Project Team
Community Breastfeeding Advocates
Jackie Aguas is an IBCLC. She has served breastfeeding dyads in her community for 25 years. She is interested in the project because she hopes it will provide a better understanding of the imperceptible difficulties faced by women to breastfeed their infants.
Merced County Department of Public Health
Melissa Gonzalez-Gallegos is a health education specialist with Merced County Department of Public Health. Her work involves promoting healthy eating habits and physical activity among children and adults in Merced County, as well as working with schools and community organizations to advance policies that promote healthy living.
Monica Parra is a health education specialist with Merced County Department of Public Health. As a Merced County resident, she is interested in understanding why women stop exclusively breastfeeding or stop any type of breastfeeding. In return, she hopes to be able to strengthen the breastfeeding support Merced County offers.
University of California, Merced
Hannah Dillon is a research assistant and alumna of UC Merced with a bachelor's degree in psychology. She will attend Cal State San Bernardino to pursue a Master of Social Work degree. Her research interests include the effects of intergenerational trauma in familial relationships and the use of family therapy in families with parents and children raised in different cultures.
Alexis Galaz is a research assistant and second-year undergraduate student majoring in Psychology and minoring in Cognitive Science. She plans on getting her Masters in Neuroscience and Ph.D. in Neuropsychology. Her research interests are in abnormal child psychology and mental health within underprivileged communities.
Dr. Jennifer Hahn-Holbrook is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at UC Merced and the Director of the LATCH Lab. Dr. Hahn-Holbrook's research focuses on understanding the biological and psychological factors that influence lactation and maternal-child health.
Iskally Huerta is a research assistant and undergraduate student in Psychology with a minor in Spanish. She plans to attend graduate school for school psychology. Her research interests include the effects of language on the development of individuals who grow up in bilingual households and the use of hypnotherapy to treat both mental and physical health.
Jessica Marino is a third year doctoral student in the Health Psychology Ph.D. program at UC Merced. Her research focuses on the psychobiology of maternal behavior, critical periods in the mother-infant relationship, and infant health.
Amanda Small is a doctoral candidate in Health Psychology currently working on her dissertation on the impacts of high stress contexts on daily health. Her research focuses on how simple everyday aspects of our lives such as work and home environments can impact our long term health and well-being.
Krissia Tobar is a research assistant and second year undergraduate student in Psychology with a minor in Public Health. She aspires to go to physician assistant school after graduating. Her research interests include dreams and trauma within different cultures, especially in Hispanic and Latino culture.
Dr. Matthew Zawadzki is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences. He studies how stress in everyday life impacts health behaviors.