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Our Staff

Thirteen Eighth College Staff Members Smiling Underneath Building with Podemos Sign Above

Provost Office

Academic Advising

Critical Community Engagement (CCE)

  • David Quijada, Ph.D. (he/him/el)

    David Quijada, Ph.D. (he/him/el)

    Director of Academic Programs I dquijada@ucsd.edu

    Dr. David Quijada is a Teaching Professor and the Director of the Critical Community Engagement Academic Program.  A community-based youth studies scholar, David has collaborated with communities, co-creating collective spaces for research and knowledge production toward social justice. In Salt Lake City, David co-founded Mestizo Arts and Activism, an intergenerational research collective informed by the urgent concerns of young people. David’s research centers on cultural citizenship, participatory action research, and youth intercultural alliances. This work appears in interdisciplinary journals such as: International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, Cultural Studies<=>Critical Methodologies, Race, Ethnicity & Education, Social Justice, Gender & Education.  David is humbled by the awards he has received including the inaugural 2024 UCSD Student Centeredness Award. David loves teaching and enjoys ocean water, everyday art, thrift store shopping, nature walks, the moon, tall trees, laughing, dogs and big skies.
  • Danielle M. Williams, Ph.D. (she/her)

    Danielle M. Williams, Ph.D. (she/her)

    Associate Director of Academic Programs I daw038@ucsd.edu

    Dr. Danielle M. Williams is an Associate Teaching Professor and Associate Director of Academic Programs in Eighth College. For the past 12 years, she has taught, researched, written, and dreamed about campus-community partnerships. Her research examines digital literacies and community engagement, and she is interested in the ways that multimodal texts composed with and for communities can address local priorities and prepare students to create more socially just futures. Her work has appeared in Computers and Composition, Composition Studies, Writing on the Edge, and in an edited collection on feminist praxis in composition pedagogies. 

    Danielle enjoys writing creative nonfiction, taking herself on artist dates, experimenting with new kitchen gadgets, biking to the ocean, and hanging out with her family in the sunshine.
  • James Crawford, Ph.D.

    James Crawford, Ph.D.

    Associate Director of Academic Programs I jacrawfo@ucsd.edu

    Dr. James Crawford is an Assistant Teaching Professor and Associate Director of Academic Programs in Eighth College. His teaching, research, and community engagement are sustained by a commitment to social justice that amplifies the voices, visions, and leadership of youth and local partners in advancing transformative educational possibilities. His work, rooted in the legacy of the Black radical tradition, approaches learning as a liberatory process of cultivating spaces for healing and empowerment. At UC San Diego, he has collaborated on campus-wide coalitions such as the Black Academic Excellence Initiative and the Anti-Racist Pedagogy Learning Community. His scholarship appears in Equity & Excellence in Education, The Handbook of Critical Race Theory in Education, and other interdisciplinary volumes. James stays rooted in joy and community through music, movement, and mentorship.
  • Nicole Kenley, Ph.D. (she/they)

    Nicole Kenley, Ph.D. (she/they)

    Associate Director of Academic Programs I nkenley@ucsd.edu

    Dr. Nicole Kenley is an Associate Teaching Professor and Associate Director of Academic Programs in Eighth College. Their scholarship focuses on contemporary world detective fiction, gender, and  globalization. Their work appears in journals such as Crime Fiction Studies,  The Journal of Popular Culture, and Clues as well as edited collections including The Cambridge Companion to World Crime Fiction, The Routledge Companion to Crime Fiction and Teaching Crime Fiction. Their teaching interests include contemporary world and Anglophone literature, detective fiction, community-engaged composition, and of course Critical Community Engagement!

    Outside the classroom, Nicole loves having fun in sunny San Diego: running, biking, swimming, hiking, surfing, and eating amazing food. They are also obsessed with English Bulldogs–please say hi if you see them walking their dogs on the beach!
  • Kacie Wright (she/they)

    Kacie Wright (she/they)

    Curriculum Planner I kaw076@ucsd.edu

    A San Diego native, Kacie graduated from Seton Hall University with a Bachelors of Science in Diplomacy and International Relations, where she focused on sustainable development and food systems. In 2020, they joined the student cohort of the School of Diplomacy’s DEIJ Coalition dedicated to improving diversity, equity, inclusion and justice in the program and the larger community. She worked in the Coalition through 2021, making institutional changes to curriculum, programming, and culture. In that time period, three new DEIJ courses and student organizations were launched with a guarantee of support from the administration. In their previous organization, Kacie was selected to be part of a statewide Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion committee to develop assessments and programs for member organizations throughout California. 

    In her free time, she enjoys cooking, gardening, anime, connecting with nature, rooting for the Padres, making jams, and spending time with their family and friends. 
  • Ash Merryman, Ph.D.

    Ash Merryman, Ph.D.

    Lecturer I asmerryman@ucsd.edu

    Dr. Ash Merryman is an educator and creative invested in working with Eighth College students to grow their community-engaged critical thinking and writing practices. Dr. Merryman’s scholarship examines how contemporary representational works imagine alternative futurities for trans/queerness. A multi-genre author, Ash’s creative publications explore hybridity and meaning-making. Outside of class, Ash loves spending time in the mountains, walking the beaches, checking out local art, and relaxing with family.
  • Kassy Lee, M.F.A. (she/her)

    Kassy Lee, M.F.A. (she/her)

    Lecturer I kal087@ucsd.edu

    Kassy Lee is a poet and educator from San Diego. Her poems have appeared in The Margins, The Massachusetts Review, FENCE, African American Review, Salamander, Kweli Journal, Columbia Review, Apogee, and Narrative. Her work has received support from literary foundations such as Ragdale, the Helene Wurlitzer Foundation, and Cave Canem Foundation for Black Poets. She also curates arts and cultural events and workshops. 
  • Kathryn Garcia, M.A. (she/her/ella)

    Kathryn Garcia, M.A. (she/her/ella)

    Lecturer I kmg005@ucsd.edu

    Kathryn (Kat) Garcia is an educator and activist. Growing up in San Diego, the complexities of living in the borderlands shaped her passion for social justice and community-oriented research. She received her Master of Arts in Latin American Studies at the University of California, San Diego where her thesis focused on the current social, economic, and spatial changes in Tijuana, Mexico due to the city’s shifting demographics. Kat previously conducted research with UCSD’s Mexican Migration Field Research Project, engaged in participatory action research in the El Paso/Ciudad Juárez region, and worked alongside the Undocumented Migration Project in Arivaca, Arizona. 

    Outside of being an educator, Kat enjoys hiking, camping, going to concerts, and spending time with her pup, Laika. 
  • Louis Labat, M.F.A.

    Louis Labat, M.F.A.

    Lecturer I milabat@ucsd.edu
  • Michele Bigley (she/her)

    Michele Bigley (she/her)

    Lecturer I mbigley@ucsd.edu

    Michele Bigley is a writer, educator, climate activist, community builder, dancer and mom. Her writing has appeared in New York Times, Time Magazine, Sierra Magazine, Wired, Conde Nast Traveler, and many more. As a writer and educator, she’s most curious about how communities implement climate solutions. 
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    Vabianna Santos, Ph.D.

    Lecturer I vasantos@ucsd.edu

    Dr. Vabianna Santos is an interdisciplinary artist and educator whose practice develops performative writing techniques and material paradoxes. S(he)* is thrilled to join the Eighth College team as a lecturer after many years of contributing to UCSD’s foundational writing programs. H(er) scholarship explores tactics of non-harm, while h(er) artwork considers the body’s exchange with its environment, both social and ecological, as a form of speculative worldmaking. S(he) has exhibited and performed internationally including at MOCA North Miami, Vox Populi Philadelphia, Headlands Center for the Arts, Hammer Museum Los Angeles and SOMA Mexico City. (He)r work has been discussed or published in PAJ: A Journal of Performance and Art, Theatre Journal, Ecumenica: Performance and Religion and WhiteHot Magazine of Contemporary Art. When not making or teaching, s(he) is scouring San Diego’s amazing thrift stores and flea markets and laughing with friends.

     

Counseling & Psychological Services (CAPS)

Facilities Management Custodial Team

  • Marvin "Lee" Jones (he/him)

    Marvin "Lee" Jones (he/him)

    Lead Custodian
  • Harvey Mcknight (he/him)

    Harvey Mcknight (he/him)

    Senior Custodian
  • Deonne Wheaton (he/him)

    Deonne Wheaton (he/him)

    Senior Custodian
  • Ivory Young (he/him)

    Ivory Young (he/him)

    Senior Custodian

Housing & Dining Custodial Team

  • Gloria Alcala (she/her)

    Gloria Alcala (she/her)

    Senior Custodian
  • Henry Estigoy (he/him)

    Henry Estigoy (he/him)

    Senior Custodian
  • Esther Garcia (she/her)

    Esther Garcia (she/her)

    Senior Custodian
  • Noemi Hernandez (she/her)

    Noemi Hernandez (she/her)

    Senior Custodian
  • Ana Limon (she/her)

    Ana Limon (she/her)

    Senior Custodian
  • Rocio Pallan (she/her)

    Rocio Pallan (she/her)

    Senior Custodian
  • Maricruz Pena (she/her)

    Maricruz Pena (she/her)

    Senior Custodian
  • Emilia Quinones (she/her)

    Emilia Quinones (she/her)

    Senior Custodian
  • Maria Rangel (she/her)

    Maria Rangel (she/her)

    Senior Custodian
  • Christina Torres (she/her)

    Christina Torres (she/her)

    Senior Custodian

Residence Life

Student Affairs

Honorary Eighties

  • Priscilla "PJ" Ju

    Priscilla "PJ" Ju

    Assistant Dean of Student Affairs at Sixth College

    PJ served as Interim Dean of Student Affairs for Eighth College during Summer 2023. Thank you, PJ!