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Emiley Dionne
Advisor
Emiley Dionne (she/her) works as a Community Service Program Manager for the Center for Student Involvement. She oversees the Alternative Break program and oversees social innovation initiatives, such as CGI U. Emiley is an East Coast native, growing up in Massachusetts and loves traveling, having worked in New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Florida before moving to California. Prior to UCSD, Emiley worked as an Area Coordinator in Residence Life and Academic Success Coach in Academic Support Services. Having a background in social work, Emiley has a passion for mental health and integrating holistic wellness with social justice issues.
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Sahar Alfatlawi
Site Leader
AB Public Health
Sahar Alfatlawi is a third-year majoring in International Studies with a focus in Political Science and minoring in Human Rights and Migration. In addition, she works as a student assistant in the UC San Diego Undergraduate Admissions Office.
Sahar's spirit animal would have to be the mythical phoenix, not only because she was coincidentally born in Phoenix, Arizona, but also because she puts a lot of emphasis on overcoming adversity in her desire to support both personal and societal progression, akin to the phoenix's rebirth.
Fun fact: Sahar and her siblings were born in various countries (her older sister was born in Libya, her older brother in Syria). Sahar has also dabbled in a total of seven sports throughout her adolescence (but she would like to emphasize that although she was passionate, she was not very good at them).
Sahar is excited to interact with other AB site leaders to pursue a shared interest while gaining immeasurable experiences and memories!
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Aliya Ghalili
Site Leader
AB Public Health
Aliya Ghalili (she/her/hers) is a fourth-year student studying Public Health with a concentration in Medicine Sciences. Born and raised in Malaysia, she grew up immersed in different cultures, and learning about different realities. Currently, she is interested in pursuing a career in Medicine and working closely to improve the health of under-privileged communities. Some things Aliya loves to do in her spare time includes cooking and grocery shopping at Trader Joe's, playing badminton with friends, listening (and thinking about) Taylor Swift and rewatching the same three movies. She is really excited to be a site leader and to ensure that everyone has a rich and meaningful experience during this program!
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Caren Aguirre
Site Leader
AB Green Building
Hello! My name is Caren Aguirre (she/hers/ella) and I am a third-year student studying Environmental Science with an emphasis on Ecology and a minor in Urban Planning. In my free time, I like to go hiking and camping to reconnect with nature and ground myself. Growing up near the Tijuana River Estuary, I fell in love with the outdoors and became passionate about protecting natural resources as they were inaccessible to me for a large part of my life due to pollution. Being in close proximity to Mexico cultivated my awareness of global citizenship and the boundless reach of pollution. I strive to educate and inspire people to think about the global impact their local actions have and protect natural resources so both sides of the border can enjoy them!
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Gustavo Candia Jaramillo
Site Leader
AB Green Building
Gustavo is currently a senior International Business student with a minor in Real Estate and Development. He was born in Los Angeles, but grew up in Tijuana. Growing up in a binational city allowed him to learn and meet different cultures which sparked his interest for learning more. He has a passion for giving back to others and his community, so he has taken several classes that cover social justice topics. Part of these community based projects included collecting data to help the infrastructure in Logan Heights and conduct interviews with the homelessness population. These experiences allowed him to travel to Israel to present his findings along with his classmates. Also, he was accepted into the APRU Undergraduate Leaders’ Program for sustainable cities cities development, a worldwide program conformed by 60 universities hosted in the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He is excited to bring his experience as an AB leader for the sustainability group. Besides school and work he spends most of his days with his family and friends which brings him a lot of joy.
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Emma Berwanger
Site Leader
AB Body and Reproductive Justice
My name is Emma Berwanger and I’m a third year in Marshall College. I’m double majoring in Political Science: Public Law as well as Real Estate & Development. I’m a member of the UCSD Speech and Debate team as well as in the sorority Kappa Kappa Gamma. I’m pre law and am a co-sure leader for fighting for reproductive rights in Austin this year! Some of my most favorite things in life are my family, my dog, and dancing (if i’m not at home or in Geisel I’m at the dance studio!)
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Samantha Chan
Site Leader
AB Body and Reproductive Justice
Samantha Chan (she/her/hers) is a third-year student in Marshall College who is majoring in Public Health and minoring in Public Service and Biology. Outside of being a student, she works as an EMT, loves to volunteer, and enjoys doing research in public health. Future plans include both a pathway into healthcare and into making reproductive health resources more accessible and affordable across the globe.Born and raised in Los Angeles, Sam fell in love with the San Diego coastline from her first visit. From the calming ocean to the UCSD community, she finds it easy to spend her free time decompressing by driving, painting, talking with friends, and impulsively dyeing her hair in college apartments. This past summer she left the country for the first time to study public health abroad in Bali, and cannot wait to continue growing, traveling, and learning about public policy and public health through Alternative Breaks!
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Christina Bumann
Site Leader
AB Disaster Relief
Christina Lee Bumann is heading into her senior year as a History major with a minor in Art History, with a concentration on European history. She was born and raised in the surfing community in SoCal, and has been a surfer since age 12. She loves traveling to surf spots in Mexico and the Northern Pacific regions. She also has a huge passion for photography and has been a photographer for 8 years. Documentation and portraiture are her primary specialities in photography, and going on adventures with a mission is what she loves to capture! She is beyond excited and grateful to be a site leader for the New Orleans trip in March. Serving communities of all regions and getting to know people of different backgrounds and cultures, brings her a special appreciation for life and the stories we get to tell.
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Albert Chang
Site Leader
AB Disaster Relief
Albert (he/him) is one of the site leads for the AB Disaster Relief trip to Louisiana, where he hopes to learn more about disaster relief and equitable support strategies. He enjoys learning through adventures and hopes to travel around the world exploring different cultural experiences. When he is not asleep, you can find him seeking trailheads, tasting new food, watching anime, or (probably) falling asleep again.
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Jonathan Calles
Site Leader
AB Voting Access and Equity
I am Jonathan Calles, a fourth year global health major in Muir college. I was born and raised in East Los Angeles. I am the youngest of three and am a first generation college student. My career goals are to get my masters in public health and hopefully go on to work for the CDC or WHO and eventually work my way to becoming an epidemiologist.
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Nandini Desai
Site Leader
AB Voting Access and Equity
Hi! My name is Nandini (she/her), and I’m pursuing a degree in Cognitive Science: Design & Interaction with a minor in Computer Science at Seventh College. I was born in San Diego, but I grew up in the Bay Area, so returning to UCSD was really full circle for me. During my free time, you can find me dancing, depop-ing my life away, drinking coffee, and doing all kinds of arts and crafts. A fun fact about me is that I volunteered at a music festival this summer, helping clean up trash in exchange for a free ticket. At my core, I’m a designer passionate about using my cognitive science and visual arts backgrounds to amplify the voices and address the issues that matter to me. I’m so excited to learn about Atlanta's historical and political climate within a collaborative and empathetic environment.
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Alex Chen
Site Leader
AB Public Health
Alex is a third-year pre-med student at UCSD, studying Molecular and Cell Biology and minoring in Chemistry. When not peering into the intricacies of cells or analyzing samples in his extracurricular chemistry lab, Alex might be found serenading the night with piano and guitar, or perhaps even producing his next song on Spotify. Trained Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) by day, near-fluent Russian speaker by accident, and a tennis ace in another life, Alex's multifaceted passions are rivaled only by his enthusiasm for the upcoming Bali trip!
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Amari Jenkins
Site Leader
AB Public Health
Hello, my name is Amari Jenkins. I am a Global Health major and minoring in Biology. I was raised in the city of Moreno Valley, Ca. and I aspire to pursue a career in the medical field focusing on obstetrics. I have never traveled internationally, therefore this will be my first venture out of the United States! I am so excited and grateful for Alternative Breaks allowing me the opportunity to travel and be exposed to various cultures and health practices. I hope to make good memories with my cohort on this trip that we will remember forever.
