Staff

Vicente Angel Saavedra (they/he)

Community Resilience Associate

Vicente is a current 4th year first generation chicanx student from Yuba CIty, California majoring in Sustainable Environmental Design and minoring in Data Science. Their background is shaped by their experiences living in Northern California and having immigrant farmworker parents. As well as gaining influence from their grandma’s indigenous Purépecha roots from Mexico. Vicente is grateful to be part of SERC and be able to fulfill its mission to provide a community for BIPOC environmentalists on campus to strive and support. On their free time they try to read a new book,...

Natalie Sanchez (she/her)

Watershed Waste Research Associate

Natalie is a fourth-year Environmental Economics & Policy and Conservation and Resource Studies major. Natalie serves as a Waste Watershed Research Associate, connecting her passions for ecological restoration and environemntal, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives. Throughout her SERC experience, she has co-supervised SPUR’s Zero Waste Lab, collecting GIS data along Strawberry Creek for litter mitigation and conducting community clean-ups. She also consults with local governments in Richmond, Pinole, San Pablo, and Berkeley to reduce high concentrations of...

Ty Shelton (they/them)

Executive Assistant

Ty is a fourth year Conservation and Resource Studies major studying Agricultural Policy. They began working with SERC as a member at the beginning of SP22, since the end of that semester, they’ve been working as a student staff member. Previously, they’ve been involved with the Berkeley Student Cooperative as Sustainability Coordinator and with the Berkeley Student Food Collective as Data Democratization Associate. They are passionate about Queering our idea of nature and creating a world that is interconnected and intersectional. In their free time, they enjoy smelling...

Michelle Soto (She/Her)

Environmental Justice Associate

Michelle Soto (she/her) is a fourth-year undergrad student studying Environmental Economics and Policy with a minor in Data Science. She comes from San Diego, CA and her passions lie in the intersections of environmental justice with regional policies and sustainability initiatives. In addition to SERC, she is involved with other student groups such as ReUse and the Chicanx Architecture Student Association (CASA), and enjoys hearing voices of those inside and outside the environmental space. In her free time, she loves trying new sweets, going to...

Kaitlyn Tran (They/them)

TGIF Grant Strategist

Kaitlyn (they/them) is a senior majoring in Urban Studies and Political Science and minoring in Public Policy. In their free time, they like to do pottery, design printing projects, and take long walks to the grocery store. Kaitlyn is from San Jose, California and the stark inequalities in the city prompted them to study urban development and how issues like the environment, transportation, housing, and education intersect to affect connectivity and equitable outcomes for communities. On campus, they are also involved in the bridges Multicultural...

Trisha Venkatesh (she/her)

TGIF Program Associate

Trisha (she/her) is a senior majoring in Environmental Sciences with a minor in Data Science. She grew up moving back and forth between San Jose, California and Bangalore, India, and is interested in working at the intersection of natural resource management, government affairs, and data science to build stable frameworks for sustainable development, conservation, and climate change, with a focus on international development. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, meeting new people, visiting museums, and exploring the outdoors. She’s excited to contribute to TGIF and the...

Alina Zarate (she/her/ella)

Climate Equity Fellow

Alina Zárate (she/her/ella) is a first year PhD student in the Energy and Resources Group from San Gabriel, CA. She recently graduated from UC Berkeley receiving a B.S. in Environmental Sciences, a B.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies, and a minor in Spanish Language and Literature. As an undergraduate, Alina worked in the California Central Valley as an intern for the United Farm Workers of America and served as the coordinator of a Vaccine Equity Campaign in the Bay Area during the COVID pandemic. Alina has had the unique opportunity to study and conduct research in Spain,...