DEI Committee
The CAHNRS Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee seeks proposals for its inaugural DEI Mini Grants. Learn more about the proposal criteria.
Luz María Gordillo (She/Her)
Assistant Dean of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusive Excellence
Dr. Luz María Gordillo is Assistant Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusive Excellence in the College of Agriculture, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences (CAHNRS), Associate Professor of History, and Campus Director of Faculty Equity and Outreach at Washington State University Vancouver. Gordillo joined WSU Vancouver in 2005. Gordillo’s first book Engendering Transnational Ties: Mexican Women and the Other Side of Immigration, garnered the ALLA book award in 2011. In 2013, Dr. Gordillo co-directed and co-produced the film entitled Antonia: A Chicana Story. She is currently working on her monograph entitled Patients, Philanthropists, and Fieldworkers: The Hidden History of Women and Eugenics.
Dr. Gordillo is a fan of SciFi and the Speculative Arts, enjoys eating food from different cuisines, and admits having difficulty saying no to chocolate.
Sapinder Bali (She/Her)
Research Associate, Department of Plant Pathology
Sapinder Bali is a Research Associate in the Department of Plant Pathology. She studies nematodes, soilborne pathogens of potato prevalent in the Pacific Northwest. She was born and raised in India and holds a PhD in Plant Molecular Biology from University of Delhi, India. Prior to joining Washington State University, she worked with Oregon State University. She is a first-generation researcher with a PhD and credits it to having an exceptionally supportive family. Sapinder likes to cook traditional Indian food and watch true crime shows in her leisure time.
Nancy Deringer (She/Her)
Associate Dean Of CAHNRS Student Success and Academic Programs
Dr. Nancy Deringer is the Interim Associate Dean for Student Success and Academic Programs. Prior she was the State Director for the Washington 4-H Youth Development Program, an Associate Professor and Principal Investigator for the USDA-NIFA Federally Recognized Tribes Extension Program (FRTEP) – Kalispel Tribe; and PI for the USDA-NIFA Children, Youth, Families At-Risk (CYFAR) Dive4TECH – Juntos 4-H program at Washington State University. Nancy was a national USDA-NIFA CYFAR Coach for five years, and also the statewide evaluator for the University of Idaho’s CYFAR 4-H Afterschool program for four years. Previous to her role at Washington State University, Nancy was tenured academic faculty at the University of Idaho’s School of Family and Consumer Sciences for ten years; and prior to this, Associate Director for the Center on Disabilities and Human Development (CDHD) for ten years. The CDHD is a University Center on Excellence for Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD), funded by the US Department of Health and Human Services.
Nancy’s focus is reaching and engaging underrepresented youth and families through innovative programming. She has acquired over $14M in grants and contracts from foundation, state, and federal sources. Nancy’s research area of interest is examining family socialization and financial literacy among youth and young adults especially those who are first generation and/or from underrepresented groups.
Ashley Gardipe (She/Her)
Administrative Assistant, CAHNRS Alumni & Development
Ashley Gardipe is the Administrative Assistant for the Alumni & Development department at Washington State University in the College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences (CAHNRS). Ashley is a first-generation college graduate and earned her degree in Animal Science Management from WSU in 2015. Ashley currently specializes in office management, gift processing, stewardship, and supporting the college’s fundraisers. In her personal time, she is a wine enthusiast, freelance photographer, network marketing professional and tries to live her life with Ubuntu. She is committed to cultivating a diverse, equitable, inclusive, and safe environment for all people.
Clara Hill (She/Her)
Research Coordinator, IMPACT Lab
Clara is a research coordinator in the IMPACT lab in the Department of Human Development, on the Pullman campus. She coordinates multiple research and evaluation grants and contracts projects relating to substance use prevention and health promotion, and has additional research interests in early childhood development and wellbeing. Her undergraduate degrees are in English Literature and Psychology, and she has a Master’s degree in Public Health. Her passions include travel, spending time with her family, playing outside, and reading.
Anand (Ani) Jayakaran (He/Him)
Professor, WSU Extension
Ani Jayakaran (he/him) is a Professor with Washington State University Extension. He works on disseminating strategies to manage water resources using Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI) and improving current engineering designs using ecological engineering principles. Ani holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Civil Engineering and a doctoral degree in Agricultural & Biological Engineering. He grew up in India and Africa, loves to spend time with family and pets, to play and listen to music, and to travel.
Chantal Krystiniak (She/Her)
Coordinator, 4-H Extension Coordinator
Chantal is the 4-H Program Coordinator in Clark County and has been with Extension since 2019. She provides leadership for the 4-H Youth Development Program and efforts serving youth outside of the 4-H club system, specifically youth involved in the criminal punishment system and underserved populations. Chantal holds a bachelor’s degree in Child and Family Development and a master’s degree in Educational Leadership and Policy, specializing in Leadership for Sustainability Education.
Chantal founded the Clark County Extension DEI Committee in June 2020. In collaboration with representatives from all Extension programs in Clark County, Chantal and the DEI Committee have expanded Extension programming to serve diverse populations, allocated resources to offer educational materials in multiple languages, implemented equitable hiring practices, and formed relationships with multicultural, community-serving organizations.
Chakradhar Mattupalli (He/Him)
Assistant Professor, Department of Plant Pathology
Chakradhar Mattupalli is a faculty member in the Department of Plant Pathology. After receiving a BS in Agriculture and an MS in Horticulture, he gained experience in agricultural finance while working in the banking industry in India. This position involved daily interactions with growers who provided firsthand experiences of the economic impact of plant diseases. This prompted him to pursue a PhD in plant pathology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Currently at WSU Mount Vernon Northwestern Washington Research and Extension Center, he works on diseases of potato and blueberry crops.
Martin Maquivar (He/Him)
Associate Professor, Department of Animal Science
Dr. Martin G Maquivar is a faculty member in the Department of Animal Sciences at Washington State University. Martin teaches various undergraduate courses at WSU and conducts undergraduate research in addition to study abroad programs and he works with extension agents conducting trainings to stakeholders in Spanish. His research interest is in ruminant reproductive management as well in practical aspects of animal welfare.
Martin is originally from Mexico City, Mexico, where he graduated from Veterinary Medicine school at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), later he specialized in cattle medicine, and he got a master’s degree in nutrition and reproduction of ruminants at UNAM. He obtained his PhD from The Ohio State University before moving to Colorado to work on his post-doctorate research fellowship before arriving to WSU in 2013.
Jen Moss (She/Her)
Coordinator Specialist, Snap-Ed Extension
Jen is dedicated to reducing health inequities through nutrition education and support of policies and practices that promote healthy lifestyles and well-being for under-resourced individuals and families.
Through her work as an Implementing Agency Lead for the WSU Extension SNAP-Ed Program Manager, Jen coordinates activities that increase access to healthy foods, improve knowledge and skills to prepare those foods, and encourage physical activity. This work includes collaboration with a network of community partners to maximize impact and improve the health of the community overall. Jen also serves as Co-chair of the City of Seattle’s Sweetened Beverage Tax Community Advisory Board, assisting with making recommendations that ensure revenue from this ordinance is invested in the communities most impacted by health and economic inequities. Jen studied nutrition at Bastyr University and is a Registered Dietitian.
Kat Odell (She/Her)
Manager, CAHNRS Operations
Kat Odell has worked for WSU since the fall of 1990. She moved to CAHNRS in 2017. Kat’s word of the moment is arbejdsglæde – a Danish word meaning happiness at work – which she experiences in her current role with CAHNRS Operations. Kat’s primary area of focus is handling the Real Property process for the college, including the Land Legacy Endowment Farms. She also assists with the CAHNRS Safety program and is the CAHNRS Risk Management liaison. When not at work, Kat enjoys reading, traveling, and sharing time with her family and friends.
Rae Olsson (They/Them)
Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Entomology
Rae is a postdoctoral researcher in the entomology department. They have been studying pollinators since 2012 in undergrad, they focused on wild pollinators on the Palouse during their Ph.D. and now study honey bee health throughout the western United States. CAHNRS is a perfect fit because Rae is in love with the agriculture of Washington State and they love connecting with the growers here. They are a joyful member of the LGBTQ+ community and love spending their time reading about bees, playing with their four dogs, knitting sweaters for themselves and hats for their loved ones, and working out.
Bernardita Sallato Carmona (She/Her)
Regional Specialist E-2, Prosser R&E Extension
Bernardita Sallato Carmona became a WSU Regional Extension Specialist in 2018, two years after immigrating from Chile, her home country. Her work focusses on helping growers to improve efficiencies and quality in tree fruit production systems, emphasizing sustainable practices on soils and plant nutrition. She works towards broadening education opportunities for underrepresented communities.
Christina Sanders (She/Her)
Director, Division of Governmental Studies and Services
Christina Sanders is the Director of the WSU’s Division of Governmental Studies and Services (DGSS) and the Office of Emergency Management. She has been with DGSS since 2004 and her office is currently co-located with the offices of the Washington State Patrol in Olympia. Christina has a BS in Political Science and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the University of Idaho, her areas of expertise include working collaboratively with state and local government entities, interpreting policies, codes and data for report publication and working with agency representatives to initiate and negotiate contracts.
Christina also has experience in facilitation and has worked extensively with public safety entities on a variety of projects. Christina is passionate about social justice, DEI issues, and her family. When she isn’t working Christina enjoys gardening and kayaking.
Manal Shaheen (She/Her)
Lecturer, Apparel Merch Design and Textile
A Lecturer in AMDT (Apparel, Merchandising, Design & Textiles) at WSU. Manal received her M.S. Art in Apparel, Merchandising, Design & Textiles, Washington State University in 2015. B.S. Home Economics Department of Clothing and Textiles, College of Home Economics, El-Menoufiya University, Egypt.
She teaches Draping and fitting, Multicultural perspectives on the body and dress, Historic costume, Basic and advanced Apparel Assembly. Her research interests are Hijab and the expression of Muslim religious identity in the western societies, Apparel design analysis. Manal also develop an Arabic program of two years in 2015 and taught Arabic levels 1 & 2 in Foreign Languages department at WSU. She can be contacted at manal.shaheen@wsu.edu.
Tarah Sullivan (She/Her)
Associate Professor, Department of Crop and Soil Sciences
Dr. Sullivan is currently an Associate Professor of Soil Microbiology in the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences on the Pullman campus, where she teaches and conducts research into soil biogeochemistry, soil-plant-microbe interactions, and soil health. She is a member of CEREO and the Center for Native American Research and Collaborations and is working to establish a Committee for DEI in the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, as well.
Carolina Torres (She/Her)
Associate Professor and Endowed Chair, Wenatchee TFREC
Associate Professor and Endowed Chair in Tree Fruit Postharvest Systems at Washington State University-Wenatchee TFREC. Experience in postharvest research focused on apples and pears, addressing issues such as how the environment affects fruit quality before and after harvest, physiological disorder’s development and assessment and development of new technologies. More than 20 years of experience doing research, teaching, leading research groups, and working with the fruit industry. I really enjoy working with people from different backgrounds and cultures. I love spending time with my family and friends, especially in barbecues and tennis-related activities.
Harmony Varner (She/Her)
Graduate Student, Department of Crop and Soil Sciences
Harmony is a graduate student in the Department of Crops and Soils, where she is pursuing a master’s degree in soil science. She also received her bachelor’s in organic and sustainable agriculture from WSU. Harmony is passionate about creating a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive academic environment that not only accepts but celebrates people of diverse backgrounds, abilities, and experiences. She is excited to contribute to this initiative within CAHNRS and the wider WSU community.
Alison White (She/Her)
Associate Professor, 4-H Youth Development
Alison’s program and research areas include (1) youth empowerment, (2) youth health promotion, (3) diversity, equity, and inclusion, and (4) organizational change. As WSU Extension faculty, Alison prioritizes community-based programming tailored to local needs with a primary focus on Yakima and Kittitas counties. She enjoys creating and facilitating programming that explores art, design, biology, and ecology through lens of equity aimed at real-world issues to empower youth in learning about themselves and the world around them. Alison serves as co-chair of the National 4-H LGBTQ+ Youth & Community Champion Group, co-lead of the National Extension LGBTQIA+ Affinity Group, chair of the WA State 4-H Equity & Inclusion Committee, and faculty advisor to the WA State 4-H Teen Equity & Inclusion Task Force.
Georgine Yorgey (She/Her)
Associate Director, CSANR
Georgine Yorgey is the Associate Director of WSU’s Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources, where she has worked since 2009. She leads the Center’s efforts around recovery of organic wastes, including work on dairy-derived nutrients, biochar, and compost. She also co-leads efforts relating to climate change, water, and agriculture. Georgine grew up in Oregon, where early exposure to vegetable and small fruit breeding convinced her that she wanted to work on issues related to agriculture and sustainability. She earned a Bachelor of Arts with High Honors from Swarthmore College in 1999 (major in Biology, minor in Sociology & Anthropology), and a Master of Public Administration from University of Washington in 2008.