The Graduate Students Association represents all graduate students at UCSB in committees and helps make decisions about student fees and services. Read on for more about this year's Executive Committee. For more on what the GSA does, see We Love GSA.
Gary Haddow 
Gary Haddow
President, garyhaddow@gmail.com
Research Focus: Understanding the role of NGOs and education in the reintegration of Liberian refugees.
Program: M.A./Ph.D. in Education
Bio
I am from Cupertino, Gilroy, and all over the Bay Area. Following high school I earned a B.A. in Sociology from UCSB in 2008. In 2009, I began my graduate career in the Gevirtz Graduate School of Education. Over the summer I received my M.A. in Education and have just recently advanced to candidacy. This coming summer will be spent in Liberia conducting my Ph.D. research.
What do you hope to accomplish as GSA President?
My goal this year is to have GSA be more present in the daily lives and academic career of graduate students. We hope to do this through sponsoring workshops and providing resources on funding, grant writing, and building professionalization of students through speaking, writing, and conference presentation workshops. Additionally, it is our goal to not only help facilitate the year-long transition for new graduate students, but also to aid students who are finishing their graduate career and moving on to the next chapter of their lives. Finally, we are still looking at ways to improve graduate student transportation options for the entire year including summer.
As a committee we want to encourage more participation in GSA by becoming a registered departmental organization (if not already) and becoming a GSA representative for your department. Our regular General Assembly meetings are the first Tuesday of every month in the GSA Lounge from 6 to 8 p.m. Come check us out, have some food and refreshments, and learn about what's going on in the graduate community at large.
Amber Rose González
Amber Rose González
VP External Affairs, gsavpexternal@gmail.com
Research Focus: Chicana/o cultural studies, Chicana and women of color feminisms, community arts and activism, performance studies
Program: M.A./Ph.D. in Chicana and Chicano Studies with an emphasis in Feminist Studies
Bio
I received a B.A. in Ethnic and Women's Studies from Cal Poly Pomona and completed a post-graduate fellowship in California government. I enjoy researching, attending and organizing cultural events and working on my 1970 Volkswagen bug.
What do you hope to accomplish as a GSA Executive?
As External VP I will inform graduate students of UC-wide issues and opportunities; represent UCSB grad student concerns at the UC student association; and collaborate with grad orgs, AS and other allies to improve campus climate. I hope to get grads involved in system-wide affairs, events, and legislation.
Emma Levine
Emma Levine
VP Internal Affairs, GSAVPInternal@gmail.com
Research Focus: American classical music festivals and pedagogy.
Program: M.A./Ph.D. in Musicology
Bio
I grew up in Oak Park, California, with my parents and my younger brother. I received my bachelor's degree in music from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in 2010 with a concentration in piano performance. While at Cal Poly I worked at the campus's children's center and also as a private piano teacher. This is my third year in the music department at UCSB. I have been a teaching assistant for music appreciation, and I am currently a teaching assistant for the music history series.
What do you hope to accomplish as a GSA Executive?
In addition to serving as a GSA Executive, I am also a student representative for four campus committees. It is my hope to represent my peers, make their needs heard, and ensure a constant flow of communication. Also, it is my goal to make Bagel Hour the highlight of every grad student's work week!
Dusty Hoesly 
Dusty Hoesly
VP Committees & Planning, gsavpcomplan.ucsb@gmail.com
Research Focus: Contemporary American Religions and Secularism
Program: Ph.D. in Religious Studies
Bio
I am from Portland, Oregon. In college I studied English, Philosophy, and Religious Studies, and then I became a middle school language arts teacher for four years. At UCSB, I research the worldviews and practices of people who self-identify as non-religious.
What do you hope to accomplish as a GSA Executive Committee member?
I hope to ensure effective and diverse graduate student representation on campus committees and to plan exciting, well-attended events for graduate students throughout the year.
Caitlin Rathe
Caitlin RatheVP Budget & Finance, gsavpbudget@gmail.com
Research Focus: 20th century US Policy, focusing on inequality
Program: M.A./Ph.D. in History
Bio
Hey all, I'm from the Seattle area originally and did my undergrad in Econ outside Portland, Oregon. I miss the rain and gray skies! I'm beginning my third year and finally getting the swing of things in history, eventually hoping to go into policy.
What do you hope to accomplish as a GSA Executive Committee member?
I hope to smooth the reimbursement process, make sure GSA is a priority on campus, and keep getting the word out about our grant opportunities!
Marcel Brousseau
VP Academic Affairs, gsavpacademic@gmail.com
Research Focus: I examine how cartography, narrative, and infrastructure work together to produce cultural relationships in the U.S./Mexico/Indigenous borderlands.
Program: M.A./Ph.D. Comparative Literature
Bio
Marcel BrousseauThis is my sixth year at UCSB. During my time here I have been lucky to study and work in an interdisciplinary capacity in many departments: History, English, Geography, Chicano Studies, and Bren, among others. In the last year and a half, I have seen much of the administrative side of UCSB through my involvement in GSA. Now I am starting to see the light at the end of the grad school tunnel. It has been a privilege to learn so much at and about this university. I plan to stay in academia and pursue a professorial career. What I have experienced here will inspire me to fight for the rights of grad students and all students as well as for the existence of accessible and even revolutionary public education systems.
What do you hope to accomplish as a GSA Executive Committee member?
As always, the mission for me is to proselytize about the industry, rigor, and commitment of graduate students. We remain a hybrid, slightly hidden bloc in the context of university administration; we are both staff and student, mentor and mentee. Without us the University of California could not function; yet we have to fight for our rights as employees and students in a climate that has become increasingly privatized, and compromised by extra-campus corporate interests. As VP of Academic affairs, I hope to be a strong, functional grad liaison to the faculty community. They have declared their commitment to grad students; I want to help them support us in every way possible, across schools and disciplines.
Jaycee Bigham 
Jaycee Bigham
VP Student Affairs, gsavpstudent@gmail.com
Research Focus: Educational experiences of children of immigrants, especially those of ethnic and linguistic minority backgrounds.
Program: Ph.D. in Education
Bio
I grew up in a small town outside of Nashville, Tennessee. After completing high school, I attended Indiana University, where I received my B.A. in Anthropology and Spanish with a certificate in Latin American and Caribbean Studies. During my junior year of college, I studied abroad in Lima, Peru. Over the course of the year, I began to realize how many positive experiences I had as a result of my educational pursuits and how others had not been as fortunate as me in navigating the systems that had granted me these opportunities. This led me to pursue an advanced degree in order to work with children of disadvantaged backgrounds, which ultimately led to my entering the M.A./Ph.D. program in Education at UCSB.
What do you hope to accomplish as a GSA Executive Committee member?
As the Vice President of Student Affairs, I hope to assist graduate students with their concerns related to health care and housing issues at UCSB and serve as an advocate on their behalf.
Ester Trujillo 
Ester Trujillo
VP Communications and Records, gsavpcommunication@gmail.com
Research Focus: Ethnic and national identity construction among second-generation Salvadoran college students
Program: M.A./Ph.D. in Chicana and Chicano Studies
Bio
I grew up in East Los Angeles and received my Bachelor's degree at UCLA in Chicana and Chicano Studies with a minor in Political Science. I earned my master's degree in Chicana and Chicano Studies at UCSB. I am a Mellon-Mays Fellow and a graduate peer editor for the Union Salvadoreña de Estudiantes Universitarios (USEU) online research journal, Nueva Conciencia. I believe academic research is a privileged platform so I do my best to use it to give visibility to social inequalities and exposing the material conditions that surround a diverse array of US communities. I hope to use my degree to teach at the university level.
What do you hope to accomplish as a GSA Executive Committee member?
I'm actually stepping down from this post at the end of Fall 2013 but have thoroughly enjoyed the post for the past year and a half. As VP of Communications and Records my aim has been to provide transparency by keeping updated records of meetings and decisions made by GSA. In this post and after I step down, I hope to continue to encourage more graduate students to become involved with GSA and to take advantage of the resources available through GSA, especially funding opportunities.