Leadership Team
Dr. Perla Myers
Executive Director, Jacobs Institute for Innovation in Education & Professor, Mathematics
Dr. Carla Penha Vasconcelos
Research Associate & AnchorSTEM Project Manager
AnchorSTEM Project Manager
Daniela Rodriguez
Dr. Odesma Dalrymple
Associate Professor,
Industrial & Systems Engineering
Dr. Drew Talley
Director & Professor, Environmental and Ocean Sciences
Dr. Amanda Ruiz
Associate Professor, Mathematics & Chair of University Senate
Dr. Jane Friedman
Professor, Mathematics
Internal Advisory Board
John Loggins
The Mulvaney Center, CASA
Pauline Powell
College Dean's Office
Sou Fang
Upward Bound
Dr. Ramiro Frausto
Institute of College Initiatives
External Advisory Board
Kevin Pelaez
USD S-STEM Alumnus
William Yslas Velez
University of Arizona
Nicole Weekes
Pomona College
Faculty Mentors
Dr. Anthony Bell
Associate Professor,
Chemistry & Biochemistry
Dr. Jessica Bell
Chair & Associate Professor,
Chemistry & Biochemistry
Dr. Ellis Bell
Associate Professor,
Chemistry and Biochemistry
Dr. Carla Bonilla
Associate Professor, Biology
Dr. Debbie Finocchio
Associate Core Director,
Adjunct Assistant Professor,
Chemistry & Biochemistry
Dr. Paulina Diaz-Montiel
Associate Professor, Engineering
Dr. Jena Hales
Associate Professor,
Behavioral Neuroscience
Dr. Arietta Fleming-Davies
Associate Professor, Biology
Dr. Jenny Olsen
Associate Professor,
Computer Science
Dr. Jennifer Wenzel
Assistant Professor,
Behavioral Neurosciences
Dr. Wilnelia Recart Gonzalez
Assistant Professor, Biology
Dr. Zhi-Yong Yin
Professor, Environmental and Ocean Sciences
Dr. Melissa Gibbons
Assistant Professor, Engineering
Dr. Ted Dezen
Associate Professor,
Physics & Biophysics
Dr. Susan Lord
Chair & Professor,
Integrated Engineering
Dr. Jennifer Prairie
Associate Professor,
Environmental & Ocean Sciences
Our community in action
Dr. Debbie Finocchio speaking with scholar Gilberto Esquer
I am honored to work on a project that fosters positive social change in the lives of underrepresented students and communities. AnchorSTEM is a social justice project that amplifies the presence and legitimacy of diverse bodies, voices, and experiences in the STEM field.
Carla Penha Vasconcelos, AnchorSTEM Project Manager
Dr. Amanda Ruiz speaking at the AnchorSTEM Appreciation Event 2024
AnchorSTEM staff and team members at the Appreciation Event 2023
AnchorSTEM staff and mentors at a Community of Practice meeting learning ways to best support and prepare for our scholars
I find it so rewarding to see students develop supportive relationships with each other, and bond as a community, then grow and reach their goals as they mature as college students. Helping them through difficult times to witness their amazing accomplishments is incredible!
Amanda Ruiz, Co-Principal Investigator
AnchorSTEM is one of those rare opportunities to elevate other voices; celebrate and encourage inclusion in STEM, and do so working alongside some of the most talented and delightful faculty, staff, and students I have ever met.
Drew Talley, Leadership Team
