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EXECUTIVE BOARD 2019-2020

VANESSA HILO

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Vanessa is a third-year Psychology major from Redlands, California. She works as a Research Assistant, and this year she is excited to embark on her independent research project. After graduating from UCLA, Vanessa intends on pursuing a Juris Doctor in Immigration Law – a career choice shaped by her journey as a first-generation, Arab-American college student. In her free time, Vanessa enjoys cooking, kayaking, and participating in spoken word poetry open-mic nights.

VIVIAN NGUYEN

ASSOCIATE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Vivian Nguyen is a third year Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics major with hopes of minoring in English. She is interested in mental health awareness and is the Secretary for the UCLA Chapter of Morning Sign Out, a student-run organization focused on improving health literacy in the greater Los Angeles population through publishing accessible articles on science and healthcare. In her free time, she enjoys practicing judo, playing violin, and drawing.

ELIZABETH ALM

STAFF DIRECTOR

Elizabeth is a fourth year Psychology Major with an Applied Developmental Minor. She is a research assistant for a project studying and developing education and childcare practices for children with ASD. Elizabeth also researches infant/toddler childcare in an early childhood education classroom. Elizabeth plans on continuing her education in Developmental Psychology, hoping to continue her research and its application in the field of Education.  

MAGGIE PICKFORD

DIRECTOR OF SUBMISSIONS & WORKSHOPS

Maggie Pickford is a third-year Psychobiology major from Gilroy, California. In addition to being a member of URJP, she is also the Vice President of Chapter Relations and Standards for Alpha Chi Omega. She is interested in going into patent law in the future (but who really knows, she changes her mind every other week). She loves traveling and having the opportunity to learn about differences in cultures and peoples. In her free time, she enjoys catching up on shows, spending time with friends and family, and eating anything with garlic or cheese.  

OUR TEAM

ABHERI SETLUR

EDITOR

Abheri is a first year Psychobiology major from San Ramon, California. She currently volunteers at Ronald Regan Medical Center, works as a marketing coordinator for the Alumni Scholars Club, and plays club lacrosse. She loves interacting with and listening to people and hopes to attend medical school to pursue a career in psychiatry. In her free time, she loves to experiment with photography, hike, and try new  bowl recipes.

AH YEON KWON

EDITOR

Ah Yeon is a second year Psychology major from Fullerton, California. She is a mentor for Bruin Partners, as well as a research assistant in the UCLA Baby Lab. After graduation, she is planning to pursue a PhD in developmental psychology. Her passions include reading, knitting, and discussing Star Wars.

ALEXIA PELLETIER

EDITOR

Alexia is a third year Psychology major and Spanish minor from Santa Clarita, CA. In addition to being an editor for URJP, she is also a writer for the Bruin Review. She is currently a research assistant in two psychology labs, one studying decision making, the other studying learning and behavior in animals. After graduation, Alexia hopes to get her PhD and someday become a forensic psychologist. In her free time, she enjoys working out, hanging out with family and friends, and walking dogs.

ANGELICA FREGOSO

EDITOR

Coming soon…

ASHLEY CHEN

EDITOR

Ashley is a first-year Psychology major from Milpitas, California. She is interested in clinical psychology and plans to attend graduate school after graduation. Besides psychology, Ashley also has an interest in statistics. In her free time, she likes to travel to new places. 

CHERICE CHAN

SUBMISSIONS & WORKSHOPS

Cherice is a first-year psychology major from Toledo, Ohio. Outside of being part of the submissions team, she is a community representative for Hedrick Hall. She has worked for a summer program for autistic children for five years. She is looking forward to getting involved in research in the future, and is especially interested in social psychology and developmental disorders. In the future, she wants to get her PhD and hopefully work in academia. When she’s not studying, she loves hanging out with friends, eating, traveling, and exploring LA. 

ERICA LI

EDITOR

Erica Li is a second-year from Seattle, Washington double majoring in neuroscience and computational & systems biology. She is a research assistant at the UCLA Laboratory for Clinical and Affective Psychophysiology as well as at the Fuster Lab for Cognitive Neuroscience. She is interested in neurotechnology and cognitive neuroscience and hopes to work in the neurotechnology industry in the future. In her free time she likes to drink a lot of coffee and binge-watch TV shows.

GRACE SONG

MARKETING

Grace is a second-year cognitive science major at UCLA. She is a research assistant in Dr. Jeffrey Wood’s cognitive behavioral therapy lab where she works on autism research. She is also involved in the social media team at the Daily Bruin. She hopes to pursue a career in occupational therapy in the future.
 

HANNAH GUO

EDITOR

Hannah Guo is a third year Cognitive Science and Linguistics double major from Guangdong, China. She is a research assistant in Dr. Ladan Shams’s Multisensory Perception Lab and Dr. Idan Blank’s BlankLangLab. She is interested in cognitive psychology, psycholinguistics, and neuropsychology. In her free time she likes to read, watch reality shows, draw, sleep, and travel.
 

ICY (YUNYI) ZHANG

EDITOR

Icy Zhang is a post-baccalaureate research assistant. She is interested in the role of gesture in supporting students’ understanding of difficult content such as statistics, the application of technology in education, and collaborative learning. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, reading books and cooking.
 

ISABELLA RICHARDS

SUBMISSIONS & WORKSHOPS

Isabella is a first-year psychology major from the Bay Area, who is interested in pursuing Industrial-Organizational Psychology. She hopes to get involved with a research lab studying social relations between diverse individuals. Besides being involved with the URJP, Isabella enjoys spending her time at the University Catholic Center and practicing dances for Samahang Pilipino Cultural Night. 

JACOB RICH

EDITOR

Jacob is a third-year first-generation transfer Psychology student from Irvine, CA. Before he went to community college, he served in the United States Air Force for six years working as a military police officer, security specialist, and a pre-deployment instructor. He then left the service to pursue his education, and after many major changes, ended up enamored with the field of psychology. While attending community college, he became the Vice President of Leadership for his chapter’s Phi Theta Kappa honor society. He enjoys trying new foods, exploring, sports of all kinds, and chilling with friends. His future aspiration is to pursue a master’s degree in psychology and then pursue a Juris Doctor in International law.

 

JANET LI

EDITOR 

Coming soon…

JESSICA HELFOND

MARKETING

Jessica is a second year Psychology major and Professional Writing minor from San Diego, California. She’s involved in Kappa Delta Sorority, and works for the study abroad office on campus. She is very interested in child development, and is a volunteer research assistant in a psychology lab studying children with autism. In her free time, Jessica enjoys traveling, photography, interior design, and spending time with friends.
 

JOYCE KUO

EDITOR 

 
Joyce is a first-year Psychobiology student from Sunnyvale, California. She is involved in hospital volunteering and is hoping to pursue fields within dentistry. In her free time, she enjoys writing songs, walking everywhere, and reading synopses of horror films.

 

KALYSA TO

EDITOR

Kalysa is a third-year Psychology and English major. In addition to the URJP, she is also involved with the UCLA Language and Cognitive Development Lab as a research assistant. She enjoys studying developmental, social and cognitive psychology, and is particularly interested in the application of those fields. 
 

KELLY ZHOU

MARKETING 

Coming soon…

KYLE XU

EDITOR & MARKETING

Coming soon…

LAURA HARTLEY

EDITOR

Coming soon…

LEYLA BOYAR

EDITOR

Leyla Boyar is a first year Psychology major from Dana Point, California. Leyla loves animals, and she rides and competes on the UCLA Club Equestrian team. In her free time, she loves to read novels, go exploring with friends, and volunteer at a therapeutic riding center for disabled children. In the future, Leyla aspires to get involved with research in the field of mental illness, and she hopes to one day become a practicing clinical therapist. 

LIYANG (JULIA) ZHOU

EDITOR

Liyang (Julia) Zhou is a first year psychobiology major from Hangzhou, China. She is interested in psychological research and community service, and pictures herself as a clinical psychologist in the future. In her free time, Julia enjoys going to concerts, reading, and watching anime. 
 

MARGAUX STANITSAS

EDITOR

Margaux is a junior Psychology major from Long Beach, California. She is interested in psychometrics and quantitative psychology, neuropsychology, and developmental psychology. She plans on pursuing a career in research and teaching. Outside of academics, she enjoys cooking, reading her favorite novels over and over again, and going on weekend road trips. 

MCKENNA RODI

SUBMISSIONS & WORKSHOPS

McKenna Rodi is a second year Psychology major with a Specialization in Computing from San Diego, CA. In addition to being a member of the submissions team, she is an intern for the Student Wellness Committee and the Logistics Chair for Active Mind’s workshops committee. In the future, she hopes to get her PhD in Clinical Psychology and wants to pursue a career as a Forensic Psychologist for a corrections facility. In her free time, she enjoys musicals, photography, and trying new cafés.

MICHELLE WANG

EDITOR & SUBMISSIONS/WORKSHOPS

Michelle Wang is a second year Psychobiology major from Folsom, California. She is a research assistant at two USC labs—the Language Development Lab and the Huey Lab. In the future, she plans to pursue a career as a psychiatrist. In her free time, she enjoys sleeping, watching movies, and petting any cats she comes across. 

NICOLETTE KHALIFIAN

EDITOR

Nicolette Khalifian is a sophomore at UCLA, studying psychobiology with a minor in professional writing. Her interests range from the sciences, particularly the field of cognition and memory, to creative writing and its applications. She is the author of Control Mindset, her first published work, with New Degree Press. Her work focuses on the key elements to living a life of intention, peace and freedom. Nicolette is a feature writer for the Her Campus at UCLA’s Women’s Magazine and editor for the UCLA Undergraduate Research Journal of Psychology. 

POORVI DINESH

EDITOR

Poorvi is a second year Psychology major from Tampa, FL. She is studying to go into psychiatry with an emphasis on psychotherapy. Poorvi is interested in pursuing research in clinical and music psychology. Besides the URJP, Poorvi is a part of HOSA, AMSA, and the Bruin Film Society. In her free time, Poorvi enjoys making music, listening to music, watching movies (preferably in French), acting, and participating in debate.

SHEILA ZHANG

EDITOR

Coming soon…

STEPHANIE RIVAS-LARA

EDITOR

Stephanie Rivas is a second year Psychology major from Los Angeles, California and in hopes of also minoring in Spanish. She is a volunteer for UCLA’s Campus Assault Resources and Education (CARE) Program which focuses on eradicating sexual and gender-based violence through education, advocacy, and healing. Apart from spending her free time with friends and family, Stephanie also enjoys reading books and has a particular soft spot for reading memoirs. You can also catch her re-watching the same YouTube videos late at night as she contemplates her career choices. 

TALIA LEANO

EDITOR

Talia is a first-year Psychobiology major from Santa Rosa, CA. She currently volunteers at California Mental Health Connection, a non-profit that focuses on providing therapy to low-income families and individuals recovering from a crisis situation. She is also a member of the Health Nutrition and Fitness Committee here on campus and can be found at the gym or on a run in her free time. In the future, she hopes to get involved with research related to substance use disorders.
 

XIMMY WANG

EDITOR

Ximmy is a third year transfer Psychology major and Chinese minor from Torrance, California. In her gap year between high school and college, she volunteered in three countries to experience different cultures and perspectives. She plans on pursuing a career in Human Resources and is also interested in pursuing research in Organizational Psychology to make work-life better. In her free time, Ximmy enjoys reading, going outdoors, binge watching TV, and spending time with friends.
 

ZHUOER (CHRIS) LYU

SUBMISSIONS & WORSKSHOPS

Zhuoer Lyu (Chris) is a first year Cognitive Science major from China. He is interested in Social Psycholgy, Industrial Psychology as well as Cognitive Psychology. In his free time, Chris enjoys playing basketball and chess.