CARE Staff

Pronouns: they/them/theirs

Eli drove cross country in 4.5 days and joined the CARE Office as Assistant Director in July 2015. Born and raised in Staten Island, NY, Eli brings with them more than 15 years of experience in the fields of advocacy, organizing for social change, student affairs, organizational consulting, development, and non-profit administration. They received both their B.A. and Master of Social Work degrees at Marywood University in Scranton, PA. In 1997, Eli established the first ALLY program at a Catholic university in the United States which included developing the curriculum and conducting the trainings. Their current focus is on driving the sustainable growth of the CARE Office’s Holistic Healing programs while concurrently supporting its current programs and services.

Outside of work, Eli enjoys exploring their new stomping grounds in Southern California with their dog and partner in crime, Benjamin, enthusiastically (okay, rabidly) supporting the New York Mets, photographing historic/abandoned places, and listening to/writing music.

Pronouns: they/them/theirs

Melissa joined the UCI CARE Office after driving across country to return to their hometown. Melissa brings with them experience in advocacy, student affairs, student development, and training development. They received their Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies from Sonoma State University and Master of Science in Student Affairs and Higher Education from Miami University, in Ohio rather than Florida. Melissa is excited to bring their passion for raising awareness about power-based personal violence and creating social change to their work in the CARE office.

Outside of work, Melissa mostly spends their time with their partner and two dogs, Oliver and Roman, exploring new hiking trails or adventuring on the beach. If not at work or the beach, you can find Melissa singing along poorly to music, restoring old furniture, cooking and baking, or watching the newest movie at the theatre.

Pronouns: she/her/hers

Nicole is a UCI CARE Advocate that has been working with survivors of domestic violence, stalking, and sexual assault since 2010. Nicole has co-facilitated support groups, created workshops, and helped with development and implementation of programing for survivors throughout her career. Nicole is a first generation and transfer student, who earned a BA in Psychology at UC Santa Cruz, and recently obtained a Master of Social Work at USC. Nicole is drawn to supporting those healing from interpersonal trauma and is in the process of pursuing licensure to become a Clinical Social Worker.

Outside of work Nicole enjoys snuggling her 3 pets, exploring new eateries, jigsaw puzzles, watching movies, reading, and being outdoors.

Other languages spoken: Spanish

Pronouns: she/her/hers

Elleni graduated from California State University, Fullerton where she received her B.A. in Sociology with a concentration in the Sociology of Crime and Deviance. During her studies, she developed a passion for intersectional and accessible advocacy services for survivors. Prior to joining CARE, Elleni worked as an advocate in the community serving survivors of relationship abuse, elder abuse, and human trafficking. She also has experience advocating for survivors of sexual assault and providing case management services for people experiencing chronic homelessness. Elleni is in grad school working toward earning her Master of Social Work.

In her free time, Elleni enjoys reading, watching dramatic soap operas and telenovelas, cooking, Greek dancing, and talking loudly with her friends and family.

Other languages spoken: Spanish

Pronouns: she/her/hers

Rasta received her B.A in Psychology with a Minor in Social Work from San Diego State University and her Master's in Social Work from Boston College. She has been working with survivors of interpersonal violence since 2009. Her experience includes working with survivors of human trafficking with an emphasis on domestic sex trafficking and with survivors of intimate partner violence. She has supported survivors in community-based settings as well as through the criminal legal system. She has a passion for working alongside people who have experienced trauma, and is particularly interested in how restorative justice and transformative justice practices might be applied to addressing sexual and domestic violence. 

In her free time Rasta can be found baking from scratch, spending time with family and friends, hanging out by a body of water, and laughing too much at everything. 

Other languages spoken: Farsi

Pronouns: she/her/hers

Sallie Pappas is the Project Manager for the campus-wide federal grants received from the Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women. She is responsible for ensuring that all programmatic goals are being met while providing fiscal management for grant funds. Ms. Pappas received her Master's Degree in Public Health (M.P.H.) and her Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from the University of California, Los Angeles. She has over 30 years experience working in social services and public health, including the areas of reproductive health, child abuse prevention, hunger and homeless prevention, and now sexual assault prevention.

Pronouns: he/him/his

Douglas graduated from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona with a degree in Graphic Design and a minor in Marketing. As a new member of UCI CARE, he is eager to devote his time to promoting the resources available to the UCI Community and playing his part in ending power-based personal violence.

He’s an orange county native who loves spending time with his family and friends. He particularly enjoys hiking, reading, eating, and beer tasting.

Pronouns: she/her/hers

Winnie provides administrative and program support to CARE, including preparation and maintenance of files, correspondence and program materials to relevant agencies, organizations, and individuals.

She also provides support in conference and workshop preparation. Before joining CARE in 2009, Winnie held several positions in the healthcare and financial services industries.