Meet the DREAM Center Staff
Student Staff
Allie Jeronimo
Marketing Coordinator
4th year, Anthropology and Criminology, Law and Society Double Major
Bucket List: Do a Color Run and see the Northern Lights
Favorite Holiday: Halloween. There is so much history behind Halloween, plus all the fun music, and candy.
Elisabet Barrios Mateo
Graduate Fellow
2nd year, Sociology Doctoral Student
Bucket List: Ride a hot air balloon and visit Japan.
Favorite Holiday: Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Due to its historical significance and because it grants me a 3 day weekend close to my birthday.
Luis Moreno
2nd year, Undeclared
Bucket List: Learn to swim
Favorite Holiday: My favorite holiday is Halloween because I can be whoever I want for a day.
Luis Fuentes
Assistant Program Coordinator
4th year, Education Major
Bucket List: To travel the world and talk to different people.
Favorite Holiday: My favorite holiday is Christmas because of the food and my family coming together.
Marco Ortiz Sanchez
3rd year, Business Administration Major- Emphasis in Finance, Digital Information Systems Minor
Bucket List: Go skydiving
Favorite Holiday: My favorite holiday is Thanksgiving because of all the food and then Black Friday.
Scholars in Residence: Graduate Mentors
Martha Morales Hernandez
3rd year Sociology PhD Student (main research areas are in mental health and immigration)
Bucket List: I want to see Frank Ocean live. I want to open my own coffee shop.
Joseph Christian Labagnao Ligunas
2nd year, Comparative Literature (main research area would be Philippine Literature and Film)
Bucket List: Living my truth, so: Meet Mariah Carey and open a bed and breakfast inn.
Favorite Holiday: Probably Thanksgiving because (1) tons of delicious food and (2) it means I can listen to cheesy Christmas music without being judged too much.
L. Diana Carreño
2nd year Pharmaceutical Sciences PhD Student
Bucket List: I would love to complete a 100-mile trail running race.
Favorite Holiday:Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday because I get to spend time with my familia.
Barbara Martinez Neda
1st year Computer Science PhD Student
Jose Mendez
1st year Education PhD Student
Professional Staff
Angela Chuan-Ru Chen, Ph.D.
Interim Director
angelacc@uci.edu | (949) 824-6390
Having been undocumented herself for 16 years, her experiences as an undocumented student throughout her undergraduate career has been an influence for her passion to support the undocumented student community. Angela most recently worked as the Director of the Undocumented Student Program at UCLA which served over 500 undocumented students, launched new programming, and built resources across campus departments to better serve undocumented students.
Additionally, Angela's institutional advocacy includes leading University of California system-wide efforts to increase awareness about policies that impact undocumented students and guiding universities across the nation to develop support programs for undocumented youth. Moreover, Angela also completed academic training in UCLA's Graduate School of Education.
Yadira K. Hernandez
Program Coordinator
Yadira is a native of Puebla, Mexico. Since she immigrated to the U.S. at the age of 15, she has advocated for undocumented immigrant rights in higher education and the community. She has managed and organized anti-deportation campaigns supporting families impacted by incarceration and deportation in Nevada and California. Previous to her current appointment, Yadira worked as the Undocumented Student Program Coordinator at UCLA, where she supported undocumented students and their families. To extend the support to undocumented individuals after graduation, she founded the first of its kind, Undocumented Alumni Association of UCLA, where she advocates and provides professional and career opportunities to undocumented alumni. She aspires to become an immigration lawyer to combat racial inequality and offer legal services to the immigrant community who are unable to afford an attorney. She is excited to work at the UCI family and support the undocumented student community and their families.
Laura Enriquez, Ph.D.
Faculty in Residence
Dr. Laura E. Enriquez holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of California, Los Angeles. She earned her undergraduate degree in Sociology and History from Pomona College. During her time there she began working closely with undocumented immigrant students. Building on this work, she has researched, presented, and published on a range of issues related to the educational, economic, political, and social experiences of undocumented young adults who immigrated to the United States as children. She has published multiple articles on the complex role that immigration status plays in the everyday lives of undocumented young adults. Currently she is working on a book manuscript tentatively titled, Of Love and Papers: Forming Families in the Shadows of Immigration Policy.
She is faculty chair of UCI’s Committee for Equity and Inclusion of Undocumented Students and currently serves as the faculty advisor for UCI’s Marco A. Firebaugh House, an on-campus housing community for undocumented students and allies.