Academic & Staff Assistance Program (ASAP)

805.893.3318
kai.morquecho@hr.ucsb.edu

Pronouns: They/El/Ellos

Kai Morquecho is a recent UCSB graduate, having obtained a BA in Environmental Studies with an emphasis in Comparative Literature. During their four undergraduate years at UCSB, Kai served as a Writing Tutor, a mentor liaison for the Undergraduate Program, and a Co-Chair for the Environmental Justice Alliance. As a senior mentor liaison, Kai directed students to the appropriate UCSB resources and administered a mentoring curriculum for personal and academic success under Dr. Virginia Beaufort. As a writing tutor, Kai helped create a lasting impact on domestic and international students' writing skills. Lastly, Kai served as a leader for the Environmental Justice Alliance, co-managing a large budget dedicated to community outreach and student engagement around environmental justice. 

Born and raised in Mexico up until the age of 12, Kai is bilingual (Spanish speaking) and firmly committed to bridging the communication and resource access gaps experienced by Latinx immigrants and Spanish speaking people of color in general. Furthermore, as a transgender person of color, Kai aims to use their administrative knowledge and skills to help ensure that all individuals, regardless of their social and personal identities, have access to all that they need to live a rich, empowered life as it pertains to UCSB. 

In their freetime, Kai enjoys painting and writing poetry, trying new restaurants with their mother, and taking their feline best friend, "Kylo", on walks. After working at a pet emergency room, Kai has also started using their spare time to build relationships with stray cats to rescue them and find them a home. 

805.893.4477
pati.montojo@hr.ucsb.edu

Pronouns:  she/her/hers/ella

Dr. Pati Montojo is a licensed psychologist in California.  As a bicultural and bilingual Spanish-speaking Latina, she is committed to providing culturally sensitive clinical and consultation services and interventions.  Pati’s interests are driven by her personal experiences and professional training in her doctoral studies at UCSB.

Pati is originally from the Bay Area where she obtained her Master of Arts degree in Counseling Psychology from Santa Clara University.  She subsequently earned her Ph.D. from the Department of Counseling, Clinical, and School Psychology (CCSP) at UCSB.  She completed her pre-doctoral fellowship at the APA accredited Albany Psychology Internship Consortium consisting of the Albany Medical College/Albany Medical Center, the Capital District Psychiatric Center, and the Samuel S. Stratton VA Medical Center in New York.  Pati completed her postdoctoral fellowship at the Child Trauma Research Program at the University of California San Francisco and Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital.  Pati was an adjunct faculty member and clinical supervisor at Palo Alto University from 2015-2017.  She returned to UCSB as a Licensed Psychologist in Human Resources in 2018 where she received training and experience in organizational management and development.  She obtained her current role in December 2019.  Pati looks forward to collaborating with individuals and departments across campus.

805.893.4358
melissa.cordero@hr.ucsb.edu

Pronouns:  she/her/hers/ella

Dr. Melissa Cordero is a bilingual, Spanish-speaking psychologist and certified yoga teacher. As a bicultural Latina therapist, she is committed to providing culturally sensitive consultation, treatment, and workshops for faculty and staff.

Dr. Cordero is originally from Los Angeles and received her doctoral degree in clinical psychology from Pepperdine University. She completed her postdoctoral fellowship at Harbor UCLA, specializing in trauma and working with underserved populations. She was initially hired under the Department of Education grant to restore the campus climate after the Isla Vista tragedy. She initiated programs at UCSB CAPS focused on healing the body through non-verbal trauma therapies, such as Yoga as Healing, Healing with the Beat of a Different Drum, and Healing with Yoga and Sound.

Dr. Cordero specializes in working with underrepresented individuals impacted by racism, discrimination, interpersonal, complex, and collective trauma, as well as multicultural, spirituality, LGBTQ+, and other diversity issues that may present themselves in the workplace. Her current work focuses on applying alternative treatment approaches to various challenges that can impact staff and faculty. She looks forward to serving our campus community.

805.893.3318
isabel.lopez@hr.ucsb.edu

Pronouns:  she/her/hers/ella

Isabel López is a third-year doctoral student at UCSB in the department of Clinical, Counseling, and School Psychology (CCSP) with a Counseling Psychology emphasis. She is originally from the San Fernando Valley and received both her B.A. (Psychology-Honors) and M.A. (Clinical Psychology) from California State University, Northridge. During her master’s education, she gained experience working with community mental health centers to evaluate level of care for underserved populations. As a proud child of immigrants from both Mexican and Bolivian backgrounds, Isabel embraces her roots and dedicates her work to appreciating and honoring the narratives of underrepresented populations. In both her research and clinical work, Isabel values cultural humility and strives to produce culturally relevant work and deliver culturally sensitive services. Moreover, as a bilingual Latina, Isabel looks forward to providing services in Spanish and creating space for individuals to feel welcomed, heard, and cared for.

805.893.3318
kathryn.roberts@hr.ucsb.edu

Pronouns: she/they

Kathryn Roberts is a second year doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology program at Pacifica Graduate Institute. Originally from Maryland, she holds a BA in Spanish and International Business from Washington University in St. Louis, MO, and spent several years working in finance and as a small business owner before moving to California and completing her MA in Depth Psychology with a Somatics Specialization at Pacifica. 

Kathryn's therapeutic and research focus initially began as an inquiry into body image and eating issues, exploring the ways in which eating issues were so frequently not about literal food, but instead reflected unknown parts of the self that needed attention. This psychodynamic perspective paired well with somatic theory, which holds that the lived experience of the body is an integral component of how any experience becomes meaningful. The research has since shifted to focus on the ways in which systems of power and body norms impact self-relation and identity, and how interrogating those systems and expanding body fluency could lead to individual and collective liberation. 

In her free time, Kathryn enjoys needlepointing, playing games with her neighborhood pod, learning new languages, and exploring Santa Barbara on bike and on foot. She looks forward to working with the UCSB community.