Heeya Firdaus

Heeya (she/her/hers) is a junior double-majoring in Political Science and Communications.  At UCLA, she has been involved in the USAC Office of the President and the Internal Vice President while also working as the Vice President of Campus Relations for Alpha Gamma Delta.  Heeya currently serves on the Political Science Undergraduate Council as the Director of Scholarly Engagement and the Editor-in-Chief of the Political Science Undergraduate Journal.  Additionally, she served as the Director of Marketing for Henna with a Heart and The Bruin Policy Institute, communities that have helped shape her college experience!

Throughout her time at UCLA, Heeya has had the privilege of being able to cultivate her passion for student advocacy and community care through involvement in student leadership as well as her lived-in experiences as an international student from India.  She is excited to use her platform to uplift Bruin voices by prioritizing transparency, representativeness, and accountability in her role.

Tiara Weedagama

Tiara Weedagama (she/her) is a third-year Sociology major with a minor in Film, Television, and Digital Media.  Tiara has worked as an ASUCLA employee with the Human Resources department for two years, where she engaged daily with fellow student employees and managers.  She aspires to leverage her first-hand experience as an employee to advocate for the interests of student employees.  She has also served as a student representative on the Faculty Executive Committee on the Academic Senate, where she participated in and contributed the student perspective to discussions concerning new majors and minors, cluster courses, and other academic matters.  Beyond her USAC and ASUCLA involvements, she is a Sociology Student Leadership Council member.

Tiara looks forward to utilizing her involvement with ASUCLA, USAC, and on-campus activities to serve as a resource for the student body, providing support while fostering a strong relationship between the Board of Directors and students.

Evan Sang

Evan Sang (he/him) is a current second-year Statistics and Data Science and Computational and Systems Biology double major.  At UCLA, Evan organizes with the Student Labor Advocacy Project (SLAP) and Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP).  He also serves on the Physical Sciences Student Advisory Board on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, with a goal to improve access to the physical sciences for historically underrepresented groups.  Evan has also worked at the UCLA Store for the last two years as a student supervisor and conducts research on cell quiescence and cancer remission with the Coller Lab.

With his experiences as a researcher, student supervisor, and organizer, Evan aims to serve as a bridge between ASUCLA and broader community voices.  He hopes to maintain an ASUCLA that upholds values of equity, transparency, and social and cultural responsibility, as well as create friendly and accessible environments that serve the needs of everyone at UCLA.

Jackson Fletcher

Jackson Fletcher (pronouns she/her) is a 4th year Ph.D. student in Electrical & Computer Engineering at UCLA Samueli, where she is working on terahertz science and quantum sensing.

With a B.S. in Physics from Hampton University and an M.S. in Electrical & Computer Engineering from UCLA, Jackson is an advocate for diversity and inclusion in STEM education. At UCLA, she has been involved with minoritized student populations through her roles at the Center for Excellence in Engineering and Diversity (CEED) Department, Women in Engineering (WE@UCLA), and as the Black Bruin Resource Center Lead Graduate Programmer. She managed undergraduate student staff in these positions, spearheaded large-scale student-facing initiatives, and collaborated with student organizations on programmatic events. Outside of her academic pursuits, Jackson channels her creativity and passion for education into producing an animated series titled "Action Jackson," aimed at making Physics engaging and accessible through bite-sized shorts. 

Her commitment to making a difference extends beyond the classroom. During her first year on the Board of Directors, she piloted the EMBRACE Referendum as Ad Hoc Committee chair. This initiative aimed to increase spaces and resources for all Bruins and enhance enrollment in CalFresh to combat food insecurity within the UCLA community. Jackson's multifaceted contributions reflect her unwavering dedication to creating a more inclusive and supportive environment for all.

Javier Rodriguez

Javier Rodriguez is an education doctoral student in the School of Education and the Regional Coordinator for the Rising Scholars Network at the California Community College system.  He partners with college campuses across his region and supports college programs serving students impacted by the criminal justice system.  Before joining Rising Scholars, Javier earned his Master of Social Welfare from the Luskin School of Public Affairs and a Bachelor of Anthropology at UCLA.  At UCLA, he co-founded the Underground Scholars Initiative (USI) UCLA Chapter. 

Dylan Kupsh

Dylan Kupsh is a 3rd Year Ph.D. student in the Computer Science program. Dylan currently organizes with the Student Labor Action Project (SLAP), Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), COLA for All, Unite All Workers for Democracy (UAWD), Engineering Graduate Student Association (eGSA), and the Computer Science Graduate Student Association (CSGSA). Dylan’s interested in helping create an equitable, affordable, safe, just, and friendly ASUCLA for all students and campus workers.

Dylan’s current researches using machine learning to create faster and more programmable accelerators. Dylan’s researches on the intersection of computer architecture and machine learning. Dylan received a Bachelors Degree in Computer Science and Sociology from UC Santa Barbara.

Daniel Neuhauser

Professor Daniel Neuhauser has been a member of the department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at UCLA since 1992, first as an Assistant and then Associate Professor, and since 2002 he is a Full Professor in that department.   He did his BSc studies in mathematics and physics in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem between 1979-1982, and got his PhD in nuclear physics in 1987 from Caltech.

Professor Neuhauser's main research interests are the simulation of dynamics and structure of extremely large molecular complexes, using a stochastic paradigm that he developed.  He and his group have published more than 180 peer-reviewed papers, and 17 students have graduated from his group with a Ph.D.

Henry Hsiao

Henry Hsiao is the CEO of 1on1 platforms and Teachers1on1, a startup focused on connecting people and utilizing advanced technology to improve communications and outcomes.

Formerly he was Global Head of Education for Adobe Inc., where he focused on inspiring and empowering the next generation of creators.  He was responsible for the strategy, vision, growth, and performance of this $1B+ business unit across direct-to-consumer and institutional channels.  Prior to joining Adobe Inc, he was Vice President of Strategic Development and Growth GM, for Mattel, Inc., where he was responsible for global growth, strategic business development, digital transformation and management of the company’s ventures and investments across digital gaming, advanced technology platforms & products, and education.  Prior to Mattel, he served in marketing, product, and technology leadership roles at DirecTV Inc. and Deloitte Consulting.  In his spare time, he is a passionate advisor and mentor to the VC, startup, non-profit/education, and innovation communities.

He completed the Stanford Executive Program in 2017 and holds an MBA with an emphasis in strategy and technology from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley and Columbia Business School, and received his BS in Computer Science from UCLA.

Mitchell Liday

Mitchell Liday (class of ’96) is currently the Manager of Foodservice Cross-selling & Education for Individual Foodservice (IFS), the food service arm of BradyIFS, the nation’s fastest-growing distributor of foodservice disposables, janitorial, smallwares, and dry goods.

Mitchell spent the first half of his career in Hispanic marketing and sales, first producing large-scale events and festivals, and then selling national, regional and local corporate sponsorships for these events, most notably, Fiesta Broadway, formerly the largest Cinco de Mayo street festival in the country. As a result of these accomplishments, he was then hired by former Los Angeles County Supervisor, Gloria Molina, as the Director of Development for LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes, the nation’s premiere Mexican American museum and cultural center. After two years, he joined the National Association of Latino Elected and appointed Officials (NALEO), as the national Development Director. After four years working with nonprofits, Mitchell transitioned into his current role in distribution with IFS. During the recent tumultuous pandemic years, with its endless supply chain challenges, Mitchell maintained IFS’ position as an essential food service provider to K-12 public schools, developing creative and sustainable solutions so that CA schools would always have the packaging/supplies needed to provide crucial free meal programs for children.

Mitchell graduated from UCLA with a degree in History. A life-long Bruin, his daughter, Violet, was a Jr. Bruin cheerleader for two seasons, and he has been the Public Address announcer for Men’s and Women’s Soccer since 2009. Mitchell lives in Torrance, with his wife Renee, daughter Violet, and son Weston, (and in his spare time is an amateur BBQ smoker of all meats).

Yogini Purohit

Working closely with the Vice Chancellor Student Affairs, as well as Student Affairs leadership and divisional offices, Yogini is a strategic partner who provides leadership in budget, finance, administration/HR, compliance, planning, and operations. She and her outstanding team have a strong focus on strategic planning, fiscal accountability, developing and implementing processes that enable Student Affairs to manage sound fiscal practices, gain operational efficiency, improve compliance, and establish consistency, and provide a high level of support to Student Affairs departments to ensure Student Affairs mission continually progresses upward.

Before joining Student Affairs in 2018, Yogini began her UCLA journey with UCLA Extension, first as Associate Director, followed by Director of the Budget and Financial Services Division. UCLA Extension is one of the nation's highly regarded and most comprehensive continuing higher education institutions. Before joining UCLA Extension, Yogini was the Chief Financial Officer & Chief Operating Officer for Galan Entertainment, a production and media company with a focus in the Latino market. Prior to this, she was a business manager with Bernstein, Fox, Goldberg, & Licker CPAs, a public accounting firm specializing in business management and tax in the entertainment industry.

Originally from Nairobi, Kenya, Yogini is practically a native of Los Angeles, having lived in LA for over four decades. Yogini earned her B.S. in business administration with a concentration in accounting from California State University, Northridge (CSUN).  She is a licensed Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and holds the designation of Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA), a distinction for professionals who have advanced proficiency at both the departmental-level and organization-wide level in finance, operations, strategy, and management.

Yogini enjoys spending time outdoors locally in her spare time, traveling to new and faraway places, and treasures special activities with her family at home and elsewhere.

Scott Monatlik

Scott Monatlik is a Senior Director in UCLA’s CFO Organization.  He oversees the Tax Department, Global Operations Support, Travel Programs, Insurance & Risk Management, and Mail, Document & Distribution Services.  Scott joined UCLA in 2008. Prior to working at UCLA, Scott worked at Deloitte where he provided tax consulting services to various nonprofit and healthcare clients. Scott graduated from UC Santa Barbara and Loyola Law School. He is a member of the State Bar of California. Scott currently services on the Advisory Board of UCLA’s Continuing Education of the Bar (CEB). 

Pouria Abbassi, P.E.

Pouria Abbassi has been the CEO of large companies in three distinct industries – hospitality, health care, and higher education. In each capacity, he has led organizations through business and cultural transformations to unprecedented results while giving back to the communities they serve.

In 2018, Pouria rejoined his alma mater as the CEO and Executive Director of the Associated Students UCLA (ASUCLA), the largest organization of its kind in the world. Pouria leverages his executive experience and his passion for “all things Bruin” to work with the ASUCLA Board of Directors, its 1,800+ family of employees, campus partners, and other stakeholders. In doing so, Pouria leads ASUCLA to serve the student body through a multifaceted set of businesses and on-campus services and extend the UCLA brand globally through operations in over 100 countries. Pouria has previously led four mental and behavioral health companies amid health care reforms (ACA) through 17 facilities as the President of the Phoenix Houses of California, Inc. (PHC). Prior to PHC, he was the CEO of Los Angeles Convention Center, leading the sports and entertainment district’s unprecedented development and revitalization of Downtown LA’s South Park area. In prior capacities, Pouria has led teams in project engineering, debt financing, financial modeling, environmental analysis, and information technology implementation. He also has done research and published in the areas of cryogenics and high-temperature superconductivity.

A registered mechanical engineer in the State of California and a graduate of UCLA School of Engineering and UCLA Anderson School of Management/Executive Management program, Pouria sits on various boards, including the Los Angeles Business Council, Providence Hospital Foundation Board of Governors, Beyond Vision Music Foundation, PAAIA/IA 100, and the Norooz Celebration Foundation. He also works with various other community organizations, including PARS Equality Center, KCIS, and Farhang Foundation. Pouria is also an active member of the Pacific Council on International Policy and is engaged with various policy and think tank groups at local and national levels. Pouria frequently gives presentations on leadership to student groups and mentors young professionals in their careers. Among more than 30 community, business, and service awards, Pouria has also been awarded the 2022 Ellis Island Medal of Honor, in recognition of his contributions towards the betterment of all the communities he has served throughout his distinguished career. Pouria lives in Los Angeles with his wife, whom he met when they were both studying at UCLA, and their two children.