About MICA

Mission

We in the Office of Multicultural Involvement & Community Advocacy [MICA], a unit within the Adele H. Stamp Student Union and the Division of Student Affairs, stand firmly in our role to empower students through education on issues of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, religion and their intersections. In support of our campus' commitment to diversity, multiculturalism, and social justice, we advance a purposeful campus climate that capitalizes on the educational benefits of diversity, through student-centered advising, advocacy, programs, research, and practices. Our collective work results in positive student outcomes observable in their learning, identity development, involvement, and leadership.

Philosophy

We support ALL STUDENTS at the University of Maryland through our work which focuses on:

• providing opportunities and spaces for all students that affirm identities
• building inclusive communities among diverse members
• creating social change - locally, nationally and globally. 

We encourage students to participate in both culturally specific and cross-cultural involvement and leadership experiences.  We do not do this work alone - through our values of collaboration, personal commitment, authenticity, and inclusion, we serve our campus in its goals to achieve equity and social justice.

Brandon Dula
he/him

Assistant Director, Adele H. Stamp Student Union
bdula@umd.edu 

Jennifer Enriquez
she/her

Program Manager
jmge@umd.edu

Erica Simpkins
she/her

Program Administrative Specialist
esimpkin@umd.edu

Justine Suegay
she/her

Coordinator for APIDA Student Involvement & Advocacy
jsuegay@umd.edu

Justine Suegay is a 1.5 generation settler-immigrant from the Philippines, but has considered Northern Virginia home since 2010. She graduated from George Mason University with a double major in Global Affairs and Spanish. There she served on the Immigration Monologues Committee, AAPI Studies Minor Working Group, and was President of the Filipino Cultural Association as well as the Asian Pacific American Coalition. Currently, she is an organizer with Kabataan Alliance DMV with previous involvement with the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA), Filipino Young Leaders Program (FYLPRO), and the Asian Pacific American Institute of Congressional Studies (APAICS). She received her Master of Education in Student Affairs at the University of Maryland and wrote her seminar paper on "Student affairs practitioner engagement with and support of anti-imperialist student activists". Justine is passionate about women's sports, Lakers basketball, food sociology, diasporic identities, sociolinguistics & language access, and working towards true liberation for all oppressed peoples. 

Marjorie Antonio
they/them

Graduate Coordinator for APIDA Student Involvement & Advocacy
mantoni2@umd.edu 

Marjorie Antonio is a 1.5 generation, Filipino American public historian and community organizer based in the DMV. Originally from the Philippines, Marjorie grew up on the Piscataway land of Baltimore County, Maryland, and earned their dual Bachelor’s degree in History and American Studies at UMD. They are pursuing the dual Master’s program History and Library and Information Science (HiLS). In their graduate education, they are continuing their scholar-activist research in transnational Filipino arts activism and visual culture and theories in social movement documentation and archival practices. Marjorie is also an American Conservation Experience intern at the National Park Service’s Cultural Resources Office of Interpretation and Education where they support the expansion of Asian American and Pacific Islander educational resources and intersectional historical storytelling. Marjorie can often be found wandering around D.C.-area museums, drinking an iced matcha latte, and talking passionately about worker-led campaigns.

Theo Ng
he/they

APIDA Community Organizing Intern

Theo Ng is a junior pursuing dual degrees in Sociology and Public Policy with a minor in Humanities, Health, and Medicine. He joined as MICA’s APIDA COSI in Fall 2023 aiming to tap into his Filipino and Chinese identities and create a welcoming and liberating space for APIDA students on campus. They are also involved in UMD’s Pride Alliance, an overarching organization for LGBTQ+ Terps, where he serves as the social media coordinator and advocates for the campus’s queer community. His personal and professional interests lie in tackling health inequity through an intersectional lens, and after graduating with his bachelors, he hopes to pursue a Master’s in Public Health with a concentration on Health Promotion. You can catch Theo biking around campus and at various Maryland athletics events playing trumpet with the Pep Band (Go Terps!).
 

Coming Soon!

Graduate Coordinator for Black Student Involvement & Advocacy

Coming Soon!

Black Student Community Organizing Intern

Alex Mullen
he/him

Coordinator for Latine Student Involvement & Advocacy
ajmul@umd.edu

 In addition to working with MICA, Alex is currently a masters student studying student affairs. He is a biracial Guatemalan from Lansing, Michigan and graduated from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor with a Bachelor of Arts in Film, Television, and Media in 2020. Following his graduation, he built on his undergraduate experience in Latine student organizing and activism by working as a college success coach with a Latine-serving educational nonprofit based in Detroit, Michigan. His main career goals are to support first-generation students of color and to help every student maximize on their time in college. He also enjoys practicing photography, playing basketball, watching anime, hiking, and playing guitar in his free time. He can be reached at ajmul@umd.edu.

Manuel Teran Hernández
he/him/él

Graduate Coordinator for Latine Student Involvement & Advocacy
mteran@umd.edu 

Manny Teran Hernández is the Graduate Coordinator for Latine Student Involvement at MICA. He is a 4th-year PhD student in the Counseling Psychology program at UMD. He is a first-generation college student, the son of Mexican immigrant parents, and a native Angeleno. He graduated from UC Irvine in 2021, where he worked on programming and initiatives for Latine queer and trans students as the QTPOC intern of the Latine Resource Center. Manny has published his research on topics related to discrimination, internalized oppression, and their impacts on mental and behavioral health outcomes among diverse Latine communities. In his free time, Manny enjoys exploring new coffee shops, attending concerts, and watching Drag Race. He can be reached at mteran@umd.edu.

Veronica Lijeron
she/her

Latine Community Organizing Intern

Veronica is a junior majoring in Operations Management and Business Analytics. She joined the MICA office as the Latine COSI in Fall 2023 and hopes to get more involved in the Latine community on campus and educate the Terp community about issues such as education access, immigration, and systematic inequality. She is also involved in The University of Maryland’s Habitat for Humanity chapter and is passionate about advocating for affordable housing. As she plans to pursue a career in consulting, Veronica is also active at the Robert H. Smith School of Business, in roles in the Interdisciplinary Business Honors program, Smith Undergraduate Student Association, and Women in Business Association. Outside of school and work, Veronica enjoys attending Maryland Latin Dance classes, crocheting, reading, and exploring DC.

Hana Zewdie
she/her

Coordinator for Transracial Adoptee & Multiracial Student Involvement & Advocacy
hzewdie@umd.edu 

Hana is a multiracial, mixed-generation Ethiopian American originally from Portland, OR, who now calls DC home. Hana earned her BA in International Relations from Gonzaga University, and an MA in Higher Education, Student Affairs, and International Education Policy here at the University of Maryland, College Park. Hana is passionate about social justice education, disability justice, reading cozy science fiction, and her cats Leota and Doro.

Celeste Good
they/them

Graduate Coordinator for Transracial Adoptee & Multiracial Student Involvement & Advocacy
cgood419@umd.edu

Celeste is a transracial adoptee from China who spent most of their life in Rhode Island. They graduated from Pennsylvania State University with a degree in Women's and Sexuality Studies. While at Penn State they acted as president of the student organization Queer and Trans People of Color for three years, as well as the Vice President for the Asian Pacific Islander Desi American Caucus (APIDA) and were the personal trainer of the official dance team of the Caribbean Student Association, Island Fever. At Penn State, they joined the Beta Lambda chapter of Lambda Theta Alpha Sorority, Inc. in the Spring of 2022. Celeste is a 1st year Masters student at the University of Maryland in the HESA program. They played rugby at Penn State and are continuing the sport here in Maryland. Their research interests are masculinity studies, queer studies, the performance of slam poetry, and being non-binary in higher education institutions and fraternity and sorority life.

 Coming Soon!

Transracial Adoptee & Multiracial Community Organizing Intern

Kyrsha Balderas
she/her

Coordinator for Native & Indigenous Student Involvement & Advocacy
balderas@umd.edu

Kyrsha Balderas is an Indigenous woman creating a queer future. She believes in the collective responsibility to gain advanced knowledge, challenge perspectives, and commit to developing & strengthening inclusive environments in higher education. She is motivated by the journey of empowering Native & Indigenous students to find and maintain their identities through higher education institutions. Kyrsha honors her relations from the Meskwaki Settlement in Iowa and Zacatecas, Mexico. Kyrsha completed her master's degree in Student Affairs Administration from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and her bachelors degree in Sociology from Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. 

Kyrsha is the new full-time Coordinator for Native & Indigenous Student Involvement and Community Advocacy. Located in the MICA Office in the Adele H. Stamp Student Union, Kyrsha supports Native & Indigenous programs designed to promote student development and programs designed to explain the historical and modern conditions of the Native & Indigenous cultures and communities.

Xandie Iti Lusakbi
she/her

Graduate Coordinator for Native & Indigenous Student Involvement & Advocacy

xwood@umd.edu 

Halito, chim achukma? Sυ Póⁿka hohchifo yυt óⁿba xhíⁿga. Sυ hohchifo yυt Xandie Iti Lusakbi. Chahta Póⁿka sia. Yakoke! Chi pisa la chike.

Hello, how are you? My Ponca name is Little Sun Rising. My name is Xandie Iti Lusakbi. I am Choctaw and Ponca. Thank you! See you later.

I am your graduate coordinator and would be happy to meet with you and answer any questions you have. Feel free to email me! I am also a doctoral student in the Criminology and Criminal Justice department here at UMD, so I am navigating UMD as an Indigenous student and I am here for you!

Alyssa Gilmore
she/her

Native & Indigenous Community Organizing Student Intern

Freddie Dufresene
they/them

Graduate Coordinator for LGBTQ+ Student Involvement & Advocacy

fdufre@umd.edu 

Freddie is MICA’s Graduate Coordinator for LGBTQ+ Student Involvement while studying in UMD’s Student Affairs Master’s Program. As a Graduate Coordinator, they form a planning committee for LGBTQ+ History month programming and coordinate LGBTQ+ History Month events in collaboration with the LGBTQ+ Equity Center as well as advise LGBTQ+ students and student groups. 

Freddie graduated with a B.A. in foreign languages from Towson University, where they developed mentorship skills and a love of community building as a student employee of the TU Center for Student Diversity. They taught high school level Spanish classes for three and a half years and now hopes to bring lessons learned from supporting their students into their role.

Coming Soon!

LGBTQ+ Community Organizing Student Intern

Hana Zewdie
she/her

Coordinates the SWANA Involvement & Advocacy Area

hzewdie@umd.edu 

Hana is a multiracial, mixed-generation Ethiopian American originally from Portland, OR, who now calls DC home. Hana earned her BA in International Relations from Gonzaga University, and an MA in Higher Education, Student Affairs, and International Education Policy here at the University of Maryland, College Park. Hana is passionate about social justice education, disability justice, reading cozy science fiction, and her cats Leota and Doro.

Coming Soon!

SWANA Community Organizing Intern