
Social Justice & Community
-

Alumna named to Inc.’s Female Founders 500 List
Cassi Janakos recognized for leading workplace lactation solutions
-

Music meets motherhood in inspiring performance
Stephanie F. Valadez blended together her latin heritage with her experience in motherhood to compose a concert that embodies who she is.
-

Reviving Indigenous languages: $600,000 grant honors the linguistic tapestry of Oaxacan immigrants in California
The new cohort of THI Oaxacan Language Public Fellows will develop an exhibition in collaboration with and under the layered mentorship of library professionals, museum professionals, local transnational Indigenous activists and scholars, and academic faculty.
-

Celebrated trans author Jennifer Finney Boylan visits during a critical moment
Bestselling author Jennifer Finney Boylan, one of the nation’s most influential and recognizable advocates for trans rights, is currently serving as scholar-in-residence at UC Santa Cruz during a fraught time for both trans rights and the humanities.
-

Research Corporation for Science Advancement honors Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz
Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz has been named a recipient of the Research Corporation for Science Advancement’s (RCSA) Robert Holland Jr. Award, which honors outstanding contributions to research, leadership, and mentorship in the sciences.
-

Jose Ramirez is helping one UC at a time
The University of California, Santa Cruz Arts Division is putting its mission into action with Art Matters, an upcoming event in Los Angeles that underscores the transformative power of the arts. The evening will bring together a dynamic mix of alumni, faculty, and supporters, including acclaimed Chicano artist José Ramírez.
-

AI chatbots perpetuate biases when performing empathy, study finds
A new study explores how GPT-4o, the latest model from OpenAI, evaluates and performs empathy compared to humans, and finds major gaps exist.
-

A legacy of hope and healing
Barrios Unidos Founder and UCSC alumnus Daniel “Nane” Alejandrez is a pillar of activism and champion of nonviolence in Santa Cruz County
-

Building a better Santa Cruz: UCSC alumna Susan True shapes community philanthropy
As the CEO of Community Foundation Santa Cruz County and UCSC Foundation board member, Susan True cultivates transformative change
-

Prominent trans rights advocate and bestselling author Jennifer Finney Boylan will deliver Peggy Downes Baskin Ethics Lecture
Jennifer Finney Boylan, a celebrated author, LGBTQ+ advocate, and prominent voice in the transgender rights movement, will invoke the spirit of American aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart during her Peggy Downes Baskin Ethics Lecture on Tuesday, March 4. Boylan is currently Scholar In Residence at The Humanities Institute at UC Santa Cruz.
-

Tools and training combat health impacts on farmworkers that are worsened by climate change
A UC Santa Cruz-led project has launched a new bilingual app allowing the public to assess and anonymously report climate-related health risks in agricultural communities statewide. Over 50 newly trained community health advisers will use the app and other tools to teach farmworkers about health risks worsened by climate change and the remedies available through…
-

Rooted in community
Alumna Dora Maria Beyer (Merrill ’09, Latin American & Latino studies, politics) was recently named one of Silicon Valley Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 for her work assisting low-income communities as director of community development with Excite Credit Union.