CARE Staff
Celia Lugo
Intake and Office Coordinator
P: (530) 752-3299 E: clugo@ucdavis.edu
Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
Celia began her advocacy work as an undergraduate, being a classroom advocate for students in middle school. In her work, she looks to be supportive to others and provide resources to help navigate any situation. She achieved her bachelor's in Psychology and minor in Spanish from Sonoma State University in 2017. Worked for the Yolo County Office of Education and meanwhile increased her skillset and toolbox, she has continually sought out additional training which covers topics such as mental health, trauma, and grieving. She received her Community Health Worker certification in May 2022. Recently completed La Cultura Cure Circle Keeper Process, facilitator curriculum training via the National Compadres Network. Experience facilitating group sessions and cultivating a movement of community health through acknowledgment. As a continuous learner and helper, she is excited to be working with the CARE program and providing support to the UC Davis community. She enjoys learning, being outdoors, reading, and visiting the beach at least once a month. Celia's strengths are restorative, relator, responsibility, discipline, and developer.
Taylor Cirksena
Victim Advocacy Specialist
P: (530) 752-0172 E: tcirksena@ucdavis.edu
Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
Taylor began her career in the field of victim advocacy and trauma-informed care working as a Crisis Specialist within the Suicide Prevention Department at WellSpace Health in 2020. She comes to UC Davis from WEAVE, a local nonprofit based out of Sacramento specializing in supporting survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, and stalking. Taylor first started at WEAVE as an on-call Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) Advocate, accompanying survivors during their evidentiary exams and providing emotional support, safety planning, and engaging the survivor in supportive follow-up care. Most recently, Taylor was the victim advocate embedded at Citrus Heights Police Department. There she supported survivors in moments of crisis while out on patrol in the field and worked side by side with detectives to advocate for survivors throughout the investigative and judiciary processes. Taylor is an alumnus of Sacramento State and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a Master’s Degree in Psychology, specifically focused on neuroscience, mindfulness practices, and the impact trauma can have on the brain.
Taylor is looking forward to being back within a university culture and is excited to support and empower members of the UC Davis community while advocating for both a safe and inclusive environment for all students, staff, and faculty.
Jessica Elorduy
Victim Advocacy Specialist
P: (530) 754-1026 E: jelorduy@ucdavis.edu
Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
Jessica began her work in the field of victim and survivor advocacy and care in 2017 working as an intern for Safer, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo’s resource for survivor support and prevention education. Most recently, she interned with Empower Yolo to provide counseling and therapy services to victims and survivors of sexual violence, intimate partner and domestic violence, human trafficking, stalking, and child abuse and neglect. Jessica holds Bachelor’s degrees in Psychology and Comparative Ethnic Studies from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and a Master’s degree in Social Work from San Jose State University. She enjoys reading, baking, and spending time with her very adored dog. Jessica is grateful for the opportunity to work alongside and support the students, staff, and faculty of UC Davis and hopes to contribute to an inclusive, trauma informed, survivor centered space.
VACANT
Victim Advocate
Open recruitment: job posting can be found at the UC Davis jobs site, Job ID 55256. Deadline to apply is Thursday, July 20th.
Jacquelynn Lira
Assistant Director
P: (530) 754-6387 E: jllira@ucdavis.edu
Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
In 2007, Jacquelynn began her advocacy work in sexual assault and domestic violence with WEAVE in Sacramento County before joining the CARE program in 2012. Over the years, she has trained teams of advocates, facilitated state certified trainings for new staff/volunteers, provided outreach and education, served as an expert witness for the Yolo County District Attorney’s office, as well as assisted survivors through both the criminal justice and administrative reporting processes. Jacquelynn holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a minor in Philosophy from California State University, Sacramento, she is a Certified Domestic Violence and Rape Crisis Counselor in the state of California and is a certified ICI Instructor for the California Commission on Peace Officers Standards and Training. Jacquelynn’s love and passion for this work is as strong as it was in 2007. It continues to be an honor and privilege to serve the UC Davis community.
Kelsie Sladen
Training and Education Specialist
P: (530) 754-3453 E: ksladen@ucdavis.edu
Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
Kelsie began her advocacy career in 2015, working closely with and supporting underserved and underrepresented LGBTQ+ youth and young adults in Sacramento and Yolo Counties. While serving the LGBTQ+ community, Kelsie developed her skill set in crisis intervention, trauma informed care, and community safety. She used these skills along with her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology to help support, advocate for, and work closely with community members experiencing homelessness, sexual violence, mental health crisis, and substance use. This work paired with her love for the community developed Kelsie’s deep passion for community education. Over the last two years Kelsie has focused on providing community education to local organizations and schools, on a wide variety of topics including comprehensive and inclusive sex education, inclusive health care spaces, and LGBTQ+ competency. Kelsie is committed to supporting survivors and those most marginalized through trauma informed care, centering survivor experiences, and providing inclusive education. She is so excited to join the CARE team to continue doing this work and focus on sexual violence prevention and education in the UC Davis community.
Lea Harlev
Training and Education Specialist
P: (530) 754-0530 E: lharlev@ucdavis.edu
Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
Lea began her work in prevention education and training as an undergraduate student at UC Santa Barbara. She worked as a Peer Educator for the CARE office and helped design and lead prevention training and education programs for students on campus, which fostered her passion for the field. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara with Highest Honors, obtaining bachelor's degrees in the fields of Sociology and History. While at UC Santa Barbara, she also worked as a Campus Tour Guide, which allowed her to gain experience helping and educating students about resources on a UC campus, which further cultivated her motivation for leadership and mentorship. Lea is passionate about providing prevention education and trauma-informed resources to the university community and is excited to be working with CARE at UC Davis.
Sarah Meredith
Director
P: (530) 754-6389 E: sameredith@ucdavis.edu
Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
Sarah began her career in the field of sexual assault and domestic violence in 2003, working as a victim advocate in Alpine County for the South Lake Tahoe Women’s Center. After leaving Tahoe, Sarah joined the education and training department at WEAVE in Sacramento; and in 2010, she joined the UC Davis CARE team. She is a graduate of California State University, Sacramento with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and minor in Biology, a certified Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Counselor, a graduate of the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Master Instructor Certification Course, and a certified yoga instructor (RYT-200). Over the course of her career, she has worked with hundreds of survivors of violence, and has facilitated educational programming and professional trainings to countless learners in various settings. She is passionate about prevention education and having conversations about healthy sexual communication, consent, and violence prevention.
CARE Student Assistants
VACANT
Outreach Student Assistant
Look for recruitment information in fall 2023
VACANT
Graphic Design Student Assistant
Look for recruitment information in fall 2023