Office of Campus Advising Coordination

Yunny Yip
Assistant Vice Provost of Academic Advising and Success

Yunny is thrilled to be joining the UCSC advising community as its Assistant Vice Provost of Undergraduate Advising & Success. In this role, Yunny supports the short- and long-term goals and objectives of undergraduate academic advising on the UCSC campus, collaborating with the advising community across functions and divisions.Yunny comes to UCSC from San Francisco State University, where she most recently served as the Director of the Undergraduate Advising Center for 1st & 2nd Year Advising.

Previously, Yunny held leadership positions in Academic Advising at Stanford University and Columbia University, and also in Student Affairs at the California Institute of Integral Studies, San Francisco Art Institute, and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

Yunny holds a Master of Arts in Economics from the University of Virginia and a Bachelor of Science in Economics and Business Administration from Carnegie Mellon University.

In her spare time, Yunny enjoys spending time outdoors with her partner, children, and new puppy Mochi, and is an enthusiastic supporter of her sons’ sports teams.

Email: ydyip@ucsc.edu
MS: Merrill Faculty Services
Merrill Faculty Annex 54

Danielle Mello
Director of Colleges Advising

In her role coordinating advising in the colleges Danielle focuses on providing support and leadership for all ten colleges including hiring, training, assessment, and support for streamlining policy and procedure.

Having completed her Masters in College and Career Counseling from San Francisco State University, she has over 12 years of experience in counseling, advising, leadership, and program coordination in higher education. Other UCSC roles have included: Academic Advisor and Academic Preceptor for Cowell College and Lead Career Center Advisor. Her pre-UCSC work includes career counseling and advising for community college and first generation students.

In her 10+ years at UCSC Danielle has found a wonderful community of friends and colleagues and greatly appreciates the opportunity for such collaborative work geared towards student success. Born and raised in Santa Cruz, Danielle currently lives in Aptos with her husband and two sons. She enjoys being outdoors, jogging, attending local events with family and friends, and good humor.

Tel: (831) 459-1984
Email: dmello@ucsc.edu
MS: Merrill Faculty Services
Merrill Faculty Annex 57

Verónica López-Durán
Assistant Director for Program Advising

Verónica provides leadership and coordination to Academic Advisors working in campus program offices. Areas of focus include supporting advisor training and development, participating in the development and monitoring of policies and procedures for Student Services operations, and making recommendations for potential changes. Verónica works with colleagues across the academic advising community to develop campus-wide student success initiatives. She has worked at UCSC as an Academic Advisor and Program Manager for Community Studies; as College Academic Programs Coordinator at Kresge College; and as Council of Provosts Analyst. Prior to her employment at UC Santa Cruz, Verónica held positions that built her skills in program and project management, collaboration, and communication, including work in affordable housing, community development and K-12 education. She holds a Masters in Sociology from UC Santa Cruz.

Tel: (831) 459-2957
Email: vlopez1@ucsc.edu
MS: Merrill Faculty Services
Merrill Faculty Annex 55

Hayden Ryan (he/him/his)
Cross-Colleges Academic Advisor

Hayden is a 2015 Kresge Alumni of the History of Art and Visual Culture program. As a “Cross Colleges Advisor” for the Office of Campus Advising Coordination, Hayden supports all ten residential colleges to provide advising for students in the event of a staff vacancy or other additional needs and also contributes to campuswide advising projects and initiatives. He is invested in helping students make well-educated decisions about their future and identifying opportunities to maximize their educational experience. Outside of UCSC, he is a fine arts painter, enthusiast of outdoor adventures with his dog Ziggy, and mountain biker/road biker of the type II fun variety.

Monica Baker (she/her)
Cross-Colleges Academic Advisor

Monica works as a Cross Colleges Academic Advisor. In this role she supports all ten residential colleges as well as helps the team with various advising projects and initiatives. Monica aims to take a holistic approach when advising students and utilizes a strength based model to support students while ensuring an atmosphere of equity and inclusivity.

Leading up to her role as an Academic Advisor, Monica found herself in various helping professions ranging from the hospitality industry to mental health counseling to working as a Peer Advisor while she completed her Master’s Degree. Monica received her Bachelor’s Degree in Behavioral Science (San Jose State) and her Master’s Degree in Education Counseling (San Jose State).

In her free time Monica loves enjoying all the beauty that Santa Cruz has to offer including hiking and time spent at the beach. Monica is a fitness enthusiast and loves all forms of movement including yoga, weight lifting, cycling, and pilates! Monica also enjoys traveling and visiting her close family in Austria.

Winnie Tang
Associate Director for Strategic Initiatives and Assessment

Winnie arrived at UCSC as the Crown College Lead Academic Preceptor and later took on this role at Merrill College as well. As assistant director for strategic advising initiatives and assessment, Winnie takes a data driven approach to supporting various advising projects related to student retention and timely graduation.

Winnie earned her A.B. in East Asian Studies from Bryn Mawr College, and her masters in education from the University of Pennsylvania. Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, Winnie has called several cities and countries home, before settling down on the west coast. In her free time, Winnie enjoys traveling, being an aunt, and throwing pottery.

Email: advising@ucsc.edu

Erica Bellis
Graduation & Retention Specialist

Erica has worked in Colleges Advising at UCSC for over 5 years. Erica currently serves as a Graduation & Retention Specialist for the Office of Campus Advising Coordination. In this role, Erica works on projects and initiatives aimed to support successful major migration for second year students, student retention, degree completion and timely graduation. As many students do, Erica had a both trying and rewarding undergraduate experience, which is why she enjoys working with and helping students navigate their academic careers to achieve personal success (no matter how small or large). In her free time, Erica enjoys listening to true crime podcasts, watching sports documentaries and walking in her neighborhood with her dog.

Email: advising@ucsc.edu

Sean Malone
Graduation and Retention Specialist

Sean has worked in advising at UCSC since 2013. Previously, Sean worked as a college advisor at Porter College and also served as the Advising Programs Coordinator where he supervised a team of Peer Academic Success Coaches. In his current role as a graduation and retention specialist, Sean aims to continue to have a deliberate and meaningful impact on student success and outcomes at UCSC.Sean earned his BA in History and American Multicultural Studies from Sonoma State University, and his MA in American Studies from the University of Kansas. He has over ten years of experience working with college students as a teaching assistant and academic advisor. In his free time, Sean likes going on adventures with his wife and twin boys.

Tel: (831) 459-1522
Email: advising@ucsc.edu

Tony Soottinanchai
Advising Data and Process Analyst

As the Academic Advising Data and Process Analyst for the Office of Campus Advising Coordination, Tony works with colleges, departments, curriculum analysts, and other units on campus to build reports, databases, and tools so advisors on campus have the information and resources they need to do their jobs more efficiently.As someone who enjoys leveraging technological solutions to improve efficiencies, Tony spends a lot of his free time building arduino powered robots to automate home tasks.

Tel: (831) 459-2582
Email: tsoottin@ucsc.edu
MS: Merrill Faculty Services

Don Bard
Coordinator of Undergraduate Honors and Research Opportunities

Don supports the engagement of undergraduate students across campus in a variety of honors programs, including the College Scholars Program, the Koret Scholars Program, and research opportunities here at UCSC.

​Don received a Bachelor of Arts i​​n​​ Botany from ​Duke University and a Master​​ of ​Science in ​Marine Sciences from ​UCSC. ​Don has been a staff member at UCSC for over 20 years. ​His ​​various UCSC roles have included: TA for Physics and Astronomy, Teaching Lab Coordinator for the Ocean Sciences Department, Research Lab Manager for the Institute of Marine Sciences, Program Coordinator for the SCWIBLES program, and most recently serving students ​as the Undergraduate Advisor for the Environmental Sciences Department. Outside of UCSC, Don teaches Human Anatomy and Physiology at Monterey Peninsula College. ​Don enjoys being outdoors, ​swimming, ​playing tennis, and ​teaching yoga.

Tel: (831) 459-5386
Email: dbard@ucsc.edu
MS: Merrill Faculty Services
Merrill Faculty Annex 58