Ashley Araya (she/her)

Policy, Compliance, and Training Officer in Undergraduate Admissions
ashley.araya@ucr.edu

As a member of the Undergraduate Admissions Team, Ashley Araya is an experienced leader and problem solver with over 10+ years of admissions experience specializing in enrollment management and admissions policy creation and compliance. She valued being a part of the of UCR’s Mental Health Allies Program because this is an important topic that is near to her heart and family. She believes the program is so important because it helps the UCR campus, community, and students that may be or know someone that is struggling with mental health issues feel valued and cared for. She is committed to promoting mental health support information across campus.

Leslie Bushong (she/her)

Director, California Teach-Science and Math Initiative
leslie.bushong@ucr.edu

In my 25 years on campus working with undergraduate students, I have seen the ill-effects of academic stress, financial strain, and social media pressures on UCR undergraduate students. During the pandemic, the impact of these external factors without proper support became even more evident. Therefore, when I learned about the Mental Health Allies Initiative, I was motivated to join because I wanted to gain better understanding for mental health issues, strategies for managing them, and resources to help make sustainable changes for UCR students to lead successful, confident, and balanced college lives. I am currently the Director of the California Teach-Science and Math Initiative (CalTeach-SMI).

Kristina Chouinard (she/her)

Executive Assistant, AVC Enrollment Services
kristina.sisco@ucr.edu

Hello! I’m a UCR Alumni and have been working on-campus since 2011. I am the Executive Assistant to the Associate Vice Chancellor of Enrollment Services, CFAO, Undergraduate Admissions Director and Registrars’ Director. With my background in Professional Counseling, I knew right away I wanted to be a part of the Mental Health Allies Program. My intentions are to help raise awareness of the mental health resources on-campus and to share these recourses with staff, faculty, and students at UC Riverside.

Ismael Davila (he/they)

Director, UCR Underground Scholars Program
ismael.davila@ucr.edu

Omonike (Nikki) Hutchinson (she/they)

Assistant Director of Advocacy and CARE Advocate
omonike.hutchinson@ucr.edu

For over 10 years, Omonike (Nikki) has been serving as a crisis counselor, mentor and advocate for individuals navigating mental health in all aspects of life. It was important to join the Mental Health Allies program to allow students, staff, and faculty to have more options in getting services and support need when navigating all aspects of their lives. I am committed to permanently changing the attitudes about mental health especially when it comes to students, staff and faculty having to navigate the criminal justice system.

Andrew Larratt-Smith (he/him)

Ombudsman
andrew.larratt-smith@ucr.edu

Andrew Larratt-Smith has been the UCR Ombuds since 2011, assisting members of the UCR community navigate through thorny UCR-related difficulties and engaging in conflict productively. I have seen in my work that good mental health is the foundation for pretty much everything else in life. I joined the mental health allies program because I want to support mental health efforts at UCR and I want to continue to learn how I can best support others who are facing mental health challenges. I am committed to supporting a campus environment where we all recognize that mental health challenges are normal and where we are equipped to support and encourage one another towards achieving better mental health.

Daniel Lopez-Salas (he/him)

Health Educator, The Well
daniel.lopez-salas@ucr.edu

My name is Daniel Lopez Salas, Health Educator at The Well. I am a UC Riverside double alumnus. I studied my BA in Linguistics and Anthropology and a Master’s in Public Policy. Mental health is important to me because so many individuals struggle in silence and thus, I would like to provide a space for individuals to be connected to the resources they need.

It was important for me to join the Mental Health Allies program as it brought me up to speed with services and resources available along with different perspectives and situations that can influence an individual’s mental health. I am committed to connecting fellow highlanders to the necessary mental health resources and providing assistance with future mental health allies events as needed.

Deborah Sellas (she/her)

Quality and Compliance Specialist, Student Health Services
deborah.sellas@ucr.edu

I have worked in the healthcare field for 30 years and I have found mental health is such an important aspect of holistic total well-being. Because I feel mental health is one of the key elements to total overall well-being, helping get rid of mental health social stigma, discrimination and prejudice is one of my personal lifelong goals. 

Mental Health Allies helps promote ways we can begin to have healthy mental health discussions and get resources to our community. I pledge to be honest to others about my own mental well-being that fosters healthy conversations. I will stay updated and participate in mental health programs that promote healthy discussions and provide updated community resources.

Tiffany Tallackson, PhD (she/her)

Assistant Director, FitWell, Student Recreation Center
tiffany.tallackson@ucr.edu

Mental Health is important to me because it is an aspect of life that has affected me and my loved ones, and I believe it is something that is often ignored in the wellness space. It was important for me to join the Mental Health Allies program because it was a great opportunity to dive deeper into the subject of mental health. It provided me the opportunity to better serve our community by being present to what is happening to others, and attentive to discussions that are difficult to talk about. I am working to change the attitude toward mental health on campus by staying up to date on current and accurate mental health resources, providing support to our UCR community for both mental and physical well-being, reducing bias against mental health, and bridging the conversation to other forms of wellness.

Chris Williams (he/him)

Assistant Director of Residential Life
chris.williams@ucr.edu

Jenelle Consignado (she/her)

Undergraduate Student, Class of 2023
Major: Psychology
jenelle.consignado@ucr.edu

Hi all, my name is Jenelle Consignado and I am the Lead for Metrics & Operations for Golden ARCHES at the Well. I joined the Mental Health Allies initiative because I was interested in finding different ways to give back to the campus community, but more specifically focusing on through means of being an advocate for Mental Health Awareness.

Ulises Mata (he/him)

Undergraduate Student
Major: Psychology
umata001@ucr.edu

I joined the Mental Health Allies program in order to better understand the needs of my school population. And I've come to understand that a holistic well-being means to address our mental and physical health equally, which means destigmatizing mental illnesses and disabilities.

Mario Mendoza (he/him/el)

Graduate Student
Mmend250@ucr.edu

Ethan Jhoel Montilla (he/him)

Undergraduate Student, Class of 2023
Major: Biology
emont063@ucr.edu

Tiara Sari (she/her)

Undergraduate Student, Class of 2023
Major: Education & Liberal Studies
tsari002@ucr.edu

Tiara Sari is a graduating Education and Liberal Studies student. She participated in many school departments such as The Well and the Academic Resource Center dedicated to making resources more accessible to students. Tiara prioritizes mental health after her high school classmate died by suicide. Since then, she has been committed to ensuring students are informed about the resources on campus and not let another student be part of the statistics. Tiara joined the Mental Health Allies program to learn more about mental health and how she can help her peers through on-campus and off-campus resources. She is committed to continuing to change the conversation surrounding mental health and creating an open and safe environment for students to learn and speak up about their mental health.

Devon Sternberg (he/they)

Undergraduate Student, Class of 2023
Major: Public Policy, minor in Neuroscience
dster007@ucr.edu

Madison Tarin (she/her)

Undergraduate Student
Major: Sociology
mtari009@ucr.edu

My name is Madison Tarin and I am entering my senior year. Mental health is something that has become a lot more normalized to talk about, but there is much more work that needs to be done. In 2018, I was sitting in the waiting room of my therapy office when I noticed that there were a lot of children waiting with me who were way younger. Oftentimes when we attend therapy, a lot of our experiences are connected to our childhood. Sitting in that waiting room, I decided that I want to be at the forefront when adolescents are experiencing mental health crises. My goal after UCR is to attend a graduate program to become an adolescent therapist. To begin my mental health journey during my undergrad, I joined multiple mental health programs, including Mental Health Allies and Active Minds. I find that it is important to keep myself updated with all the available mental health resources on campus so that I can share that knowledge with my peers.