Home / About / Meet the Staff

Sayo Fujioka

Director
(831) 459-2934 - sfujioka@ucsc.edu

Sayo Fujioka has deep roots in the San Francisco and Monterey Bay Areas as well as the UCSC community, graduating with a degree in Sociology. Prior to serving as Director, Sayo managed and organized successful electoral campaigns and citywide cultural festivals in Watsonville. She was recruited to UCSC to design leadership trainings then served as a student organization advisor. Sayo attributes her love of collaborative, fast-paced environments to her ten years in the Bay Area restaurant industry, including her work as a Field Representative for the hotel and restaurant employees union.

Katherine (Kat) Canales-Molina

Associate Director
(831) 459-5645 - kcanales@ucsc.edu

Katherine grew up in Hollywood, California. As an undergraduate, she helped organize statewide conferences and film festivals while earning her B.A. in International Politics at UCSC. In 2002, Katherine was caught in a devastating earthquake while visiting El Salvador. She put her organizing talent to work and developed effective community-based disaster relief programs. Katherine returned home to serve as a mentor for low-income, first generation college students for the Upward Bound/TRIO Program at the University of Southern California.

Associate Director
(831) 459-2840 - gssmith@ucsc.edu

Griffin Smith graduated from UCSC in the spring of 2017 with a B.A. in Film & Digital Media. Before joining SOAR, he worked as both an equipment manager & a business assistant for Student Media. He is also a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society. Griffin was born & raised in Anaheim, California but has also lived in north-central Massachusetts & Sunnyvale, California before coming to Santa Cruz.

Senior Program Manager
(831) 459-4526 - amendiol@ucsc.edu

Arlan Mendiola joined SOMeCA in June 2015 as a Program Manager. He is a first generation college graduate, having earned an M.Ed. in Postsecondary Administration and Student Affairs from the USC Rossier School of Education as well as a B.S. in Molecular Biology from UCSC. Before returning to UCSC, Arlan worked in various aspects of education including college preparatory programs, career services, academic advising, and alumni engagement. His passion to serve in higher education stems from his undergraduate involvement with the Filipino and Asian/Pacific Islander communities.

Program Manager
(831) 459-1714 - cgutier9@ucsc.edu

Carmen Gutierrez grew up in a small city in Southeast Los Angeles and moved to Santa Cruz in 2012 where she pursued a degree in Ecology & Environmental Studies. As a student she was involved in the Student Environmental Center and the Student Organization Leadership Body. She was also a peer adviser at Cowell College and the SOAR office. Through her student involvement she learned the importance of finding your voice and a community that supports each other. She is excited to be back with Enviroslug to support students in their missions towards a sustainable campus and world.

Operations Coordinator
(831) 459-5391 - cijherna@ucsc.edu

Cindy Hernandez-Rivas is a College Track Scholar who grew up in Redwood City, CA. She moved to Santa Cruz to attend UCSC where she received a B.A. in Environmental and Spanish Studies. During her time at UCSC, she dove into student organizations where she learned through collaborative learning experiences and about the importance of community to strive towards representation and acheive community goals.

Operations Coordinator
(831) 459-5573 - lavong@ucsc.edu

Amanda Vong was born in Southeast Texas & raised in Southern California. As a transfer student to UCSC in 2017, she joined the SOMeCA team as an Equipment Manager, was a Producer at the Film Production Coalition, and active with other student organizations while earning her B.A. in Literature with a focus in Creative Writing in Poetry. She is a first-generation college graduate and is extremely passionate about communication, representation, media literacy, accessibility, and community.