Leadership
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Mandy Bratton
Executive Director and Continuing Lecturer
Dr. Mandy Bratton serves as the Executive Director of the UC San Diego Center for Global Sustainable Development. The Center is home to the award-winning Global Ties program and the National Academy of Engineering’s (NAE) Global Changemaker Scholars Program. These programs inspire students to collaborate with communities to co-create innovative solutions to urgent adaptive challenges, such as those represented by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the NAE Grand Challenges. Mandy also serves as a Director of the UC San Diego Changemaker Institute. She is an Ashoka U Change Leader and was instrumental in making UC San Diego an Ashoka U Changemaker Campus – one of only 45 worldwide. She served as the Principal Investigator for SISTERS, a National Science Foundation-funded project to design and study the impact of an after-school STEAM program for 5th and 6th-grade girls facilitated by undergraduate mentors majoring in STEM. Before coming to UC San Diego, Mandy earned a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University of Texas at Austin and served as a senior faculty member in Psychology and Human Development and Interim Associate Dean at Prescott College for the Liberal Arts, the Environment, and Social Justice. Mandy has sailed around the world three times with the Semester at Sea Global Studies Program and serves as president emeritus of its alumni association. She holds an academic appointment as a Continuing Lecturer, and her primary interests as a scholar, teacher, practitioner, and global citizen include sustainable development, gender equality, leadership, ethics, and creating positive social and environmental change.
Current Scholars
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Sameera Agarwala
Sameera is a second-year Computer Science major with a Specialization in Bioinformatics. She is passionate about leveraging biomedical innovation and sustainable design to improve global health outcomes. As a Global Changemaker Scholar, she aims to address SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-Being) by developing affordable, sustainable healthcare solutions, recognizing that lack of access to medical technology is a major barrier to quality care. She is also dedicated to tackling the NAE Grand Challenge: Advance Health Informatics, exploring data-driven technologies that can enhance patient care, improve medical device accessibility, and ultimately reduce healthcare disparities worldwide. In the future, Sameera envisions herself at the forefront of medical device innovation, through research or industry, developing solutions that bridge healthcare disparities and improve health outcomes worldwide.
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Ian Gross
Ian has several interests regarding the Grand Challenges and the SDGs. First, he believes education is important because a knowledgeable population can better create a sustainable future. Second, he focuses on advancing health because it underpins a person's ability to act in the world. Third, he is committed to partnership, believing that cooperation is the only realistic way to achieve anything ambitious. Fourth, he believes progress requires strong institutions, as they provide structure and stability to our lives.
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Lea Guillermo
Lea Guillermo is a third-year International Business major from San Diego, CA. Inspired by the UN Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) and SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production). She aims to understand the impacts of global overconsumption while promoting sustainable economic growth, and is exploring ways to make a difference at the community level. Her goal is to research how we can develop sustainable practices that reduce our collective environmental footprint and work towards sustaining a green economy.
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Emily Illin
Emily Illin is pursuing a double major in International Studies and Economics with minors in Global Health and Environmental Engineering. She's originally from Moscow and New York and considers global citizenship a cornerstone of her values, along with her passion for global sustainable development. As a student with a multidisciplinary background, she values the intersectionality of the Sustainable Development Goals. She wants to prioritize working on SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities), 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), 16 (Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions), and 17 (Partnerships for Goals). Her focus is on finding the intersection that allows us to address those goals together, which will also promote progress in all 17 goals.
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Edrian Kabiling
Edrian is a third-year Chemical Engineering undergraduate student, interested in designing sustainable infrastructure and implementing ethical and renewable solutions. He has already taken ENG 100D, Sustainable Development Design, where he assisted the Food Recovery Network in reducing food waste and fighting food insecurity. The Food Recovery Network works to recover and minimize edible food waste and distribute food to those in need. Edrian's interests and work align best with SDGs 2 (Zero Hunger), 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), and 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production). Through the Global Changemakers Scholars Program, Edrian hopes to use his experiences in collaborative problem-solving, human-centered and sustainable development design, and interdisciplinary interactions with like-minded individuals to advance the goals.
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Jeanine Le
Jeanine is a third-year Computer Science major and is a member of the Global TIES Schoolhouse Ghana Project. She is passionate about using software development to address unique challenges, particularly in education and accessibility. Through her work with nonprofits supporting the houseless population in San Diego and her experience as an educator for the CS1 course, she has gained a deeper understanding of the critical role education plays in both academic success and navigating the world. Jeanine’s work aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals of No Poverty and Quality Education, as she strives to develop technological solutions that empower individuals and communities. -
Janice Noriega
Janice is a third-year student majoring in Cognitive Science with a Specialization in Machine Learning and Neural Computation. She is passionate about addressing the impact of biases in machine learning systems, particularly as they affect underrepresented populations. As a peer mentor, Janice works closely with students from diverse backgrounds, helping them navigate their transition to college and providing guidance along the way. Her goal is to apply her studies and mentorship experience to combat inequalities in technology and education.
Alumni Scholars
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Shruti Bhamidipati
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Albert Chang
Albert holds a BA in Mechanical Engineering from UCSD and is interested in the intersection of renewable energy, sustainable development, and social equity. He applied for the Global Changemaker Scholars Program to learn how human-centered design creates lasting and impactful projects while working alongside like-minded individuals. SDGs 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), and 13 (Climate Action) interest him because they are the pillars for sustainable and equitable population growth—meeting the energy demands of today while developing the framework for the future. Albert is pursuing a graduate degree at Carnegie Melon University. He reports that the skills developed through the program have been vital in widening his worldview as he strives to become a socially conscious engineer. -
Laura Charria
Laura graduated with a degree in Cognitive Science and is excited to apply design thinking in different areas, one of them being healthcare. She is interested in advocating and being an ambassador for health equity around the world. She advocates for mental wellness and is passionate about looking for ways to improve the physician/patient relationship. Inspired by the turn of events happening around the world right now, she plans on inspiring others to take action to advocate for issues that matter to them the most. Laura is currently a Tech Cloud Consultant with Oracle in Boston. -
Samira Feili
Samira Feili is a Bioengineering Biotechnology graduate with a minor in Design from Sixth College. The SDGs and Grand Challenges that she is inspired to address are NAE GC 5 - Engineering Better Medicines, SDG 3 - Good Health And Well Being, and NAE 14 GC 14- Engineering The Tools Of Scientific Discovery. The subjects of these challenges are connected to the career path that she intends to pursue. Samira’s research interests are in improving women's health, as this field has many disparities in the medical field, and needs to be studied more in order for research advancement, through treatments using bioengineering methods. Samira hopes to apply her engineering skills that she has developed throughout her coursework to projects that seek to address major humanitarian issues worldwide while being a Global Changemaker Scholar. -
Alexis Garcia
Alexis graduated with a degree in Chemical Engineering. He chose clean water as a focus, and in the future, he wants to work in a water treatment facility. Then, he wants to create more affordable water treatment processes to improve access for under-resourced communities. Alexis currently works as an engineering technician at Wildcat Discovery Technologies. -
Daniel John
Daniel graduated with a degree in Biotechnology with a minor in Political Science. He joined Global TIES in his first year and was a member of the Cruz Roja project. He went on to serve as an undergraduate TA in the program. Daniel is the 2023-24 recipient of the prestigious Strauss Scholarship. He founded a non-profit designed to improve refugee disparities in San Diego. Daniel is currently a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Sydney, where he is working on improving medical care in developing countries. In his free time, Daniel enjoys hiking, playing spikeball, watching sports, and reading -
Teodora Moisa
Teddy Moisa is from Irvine and graduated with a Human Biology and Business Psychology degree. As a Global Changemaker Scholar, she addressed challenge 13: climate action. While still in high school, Teddy had the opportunity to draft a bill proposal on an environmental issue relevant to her congressional district and present it to her congressional representative. She built on that work as an undergraduate researcher at UCSD's Climate Psychology and Action Lab. Teddy is currently a House Coordinator at the University of Pennsylvania and hopes to pursue a graduate degree in environmental policy and eventually become a policymaker herself. -
Dora Ogbonna
Dora Ogbonna graduated with a Chemical Engineering degree with a Chemistry minor. The Sustainable Development Goals and Grand Challenges she was interested in addressing as a GCSP scholar were SDG 4- Quality Education and NAE GC 5 - Engineer Better Medicines. These challenges relate to the areas she wants to pursue in her career. Dora is currently an MD/PhD student at UCSF. In the future, she wants to carry out research in the use of biomaterials as therapeutics or vaccines. She also aspires to teach others, as she feels that access to education is paramount. -
Trisha Satish
Trisha Satish graduated with an undergraduate degree in Bioengineering with a minor in Entrepreneurship and Innovation. She went on to earn a Master of Science degree at UCSD, also in Bioengineering. As a grad student, Trisha helped direct the Global Changemaker Scholars Program. She is passionate about addressing reduced inequality and good health and well-being, as these two goals go hand in hand and can be achieved through bioengineering. Trisha is currently a clinical research scientist with Abbott Labs.