About OSAAR
UCLA Luskin’s Office of Student Affairs and Alumni Relations staff support graduate students and engage undergraduate & graduate alumni in the departments of public policy, social welfare, and urban planning. We strive to holistically and equitably support Luskin graduate students’ career and identity development, emotional and mental health and well-being, and connectedness to UCLA Luskin and their intended professional fields. We aim to build community among Luskin’s esteemed and globally expansive alumni network, track and feature their professional achievements, connect Luskin alumni to current students, and intentionally involve Luskin alumni in the Luskin School’s activities. Formerly Career Services & Leadership Development Programs, UCLA Luskin’s Office of Student Affairs & Alumni Relations was established in September 2022.
OSAAR’s Goals
- Facilitate connections within and beyond the Luskin community for employment, networking, mentorship, and community building.
- Provide education and resources on professional development, interpersonal skills, and wellness.
OSAAR’s Programs & Services
- Career Services
- 1-1 career counseling
- 2-unit career course
- Public affairs specific job board and newsletter
- career development workshops
- internship and career fairs
- civic engagement programs
- Senior Fellows Program (premier mentorship program)
- digital and physical resource libraries
- Fellowships and Internship Funding
- yearlong fellowships
- quarter-long fellowships
- quarter-long internship funding
- Student Wellness and Support
- quarterly wellness workshops/drop-in hours (e.g. student legal services, ombuds, financial wellness program, graduate writing center, meditations, de-stress activities etc.)
- resource referrals (e.g. basic needs, crisis resources, and campus involvement).
- orienting international and cross-country students to Los Angeles (e.g. housing support, transportation support, etc.)
- interpersonal advising (e.g. navigating conflict, value disalignment, etc.)
- student org advising
- Alumni Engagement
- regional receptions
- informal meet-ups (e.g. Cafecito con Luskin or Luskin Aperitivo)
- mentorship opportunities
- Career talks/panels
- Ongoing mentorship
Opportunities
About Us
Kevin Medina (he/they)
Managing Director, Office of Student Affairs & Alumni Relations
310.825.5591
kmedina@luskin.ucla.edu
Bio
Kevin is a queer Chicano first generation professional who has worked at the nexus of education and social change since 2010. He holds a Master of Public Policy and a Master of Social Welfare from UCLA and a Bachelor of Social Ecology with an Education Minor from UC Irvine. In his role at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, Kevin oversees the School’s career services, fellowships, student support efforts, and alumni engagement strategy. In his spare time, Kevin performs with the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles, conducts hate crime data analysis for the LA County Human Relations Commission, consults with organizations on LGBTQ allyship, and spends too much time going to concerts, traveling, cooking/eating plant-based foods, exercising, and playing PokemonGO & Genshin Impact.
Nandini Inmula (she/they)
Assistant Director of Career Services
310.794.5987
ninmula@luskin.ucla.edu
Bio
Nandini is the eldest daughter of immigrants and a native of Atlanta, Georgia and completed a BS in Psychology and BA in Anthropology with a minor in German Language at the University of Georgia. She moved to Los Angeles in 2015 to attend graduate school and holds a Master in Public Health, Community Health Sciences, from the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. As a Career Counselor for the Luskin School, Nandini hopes to provide students with support and holistic advising, along with the resources to succeed during their time here at UCLA and after leaving to pursue their passions. Outside of work, Nandini enjoys trying new restaurants across LA, finding new hiking spots, and signing up for a new art class or hobby every few months. You can most likely find her binge watching a new TV series or going on quests to find and eat the best affordable sandwiches in the city.
Nael Rogers (they/them)
Assistant Director, Student Support Services
(310) 206-3207
naelrogers@luskin.ucla.edu
Bio
Nael is an U.S. Army Veteran and Chicago native, where they completed both a M.A. and B.A. in English Literature at Chicago State University. They are currently a PhD student at Claremont Graduate University, where they are studying 20th century American Literature with a focus on the Grotesque, and they hold both a certificate in Africana Studies and Gender Studies. As the Student Support Coordinator for the Luskin School, it is their hope to ensure that underrepresented student populations understand and receive the vast number of resources available to help them succeed here at UCLA. As a trans non-binary person of color, building community where students can commune in safe spaces is important to them. When Nael is not working or studying, they enjoy singing, writing, and playing with their Aussiedoodle, Sunni.
Karina Mascorro (she/her)
Director of Alumni Engagement
kmascorro@luskin.ucla.edu
Bio
Karina is a native of Michoacán, Mexico, and a first-generation trilingual professional raised in Los Angeles, passionate about increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion practices in higher education. She holds a Ph.D. in Italian Studies from Brown University and a B.A. in Psychology and Italian Studies from the University of California, Berkeley. As Director of Alumni Engagement at Luskin School of Public Affairs, she is committed to building meaningful relationships and connections amongst current students and alums at the local and global levels. Her vision adopts a global citizenship lens that embraces the idea of belonging to a larger community and shared humanity where there is a political, economic, social, cultural, and environmental responsibility to collaborate, innovate, and maintain sustainable practices to make this world a better place. Before joining the UCLA family, she lived on the East Coast for 15 years. She was an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Modern Languages and Director of Study Abroad at Rhode Island College with experience supporting international, immigrant, undocumented, DACAmented, and refugee populations. Her favorite hobby is to travel to a different country every year; she hopes to have visited and befriended people in fifty countries by her 50th birthday. She embraces being a boy mom of two with enthusiasm and grace, and in her free time, which is slim, very slim, you will find her learning how to cook international dishes with a Mexican twist, as she likes to add a little of a kick to everything she creates.
Mollie Stephens (she/her)
Career Planning & Management Course (M297F) Instructor
(Course offered annually every fall quarter and is restricted to Luskin graduate students.)
Bio
As the Director, Policy, Advocacy, and Organizing Program Supports & Innovations at Leadership for Educational Equity (LEE), Mollie Stephens leads a team of career coaches in supporting thousands of members seeking to have an impact on equity. Prior to joining LEE, she worked for the Children’s Defense Fund-CA, Chrysalis, TreePeople, and the ACLU of Maryland, and received her dual MSW/MPP from UCLA, and her BA from Cornell University. She also runs her own coaching practice through Matter Coaching through which she nurtures leaders whose careers focus on social good. She lives in Durham, NC with her husband, daughter, and cat, and enjoys reading, gardening, and walking by the Eno river in her free time.
