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. 

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) 459-3960 - nramir23@ucsc.edu

Nelson Ramirez was born and raised in Santa Cruz, California. During his undergraduate career he studied Cognitive Science at UCSC with an emphasis on Artificial Intelligence. 

While studying, he was also involved in Engaging Education’s (E2) ChALE retention program for 4 years where he learned about student organizing and what it means to be a student leader. He was a writing tutor for the Writing Center and used those skills in E2’s summer program, JUSTICE, as a writing mentor for 2 summers. As a fourth year he became a leader in ChALE and also helped revitalize MEChA. As a MEChA leader, he served as a Student Union Governance Board representative to support decision making for student governed spaces on campus. He volunteered for many different events for E2 and SOMeCA throughout his time as a student.

Some of his favorite pastimes include going on walks, thrifting, video game collecting and photography.

Program Organizer

(831) 459-1743 - jmjoson@ucsc.edu

Jeremiah Joson was born and raised in Sacramento, California. Moving to Santa Cruz in Fall 2019, Jeremiah graduated from UC Santa Cruz in 2023 with a B.A. in Sociology. 

During his time as a student, he was involved in the Asian/Pacific Islander Student Alliance - otherwise known as APISA. From his involvement with APISA, he was introduced to the engaging education space through the Community Unified Student Network (CUSN), serving as the lead Retention Coordinator. In his 4th year, he served as the Motivation Conference coordinator for Student-Initiated Outreach (SIO), dedicated to serving Southeast Asian and Pacific Islander students inside and outside of the University! 

As Program Organizer, he aims to uphold e2’s legacy and aid in the growth of e2 as a space for students, by students. Some of his favorite pastimes include playing basketball, skating, and video games!

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.