Community Breastfeeding Advocates

Jackie Aguas

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

Monica Parra

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

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

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.

Iskally Huerta

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.

Amanda Small

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 

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.

Matthew Zawadzki

Matthew Zawadzki is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences. He studies how stress in everyday life impacts health behaviors.