Meghan Pressimone is a recent graduate of the Molecular and Cell Biology PhD program who is currently an Account Manager with Thermo Fisher Scientific. After undergraduate and graduate training in biochemistry research, she sought a career pivot where she could work heavily with others and leverage interpersonal communication while maintaining a link to the sciences.

Leleña Avila is the Director of Student Services for the Integrative Biology, Molecular & Cell Biology, and Neuroscience departments within the L&S Division of Biological Sciences, where she directs academic advising, curriculum planning, and revenue programs for the departments. Leleña earned her B.S. in Conservation & Resource Studies (Conservation Biology and Environmental Education) from UC Berkeley, an M.A. in Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior from Indiana University, and a Ph.D. in Biology from the University of Virginia. In her nearly 18 years as a staff member at Berkeley, she has combined her love of biology, science education, and her skills in administrative operations to build a career helping students, faculty, and staff navigate the academic environment.

Lizzie Roeble is a Senior Collections Specialist at the California Academy of Sciences herbarium. They recently finished a PhD on island plant evolution and conservation. Along the way, they have worked in natural history museums and botanical gardens in the UK, the Netherlands, Hawaii, and Australia. Lizzie is looking forward to talking about the move from research to collections, working internationally, and the importance of diversity in science.

Dr. Henriette Canino leads the AI Science Residency Program at the California Council on Science and Technology (CCST), which places AI experts within California State Government to advise on frontier AI model safety. Her research on AI governance and science and technology policy has been cited by the UN and EU, she served as an expert consultant to the EU Commission’s Science Advice Mechanism and the WHO, and co-authored an open-access textbook on science communication for policy (expected 2026). Henriette earned a Ph.D. in Science and Technology Policy/Behavioral Science at University College London and a Master of Public Policy (MPP) from UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy.

Jacob Steenwyk is an LSRF Fellow in the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology at UC Berkeley, where his research bridges omics, software engineering, agent engineering, and interpretability to understand how AI can reliably accelerate scientific discovery. He is the creator of widely used bioinformatics tools, such as ClipKIT, which have 650,000+ combined downloads. Currently, he also serves as a scientific consultant for Anthropic PBC and has previously held similar positions at FutureHouse and Edison Scientific.

tyrone is a distinguished professor in Integrative Biology and Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging in the College of Letters and Science, Biological Division. dr. hayes also holds the Judy Chandler Webb Distinguished Chair for Innovative Teaching and Research and is an elected member of the California Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the National Academy of Sciences. dr. hayes' groundbreaking research focuses on genetics, amphibian biology, and developmental endocrinology. His work explores steroid hormones, metamorphosis, sex differentiation, and hormonal regulation, particularly in species like the African clawed frog, the Japanese Kajika, and the Pine Barrens treefrog. We look forward to his valuable perspectives on the importance of inclusivity, mentoring, and advancing DEIBJ in our community.

Dr. Gina Ann Garcia is a professor in the Berkeley School of Education. Drawing on theories of change, her research explores how Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) embrace an organizational identity for serving minoritized populations. She coined the term “servingness” which is a framework for organizing and envisioning new futures for HSIs. As an author she wrote Becoming Hispanic-Serving Institutions: Opportunities for Colleges & Universities, Transforming Hispanic Serving Institutions for Equity and Justice, and The HSI Movement: Strategies Driving Change at Hispanic Serving Institutions. She also created and co-authored the workbook Transforming HSIs for Equity and Justice: A Practitioner’s Workbook and is the host of the popular podcast ¿Qué pasa, HSIs? At UC Berkeley, Dr. Garcia serves as the inaugural Faculty Director of Latinx Thriving Initiatives (LTI) and directs the Higher Education Action Research for Transformation (HEART) Lab.