Staff Members
Darin Gray, Ed.D
Director of the Center responsible for Center operations and logistics, Community-based STEM outreach, Center’s Inclusion - Diversity, Equity, and Access efforts, Center Data collection, and collaboration with USC faculty. Dr. Gray is a former engineer; former coordinator and teacher for Los Angeles Unified School District; and a retired IT Engineer for the California State Guard. Connect with me on LinkedIn.
Anne Areta
Program Coordinator responsible for Virtual Assisted Living and Education (VALE), NSBE Jr and African American students in the IDEA team. Project Payload Camp Director: Committed to supporting Black students pursuing academic interests in STEM through collaboration.
Mary Bonaparte-Saller, Ph.D
Associate Director of the Center responsible for leading the Center’s assessment and evaluation strategy and activities, leading the Center’s elementary level strategy and activities, and managing the BOTS Computer Science Teacher Professional Development Program and the after-school Engineering Transformer Program.
Jen Corletto, M.Ed
MESA Program Coordinator – Responsible for parent engagement and involvement activities, providing professional development for MESA school advisors and MESA social media. With over 15 years of experience in educational settings, Corletto is dedicated in the growth and support of historically underrepresented groups in STEM fields.
Allison Curry, M.Ed.
Community STEM Outreach Coordinator is responsible for developing and implementing innovative programs within communities serving young people historically underrepresented in STEM. The Coordinator provides training to undergraduate and graduate USC students to enable them to provide meaningful and authentic STEM experiences for participants. The Coordinator also hosts activities on the USC campus to provide young people historically underrepresented in STEM with opportunities to experience STEM and to foster positive relationships with STEM.
Katherine Guevara, DPPD
Assistant Director of the Center responsible for the AI Initiative, accessibile web design, events including CS Ed Week and Robotics Open House, and USC faculty STEM Broader Impacts. Katherine is passionate about education policy and access, and advocates for digital equity. She supports the inclusion of yoga and mindfulness practices in STEM.
Lauren Guzman
Associate Research Administrator responsible for providing financial and administrative support to the Center. Dedicated to giving program managers the tools and resources necessary to inspire young minds and promote educational equity.
Victor Kim, BS
Associate Director for CS@SC program responsible for programming, scheduling and logistics. Dedicated to provide an opportunity to all students who are interested in learning computer science curriculum and to partner up with communities and schools around USC.
Florencia Lee, BS
Assistant Director - CS@SC Coding Camps
Florencia is responsible for day-to-day operations, administrative work and outreach within the program. Florencia is committed to spreading interest and enjoyment in computer science to K-12 students.
Monica Lopez, M Ed.
Assistant Director of the Center - Responsible for SHINE as Program Director who manages the program's strategic design, coordination of activities, recruitment efforts, and communication strategies. She is also responsible for REACH as Program Director, who manages programs curriculum, project implementation and coordinates research lab visits. Lastly, Monica assists USC faculty to support their STEM Broader Impacts. Monica pledges to utilize an equity lens to inform all decision-making, program implementation, and procedures.
Ben Louie, M.S
MESA Director responsible for program management, California MESA Statewide initiatives leadership, management of summer engineering camp and center parent engagement and involvement activities; former program coordinator and research associate for Washington, D.C.-based national education organizations.
Alfredo Morales
Program Coordinator responsible for supporting transfer student initiatives/partnerships for MESA K-12 Center/ Center for Engineering Diversity as well as Student College Readiness and Alumni Engagement initiatives. Previously, Alfredo worked for over 10 years at UCLA in the Undergraduate Research Center and Graduate Programs in Biosciences. In both positions, Alfredo was part of units that provided professional development, financial resources, and mentoring workshops for underrepresented college students in STEM.
Eva Olivares, M.Ed
Program Coordinator for Engineering Transformers Program responsible for collaborating and designing curriculum. Peñuelas is equipped with an extensive background in versatile teachings in a TK-12 educational setting. She is a student-centric educator who incorporates technology, coding, and outdoor learning in her framework.
Published on March 10th, 2020
Last updated on April 16th, 2024