea, he worked as a research assistant in the Special Education Research Institute at Seoul National University and an instructor of an individualized reading program (Tiers 2/3) for students at risk for...

María Rojas

María Rojas is a PhD candidate at the UC Berkeley School of Education. She earned her bachelor’s degree in social communications from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile and worked as a journalist for international affairs at CNN Chile. María immersed herself in the realm of education when she served as a Spanish Language Arts teacher in a public high school in Santiago. Subsequently, María ventured to the United States on a Fulbright scholarship to pursue a Master’s in Education Policy at the University of Washington, Seattle. María’s research interests lie at the intersection of...

Ja’Nya Banks

Ja’Nya is a second year PhD student in the Education Policy, Politics and Leadership cluster. She is a proud East Coast native, raised in the “DMV”: DC, Maryland, Virginia region. She started her career as a Special Education Teacher and case manager, eventually transitioning into roles around youth mentorship, and race and identity facilitation for educators.

As a practitioner and researcher she is interested in understanding communal ties amongst school based stakeholders (parents, students and teachers) during the plight of policy shifts. She looks at opportunities for shift in...

Weiying Li

Weiying is a PhD candidate in Learning Sciences and Human Development cluster in the School of Education at UC Berkeley, with a Designated Emphasis in New Media. Her current research focuses on: 1) designing culturally responsive pedagogy using educational technologies, 2) designing adaptive guidance using natural language processing to help students strengthen their scientific ideas.

Prior to attending UC Berkeley, Weiying received her BS in Applied Psychology from Renmin University of China. She spent the next two years exploring her career possibilities and obtained her MA in...

Monica Thomas

Monica Thomas is a doctoral candidate in Cohort 1 of the Leadership for Equity and Democracy (LEAD) program in the UC Berkeley School of Education. Her research interests include school improvement and central office reform and the role local politics and community engagement play in impacting effective policy implementation.

Monica has been a long time leader in the Oakland Unified School District, serving as the founding principal of Greenleaf TK-8 as well as a Network Superintendent, where she supervised seventeen schools primarily in East Oakland. Monica currently...

Arlyn Moreno Luna

Arlyn Moreno Luna is a doctoral candidate in the Critical Studies of Race, Class, and Gender program at UC Berkeley’s School of Education. Her scholarly interests include access and equity in higher education for first-generation and traditionally underrepresented students; students’ higher education pathways; students’ experiences when transferring from community college to four-year institutions; and bachelor's degree attainment for students who begin post-secondary education at a community college.

Arlyn was born and raised in Mexico, migrating to the U.S. as a...

Isabella Ahrens

Isabella Ahrens is a fifth-year doctoral candidate in the School Psychology Program. She is currently working at an elementary and high school in San Francisco Unified School District as a school psychology intern. Isabella has engaged in assessment, consultation, and therapy practicum experiences in schools in the East Bay and a private practice in San Francisco.

Her research explores parent involvement in youth sport and student athlete academic engagement. Isabella has contributed to research exploring Native Hawaiian mental and behavioral health, patients...

Umara Hansen

Umara Hansen (she/her/hers) is a first year doctoral student in the School Psychology program at UC Berkeley. Umara attended the University of Ottawa, Canada and graduated with the highest distinction of Honours in Psychology, BSc where she studied the impact of stress on wellbeing through fMRI measures. Prior to graduate school, Umara worked as a research assistant in a variety of research labs throughout Canada and the United States, including the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Lab at the University of British Columbia and the Stress and the Development Lab at Harvard University....