Our Team
Meet our team, a collection of incredibly driven and talented individuals that devote their time to help accomplish ASCENDtials mission.
Director/Founder
Mika Marzette
Director/Founder
Board of Directors
Dr. Keisha Clark
MaaT Equity & Inclusion Director/Board Member
Tonia Ferguson
ADVOCACY & COMMUNITY DIRECTOR/BOARD MEMBER
Advisory Board
Onyeka Tefari
Wellness Director
Jill Minard
Creative Director
Hiring Team
Sayantani Guha
Volunteer Support Coordinator Lead
San Diego, CA (PST)
Cledden Obeng-Poku Kwanin
Volunteer Support Coordinator
Ghana (GMT)
Grant Team
Vera Martinoska
Executive Editor
Worcester, MA (EST)
Reiko Chillakos
Grants Researcher/Writer
Thousand Oaks, CA (PST)
Program Team
Karthik Sivaswamy
Legal Support Lead
La Jolla, CA (PST)
Karen Edmonds
Grant Assistant Volunteer
Eugene, OR
Cynthia Chu
Business Development Intern
San Diego, California
Dev & Fundraising Team
Hejun Ruan
Fundraising Lead
La Jolla, California (PDT)
Harsha Sartandel
Business Development Intern
Atlanta, Georgia
Rumaisha Chowdhury
Fundraising/Grants
North York, Ontario (EST)
PR/Event/Social Media Team
Daniela Rivera
SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING INTERN
Milwaukee, WI (CST)
Violeta Medrano
Book Club Volunteer
San Diego, California (PST)
Wesley Fields
Videographer
San Diego, CA (PST)
Ian McDaniel
PR Assistant Volunteer
San Diego, California (PST)
Web Dev Team
Suhird Giri (OPT)
WEB PROGRAMMER
Team Lead
PULLMAN, WA (PST)
Ankur Singh (OPT)
WEB PROGRAMMER
Co-Lead
Madison, WI (CST)
Andre Mani
WEB PROGRAMMER
São Paulo, Brazil (BST)
Graphic Designer /UX Team
Abraham Sanchez
Graphic Designer Intern
Las Vegas, Nevada (PST)
Raquel “Rachel” Ramirez
Graphic Designer Intern
São Paulo, Brazil (BST)
Marina Asoskova
Graphic Designer
Team Lead
Tel Aviv, Israel (IST)
Mizohu Hasegawa
UX designer Volunteer
ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN (EST)
Shriya Rasale
Web Designer Intern
Editing Team
Karen Edmonds
Copy Editor/Team LEad
Eugene, OR (PST)
Jaymes Abeloe
Editor/Writer Volunteer
Springville, CA
Katherine Coster
Copy Editor Intern
Ramsey,USA
Publishing Team
Teagan Nathe
Publishing/Editorial Intern
Seattle, Washington (PDT)
Emily RayChaudhuri
Publishing/Editorial Assistant
Boalsburg, PA , USA
Environmental Programs
Kenyetta Parker
Garden Lead
SAN DIEGO, CA (PST)
Applying
Interested in joining our team? Checkout our internship page, volunteer page and partner page for more details on how to apply! We look forward to working with you!
