Student Employees
Minso Choi, also known as Minna, (she/her/hers) is an M.A. in Higher Education Administration alumnus. She is currently in a Ph.D. program at the Ohio State University studying Educational Psychology. Her main research interests are college students and their experiences with academic burnout along with academic engagement and mental wellbeing. Currently, she is a graduate teaching assistant and working on publishing her research. After graduating from her Ph.D. program, she aims to become a university faculty member.
My name is Victoria King, and I am a senior at the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus, where I am pursuing a bachelor’s in Social Work and a minor in Women and Gender Studies. As a minority student, I have continuously observed how research is crucial for social transformation, equality, and the dismantling of colonial structures. I became interested in research as a tool for decolonization, and began collaborating remotely with DRPP on the Broadening Participation in STEM project. Within the qualitative team, I am analyzing the challenges that minorities in STEM face and how support, representation, and resources affect their lives as college students. After graduation, I plan to continue working on projects that impact marginalized communities affected by austerity and inequity in Puerto Rico.
Jordan Peyton [ 游 敏 ] (she/they) is a Ph.D. student and Graduate Research Assistant for the LEARN-CS group at The Ohio State University in the Engineering Education Department. Currently, Jordan serves as a Research Project Coordinator for the Diversity Research and Policy Program (DRPP). They have worked in K-12, Higher Education, Corporate DEI, and APIDA Nonprofits. Research interests include Minority Serving Institution (MSI) partnerships with Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs) in engineering spaces, undergraduate to graduate pathways for MSI students, and disaggregating the data in the APIDA umbrella. They intend to utilize her B.S. in Biological Systems Engineering from Kansas State University and background in multicultural student programming to continue innovating ways to support STEM students. They have previously obtained their Master of Arts in Higher Education with a concentration in Diversity and Social Justice at the University of Michigan’s Center for the Study of Higher and Postsecondary Education (CSHPE). Jordan worked in framework development and data collection and analysis as an MROP Graduate Research Fellow at the DRPP. In their free time, you can find them spending time in Texas with family and friends, being in nature by hiking trails, and scoping out good eats.
Layne Stephens is a Communications Assistant at the Personal Assets & System Strengths (PASS) Program at the University of Michigan, where she supports web content, accessibility, and visual communication efforts. Originally from Chicago, she started her undergraduate studies at the University of Michigan in 2021 and earned her Bachelor of Science in Computer Science with a minor in User Experience Design in 2025. Her academic and professional interests lie at the intersection of technology and human-centered design. She has experience in web development, UX research, and digital accessibility. Through her work with PASS, Layne combines technical skills with her passion for clear and creative communication.
Former Employees
Originally from San Diego, California, Cristóbal Arellano (He/him/his) is currently a graduate student at the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor’s Center for the Study of Higher, and Postsecondary Education (CSHPE), with a concentration in student access and success. As an Institutional researcher, Cristóbal is focused on DIJE (diversity, inclusion, justice, and equity) initiatives, public policy, and the areas where they converge. Cristóbal brings a multidisciplinary toolkit to higher ed, with a background in research, philosophy and policy. As an aspiring higher education professional, he is keenly interested in the confluence of praxis and theory; research data and how that data can positively impact policy within academic institutions. Cristóbal previously graduated with a master’s degree in philosophy, where he focused on philosophy of science–specifically objectivity in the sciences and the work of Helen Longino and Alison Wylie. He also graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science from the Pennsylvania State University – University Park.
Marya Matlin-Wainer is an undergraduate Research Assistant at the Diversity Research and Policy Program (DRPP). She was born and raised in New York City, and moved to Ann Arbor to begin her undergraduate career. Now a senior at the University of Michigan, she studies Chemistry and Environmental Policy and will be earning her Bachelor of Science in the Spring of 2021. Throughout her four years of college she participated in the University’s Residential College, a living learning community that encourages students to learn new languages and explore the arts. After graduation she hopes to work in the environmental health sector and use her scientific background and passion for environmental activism to positively affect her community.
Elizabeth Storey is a Research Assistant in the Diversity Research and Policy Program (DRPP). Elizabeth is uniquely a non-traditional undergraduate student in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. She is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology with a Social Work sub major. Her goal is to go on to earn a Master’s in Social Work which she will use to go into private practice social work and counseling with special focus in helping women overcome intersecting barriers and trauma. She is a change maker, an advocate and an ally for equality and human rights. She believes that with support, the healing of one has a profound effect on the whole.