Meet Our Staff
Naomi Chu, CARE Director
she/her/hersNaomi serves as the campus community advocate, manager, prevention coordinator, and content specialist on interpersonal and sexual violence. She is committed to approaching both prevention and advocacy work from an intersectional and community-based approach.
Naomi comes to us from California State University, Chico where she served as the Safe Place administrator overseeing advocacy services and prevention programming. Prior to Safe Place, Naomi served as the advocacy coordinator at Cal Poly Pomona. She provided direct services and oversaw a student prevention team. Previously, she worked at Safe Horizon, housed in the Family and Domestic Violence Supreme Court in Kings County, New York, working with families impacted by Domestic Violence and Intimate Partner Violence. She was also a weekend Therapeutic Supervised Visitation Clinician for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NYSPCC). Naomi is a first-generation immigrant who received her Master’s in Social Work at Columbia University, New York, and received a bachelor’s here at UCSC.
Eli Werbel, CARE Intake Coordinator
they/sheEli recently graduated from UCSC with highest honors, receiving a BA in Legal Studies with a minor in Jewish Studies. As a UCSC student, Eli served as President of the Womxn’s Rugby Club and volunteered as a domestic violence legal/hotline advocate. They dedicated their time as an undergraduate to researching students' and administrators' perceptions of their right to be protected from gender and sexual-based violence. Eli is grateful for the opportunity to continue advocating for survivors in the UCSC community, improving access to and knowledge of campus resources.
As the CARE Intake Coordinator, Eli is the first point of contact for UCSC survivors and allies accessing CARE’s advocacy and prevention resources. They also provide administrative support to assist in the daily operations of the CARE team and office.
Outside work, Eli spends their free time creating multimodal art, hiking through the redwoods, finding remote garage sales, and (most often) playing rugby!
Abbey Wise, CARE Advocate
she/her/ellaAbbey is a North Carolina native who relocated to California in 2020. She graduated with honors from the University of North Carolina Wilmington with dual bachelor's degrees in Spanish and International Studies. Abbey began her commitment to the anti-violence movement as a student employee at her alma mater’s CARE Office and built a career in community-based advocacy.
Abbey comes to UCSC from Community Solutions, where she served as a Sexual Assault Case Manager in Santa Clara County. Prior to Community Solutions, she worked at the Coalition For Family Harmony in Ventura County as their Sexual Assault Response Team Coordinator. In this role, Abbey provided direct services and served as the lead crisis advocate for her team. Abbey is passionate about empowering survivors with choices and coping skills, providing emotional support and healing resources, and eliminating systemic barriers. She is also a certified Trauma-Informed Yoga Instructor, completing her training with Transcending Sexual Trauma Through Yoga at Embody Through Yoga studio. Outside of her work at CARE, Abbey enjoys practicing yoga, rock climbing, painting, reading, traveling, and cuddling her pets, Puma (Tuxedo Cat) and Pepper (Blue Heeler).
Mira Mustafa, CARE Advocate
she/her/hersMira graduated from San Jose State University with a B.A. in Psychology. Prior to CARE, she worked with multiple community-based organizations that specialize in providing mental health services to youth and their families. Mira enjoys working with individuals of all ages, cultures, and backgrounds and appreciates the opportunity to support survivors as they navigate challenging experiences. Growing up within an immigrant family, Mira feels that it is essential to foster an individual’s unique strengths and values which is why she takes a culturally-sensitive, strength-based approach in her work with survivors. Mira is also able to provide services in both English and Arabic.
In her spare time, Mira loves to write short stories and poetry, watch rom-coms and horror movies, and spend time with friends and family (bonus points if that time is spent at the beach)!
Stefany Martinez, CARE Advocate
she/her/ellaMeet Stefany, a first-generation bilingual American born to Mexican immigrants. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Developmental Psychology from UC San Diego.
Before joining UC Santa Cruz, Stefany contributed her expertise to the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study as a Clinical Research Assistant for the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles. In this role, she collaborated closely with families and scientists to investigate how adverse childhood experiences impact brain development and social, behavioral, academic, health, and other outcomes.
Stefany's passion for community advocacy began at a young age, taking on the role of Youth Mentor at the California Family Life Center and becoming a member of the Empower Youth Council. Stefany then extended her support at C.A.S.A (Center Against Sexual Assault), where she worked closely with community partners to assist survivors and their families through a 24/7 hotline and offering emergency response services. Continuing her advocacy journey at CARE, Stefany is wholeheartedly committed to empowering survivors and their allies, assisting them in making informed decisions about their healing journey, connecting them with valuable resources, and advocating for a safer and more inclusive campus environment.
Outside of her work, Stefany is a passionate foodie who enjoys traveling and exploring new places, especially those that allow her to connect with nature. You’ll also find her celebrating and honoring her Latinx/Chicanx heritage at local and campus events!
Zack Tarro, CARE Prevention Education Coordinator
he/him/hisIn his role as Prevention Education Coordinator, Zack supports the development and facilitation of violence prevention programming, provides mentorship and supervision to CARE's peer educators, and collaborates to continually engage the UCSC campus in creating a community free from sexual and interpersonal violence. He has an interest in primary prevention strategies for creating safer communities and values meeting audiences where they are at through culturally-relevant, intersectionality-informed programming.
Prior to joining CARE, Zack was a program coordinator with a national nonprofit focused on creating safe, healthy, equitable communities through upstream public health strategies. In this role, he supported several projects in the organization's safety and wellbeing portfolio of work with audiences and grantees across California and the US. Prior to nonprofit work, Zack was a compliance liaison with an agency that worked to place nurses and other clinicians in facilities across the country. Zack earned a B.S. in Health Psychology from UC San Diego and a Master of Public Health in Community Health Education from San Francisco State University. In his free time, Zack enjoys gardening, video games, playing with his dogs, and exploring new places around Santa Cruz and the Bay with his partner.
Meg Kan, CARE Prevention Education Coordinator
they/she/heMeg is a splendiferously queer Chinese, first-generation college graduate and immigrant from Hong Kong. Serving as a Prevention Education Coordinator, they are passionate about fostering collaboration and building a culture of consent and social justice, on campus and beyond.
During her time at a nonprofit in the Stockton area, Meg worked with middle and high schoolers on topics such as restorative justice and gender equity. Meg received a Bachelor's in Feminist Studies, Cultural Anthropology, and Education from UC Santa Barbara. During her studies, Meg also worked with local K-12 students, got involved in community organizing, and served as a CARE Peer Educator. She’s ecstatic to continue her work in prevention and student empowerment in another community.
Outside of work, Meg loves rock climbing, sketching, printmaking, exploring new food spots, and reading pretty much anything…but especially poetry!
Lauryn Holmes, CARE Peer Educator
she/her
-Human Biology Major
-Rachel Carson College
-Affiliations across campus: Asian Pacific Islander Student Alliance (APISA), Wang laboratory, RCC Peer -Navigation Team
-Favorite activity in her free time: Reading.
-What Lauryn is looking forward to in her role at CARE this year: "I look forward to forging relationships (both old and new) with CARE's campus partners. I'm excited to see the work that will come out of our collaboration & hard work!"
Amber Khan, CARE Peer Educator
she/her
-Politics and Legal Studies Double Major
-College Nine
-Affiliations across campus: Climate Coalition
-Favorite activities in her free time: Climbing, drawing, and painting.
-What Amber is looking forward to in her role at CARE this year: "I am most looking forward to expanding upon and furthering projects that I started during my previous year at CARE!"
Jezebel McCarthy, CARE Peer Educator
she/her
-Sociology Major, History Minor
-John R. Lewis College
-Affiliations across campus: Philosophical Slug Society
-Favorite activities in her free time: Poetry and songwriting.
-What Jezebel is looking forward to in her role at CARE this year: "I'm most looking forward to collaborating with other passionate educators, and using our creativity to plan events that truly resonate with and benefit our peers on campus."
Angeles (Michi) Perea, CARE Peer Educator
she/they
-Sociology & Critical Race and Ethnic Studies
-Oakes College
-Favorite activities in their free time: Playing classical guitar, bass guitar, cuddling my cat, drawing and riding the bike.
-What Angeles is looking forward to in her role at CARE this year: "This year I'm looking forward to meeting new people in CARE. I am excited to be part of a community that values other people’s lives and to be taking part in valuing"
Victoria Yerena, CARE Peer Educator
she/her
-Politics & Critical Race and Ethnic Studies
-Oakes College
-Affiliations across campus: "I don't currently have any other campus affiliations, but I'm looking forward to making some this year!"
-Favorite activities in her free time: Cooking, building Legos, going on car rides, and playing board games.
-What Victoria is looking forward to in her role at CARE this year: "I genuinely care for each of my peers so I look forward to being someone they feel safe sharing their thoughts, feelings, questions, and experiences with."
Amy Wong, Community Support CUIP
she/her
-Psychology
-College Nine
-Affiliations across campus: Cruz Ctrl (Open style dance team based at UCSC)
-Favorite activities in her free time: Reading and listening to music (specifically Mitski).
-What Amy is most looking forward to in her role at CARE this year: "I am most excited to make a true difference at UCSC, and leave a positive impact for students all across campus. With CARE I feel as though I have come full circle, and along the way I have gained a new perspective that I can further explore in this role."
Jenny Cortez, Prevention Education CUIP
she/her
-Legal Studies, hoping to double major in Community Studies
-Rachel Carson College, but an RA at Merrill College this year!
-Affiliations across campus: Volunteer at the COVE, and a part of UCSC Trading Post and Slugs in Fishnets.
-Favorite activities in her free time: Watching favorite shows, journaling, meditating, and reading tarot cards.
-What Jenny is most looking forward to in her role at CARE this year: "This year I am looking forward to learning from my team and being part of a strong loving community at CARE."
Coco Reed, Creative Engagement Specialist
she/her
-Art Major, Film & Digital Media Minor
-Porter College
-Affiliations across campus: Chinquapin Literary Magazine
-Favorite activities in her free time: Drawing & Making things, Watching Movies, and Listening to Loud Music
-What Coco is most looking forward to in her role at CARE this year: "I'm looking forward to being able to help publicize CARE's events and resources, and joining a team devoted to creating safe and welcoming spaces and caring for the community around us!"
Katrina Aquino, Creative Engagement Specialist
she/her/hers
-Biology B.S.
-Favorite activities in her free time: Recording and editing videos, reading, arts & crafts, and spending time with my loved ones!
-What Katrina is most looking forward to in her role at CARE this year: "Creating visually appealing information so more people can utilize our resources!"
Prevention Education Peer Educators
CUIPs
Creative Engagement Specialists
