JOB TITLE: Basic Needs Center Director

Kiyoko Thomas (she/they) is the Basic Needs Center Director at UC Berkeley where she has worked for the past 5 years. Her journey has always guided her towards work that is rooted in justice, transformation and healing. Improving the health outcomes of individuals and communities by way of building relationships is at the core of her value system and is what brought her to UC Berkeley where she has worked to expand the infrastructure of basic needs services from a holistic and equitable perspective. Prior to her role at UC Berkeley, Kiyoko worked in the mental health field for 12 years and is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. Her journey includes working as a clinician and program leader for mental health programs in Northern California. Most recently, Kiyoko was the program director for an adolescent crisis stabilization unit.

JOB TITLE: Director of Women's Resources, Sexual Harassment/Assault Resources, Gender Equity Resource Center

christine (cici) ambrosio (she/they) is a Cal alum and current graduate student at UC Davis. Over the past 20+ years, she has worked as the Director of Women*s Resources focusing on initiatives that increase inclusion and visibility of women and other marginalized genders at UC Berkeley.

*We welcome all who experience life through the lens of woman in body, spirit, identity - past, present, future, and fluid.  

During their time on campus, cici has been a self-defense instructor and oversees Cal Self-Defense for All. Over the years, cici has collaboratively to plan successful Sexual Assault and Relationship Violence Awareness weeks, the longstanding Empowering Women of Color Conference (EWOCC) and Our Monologues.  Before the campus PATH to Care Center was created, she led efforts to educate the campus on sexual violence, including being part of the Systemwide efforts through the Office of Violence against Women grant. 

cici began her career in the UC system as a student worker in the Doe Library.  Later, she worked as a student coordinator for the Immigrant Student Program (ISP) and a front desk clerk in Student Activities and Services.  In addition, she was very involved in the campus Pilipino community - in groups like Pilipino American Alliance (PAA) and contributing to maganda magazine.  She immersed herself in Tagalog classes and participated as a Fulbright Scholar for the Advanced Filipino Abroad Program.  All these experiences have inspired them to work in higher education as a way of give back to the community by helping students who may feel lost in a large institution like Berkeley.  After finishing her B.A. in Art Practice, cici took a position at the Office of Student Conduct.  Later, she finished her Education Masters in Arts in Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.  After graduation, cici worked briefly as a professor’s assistant at UCLA’s Department of Gerontology before returning to Berkeley.  

cici has continued to be involved in the community as a former runner for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, a coach for the Runbutans (fundraising effort for the Manilatown Heritage Foundation to rebuild the International Hotel housing for seniors) and the SLC Sole Team (fundraising effort for the Student Learning Center), and serves on the board of the Prytanean Alumnae, Inc.  

Outside of work, cici enjoys exploring grocery stores, sleeping, and has a deep appreciation for a variety of boba drinks and milk tea.

JOB TITLE: Graduate Student Worker, PhD Candidate, Environmental Science, Policy, and Management and President, Graduate Assembly. Lucy is the co-chair of the Chancellor’s Independent Advisory Board on Police Accountability and Community Safety.

I’m fascinated by water resource management in the face of scarcity, climate change, and increasing demands for freshwater. To that end, I study dam reoperation, environmental flows, and scientifically-informed comprise in California water management. I aim to center environmental justice and cross-disciplinary methods in my research while involving diverse collaborators in the planning, practice, and dissemination of my science.

I am also a water loss control specialist, and I support municipal water efficiency efforts in California, Wisconsin, Texas, and Washington. I have a degree in geology from Macalester College, and I spend my free time running long distances and engaging in racial justice projects.

interpreting/CART captioning, alternative media formats, etc.) to fully

participate in this event and with resources, please contact Mariana at

Mariana.Matthews@berkeley.edu

 

Our campus extends to areas of xučyun that held a tuppentak (a traditional roundhouse), a place of celebration and ceremony, as well as a shellmound, traditional Ohlone burial sites. So as we view Berkeley as a special place, we were not the first to recognize, make our lives in, or celebrate the unique and exceptional place that we have the privilege to stand on.

Source: https://cejce.berkeley.edu/ohloneland

JOB TITLE:  Director of Social Services, University Health Services

"Tobirus M. Newby is a licensed clinical social worker and is the director of the Social Services unit at University Health Services. Over the past 20 years he has worked in the field of trauma & violence prevention and intervention by supporting the healing journeys of survivors and by fostering accountability and change with those who have caused harm in their relationships. This work has focused specifically on supporting education and empowerment within marginalized and underserved communities. In addition, Tobirus is an adjunct faculty member with the University of San Francisco’s Counseling Psychology Department. In his private practice, he provides life coaching and organizational equity and inclusion consultation. A quote that guides his life and his practice comes from James Baldwin: “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.”

Clinical Interests: Alcohol and other drugs counseling, domestic violence and sexual assault intervention, sexual health risk reduction, LGBTQ issues, trauma counseling, decolonization in mental health, spirituality, intersectionality, and multiculturalism.