Meet the Executive Board!
2024-2025
Gabriela Bailey
Co-President
I grew up in Antigua, Guatemala and moved to Portland, OR, USA to pursue my undergraduate degree in Chemistry. I am currently pursuing my PhD conducting research in the lab of Professor Ramesh Jasti, at the University of Oregon. The goals I hope to accomplish with ADSE is help represent and support diversity in STEM. I have come to my place in academia with the guidance and mentorship of individuals who saw the value of diversity in STEM. One of my goals is to 'pay forward' the mentorship I have received throughout my STEM academic career. Through my work with ADSE, I have also come to strongly admire the work and effort our previous co-presidents (Alison Chang and Arman Garcia) dedicated to the UO ADSE chapter. For that reason, another one of my goals is focused on assisting ADSE's growth.
Audrey Davenport
Co-President
Audrey is originally from Indiana where she went to Butler University and double majored in Chemistry and French. She owes her interest in chemistry partly to her amazing professors she had in undergrad. Audrey is a doctoral candidate at the University of Oregon where she studies inorganic materials chemistry. Through ADSE, Audrey hopes to help undergraduates in STEM find their passions and pursue them fearlessly.
Jasmine Collins
Seminar Chair
Jasmine grew up in Humboldt County California and attended college at Cal Poly Humboldt where she majored in Biochemistry. As Diversity Lecture Seminar Chair, one of her priorities is to center the voices of invited speakers' experiences' and their research findings. Oftentimes, there is the perception that to become a professional, you must hide aspects of your personality. Through ADSE, Jasmine hopes to acknowledge and uplift the voices of the invited speakers that embolden students to foster a diverse and inclusive learning environment.
​
Brian Diamond
Workshop Chair
I am a 4th year chemistry PhD student studying materials stimulation in the Hendon lab. I am excited to be the 2024-2025 workshop chair for aDSE here at the University of Oregon. My aim as workshop chair is to organize high quality, useful workshops for students of all backgrounds and experiences that develop professional and technical skills. I would like to help students within the university community prepare for the early stages of their careers.
Andy Davis
Community College Co-outreach Chair
I graduated from my local community college, Moorpark College in 2018 before transferring to Cal Poly and graduating in 2020. Due to the nature of being a transfer student, I felt out of the loop or behind when it came to undergraduate research opportunities. Sometimes as a transfer student, it’s easy to feel left behind or overlooked; I want to ensure that community college students are given the information or resources they need to feel confident and be successful beyond community college. My goals as LCC Outreach Chair are to give local community college insight into research opportunities that they otherwise may not have been aware of. Additionally, I want to be able to offer them guidance when it comes to transferring to a 4 year institution, joining a research lab after transferring, attending graduate school, and exploring career options.
Maryn Sander
Community College Co-outreach Chair
Hi! I am Malvika, and I am an incoming second year PhD student in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. I went to undergrad at the University of California, Berkeley where my passion for K-12 Outreach grew. I am looking forward to being co-chair of K-12 Outreach, because I believe STEM accessibility is vital to empowering the future generation of scientists and engineers. Outreach doesn't stop after high school. I hope that through my position, I can also bridge the science and engineering communities on campus together to work towards greater inclusivity amongst colleagues at UO. Outside of outreach, I enjoy writing, cooking, and the outdoors.
Jordan Rodriguez
Community College Co-outreach Chair
I went to community college at San Antonio CC before transferring to Texas A&M University- Corpus Christi, a hispanic serving institution in south Texas. Going to community college was exactly what I needed to figure out what major I wanted to pursue and to be able to financially afford going to college. As someone who has no family members who pursued science or academia, having mentors to help guide me at the beginning of that journey was so important and impactful on my life! As the ADSE community college outreach sub-committee chair, I am grateful for the opportunity to engage with community college students and hopefully make a positive impact on them during their academic career.
Chris Griffin
Sci-Comm Chair
Following his childhood in San Diego, CA, Christopher obtained his B.S. in Biochemistry from Cal Poly. During his time at Cal Poly Christopher gained exposure to research under Prof. Zoerb in the topic of atmospheric chemistry. At UO, Christopher is working in the DeRose lab, where he is synthesizing and investigating the properties of Pt(IV) compounds, with particular interest in the effect these compounds have on the nucleolus and their role in ribosome biogenesis inhibition. Chris is hoping to increase awareness across various DEIR topics as the workshop chair for ADSE. In his free time Christopher enjoys running, playing soccer, and reading.
Rachel Galfo
K-12 Co-Outreach Chair
Before joining the chemistry graduate program here at UO, I spent eleven years volunteering as both an academic tutor and dance instructor for various Tulsa programs that supported minority and low-income students. The experiences exposed me to the stark disparities in the quality of education among historically segregated districts. I also recognized the difference my attention and encouragement made in helping kids gain confidence and excitement over subjects they never thought they could master. As a chair for K-12 outreach with ADSE, I aim to extend this same uplifting enthusiasm to students here in Oregon by coordinating easily accessible, inclusive workshops designed to spark young peoples curiosity about STEM fields and help them thrive.
Taylor Coulson
K-12 Co-Outreach Chair
I grew up in rural Arkansas, where my love for STEM bloomed with support of passionate teachers who worked creatively with what resources they had. I graduated as a first-generation student with a B.S. in Biochemistry from the University of Central Arkansas in 2022. Starting in my undergraduate career, I have always focused on participating in and supporting outreach in my community to promote scientific engagement for students who may not have the support or resources like I did as a child. As ADSE’s co-chair for K-12 outreach, I’m excited to continue this endeavor and grow our outreach opportunities to reach as many students as possible. I believe that promoting diversity and inclusivity in STEM is key to a better future, and students must be encouraged to dream big and picture themselves as scientists from a young age. I’m beginning my third year in the lab of Julia Widom where I use a vast array of fluorescence-detection spectroscopy methods to characterize RNA structure and dynamics through use of fluorescent base analogues and fluorogenic RNA aptamers.
Katy Wyatt
Public Relations
Katy graduated from Pacific University with a degree in Chemistry, fueled by her fascination with the molecular world and its applications in everyday life. During her time at Pacific, she was an active member of the Chemistry Club, where she organized outreach events to inspire local students in the sciences. Passionate about education, Katy also spent time mentoring younger students and tutoring peers, helping them grasp complex concepts and ignite their own interest in chemistry. As the Public Relations Officer of ADSE, she hopes to enhance community engagement and raise awareness about up and coming events!
Dario Nunez
Treasurer
I spent the early stages of my life in the multicultural city that is Miami, Florida. Being a first-generation college student and scientist, I owe a lot of my scholarly growth to the diverse set of mentors that helped push me through my nontraditional academic journey. The time I spent surrounded by students with similar experiences imparted how significant outreach and engagement are for breaking down barriers and inspiring the next generation of scientists and engineers. By serving on the ADSE board I hope to engage with students of all backgrounds and empower them in their pursuit of their STEM goals.
Dr. Amanda Cook
Co-Faculty Sponsor
Amanda earned her BS in Chemistry from the California State University Fullerton in 2010, after transferring there from a community college. She then went to the University of Michigan, where she earned her PhD studying Pd-catalyzed C-H activation reactions in Melanie Sanford’s group. During her post-doctoral stay at ETH Zurich, she worked on single-site Zn heterogeneous catalysts for hydroamination reactions. In 2018, she began her independent career at the University of Oregon, where her group develops new catalytic reactions and studies their mechanisms. At UO, she is involved in the chemistry SAIL camp, the Near-Peer Mentoring Program, and most recently, ADSE!
Dr. Ramesh Jasti
Co-Faculty Sponsor
Professor Ramesh Jasti was born in Concord, North Carolina (1st generation born in the United States) and attended the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill as an undergraduate. At UNC, Prof. Jasti synthesized and characterized gold nanoparticles in the laboratories of Professor Royce Murray. This early research experience sowed the seeds of his future interests in interdisciplinary research and nanoscience. After graduation in 1998, Professor Jasti worked at a start-up pharmaceutical company for three years in the Research Triangle Park. Having found great interest in organic synthesis, Prof. Jasti conducted his graduate education under the guidance of Professor Scott Rychnovsky at the University of California, Irvine. Prof. Jasti’s graduate research led to the unraveling of numerous mechanistic aspects of the Prins cyclization reaction. After obtaining his PhD in 2006, Prof. Jasti started as a postdoctoral fellow with Professor Carolyn Bertozzi at The Molecular Foundry, a brand new nanoscience institute at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. At Berkeley, he began to explore the concept of attacking problems in nanoscience utilizing organic synthesis as an enabling tool. Having joined Boston University in the summer of 2009, this basic idea continues to be the overarching theme of the Jasti Research Group. Professor Jasti has been a recent recipient of the NSF CAREER Award, and Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship, as well as a Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award. In the summer of 2014, he moved to the University of Oregon where he is currently a Professor in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry and Associate Director of the Materials Science Institute.
