Graduate Affiliates

Alyssa Mitson-Salazar

Alyssa Mitson-Salazar is a tenth-year MD/PhD student in immunobiology studying regulatory T cells in intestinal homeostasis and allergy. Originally from a rural farming town in southern Colorado, she studied biology as an undergraduate at Yale (JE 2012). Her fondest memories of undergrad include working in lab, choreographing for Danceworks, tutoring for the STARS I program, and being a FroCo. Before returning to Yale, Alyssa worked for two years at the National Institutes of Health. When she’s not in lab, Alyssa enjoys hiking, dancing, and eating tacos. She’s all ears if you ever want to chat about anything—just shoot her an email to meet up! :)

Brooke Bodensteiner is a fifth year PhD student in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Before attending Yale, Brooke did two years of PhD at Virginia Tech studying Biology, and got her Masters of Science and BS from Iowa State University in Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology. Her scientific interests broadly relate to how organisms interact with their environment, particularly their thermal environment, and what that means for the evolution and persistence of these organisms in a rapidly changing world. When not chasing lizards around the world, Brooke enjoys spending time with her dog, hiking, crafts, and movie nights. Brooke is excited to meet the JE students and discuss doing research, graduate school, and whatever else comes up.

Dorthy Fang (Head GA & Resident GA)

Dorthy Fang is a fifth year Ph.D. student in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology (MCDB) studying RNA modifications. She grew up in (sort-of) upstate New York, and received a B.A. in Environmental Biology at Columbia University. In her gap years before coming to Yale, she conducted plant surveys in rural Wisconsin and worked at a biotech startup in San Diego. When not holed up in lab, she can often be found exploring the great outdoors to relive her ecology days, trying new restaurants, or jamming to music. Please feel free to reach out to her about anything and everything - she is excited to get to know everyone in JE!

Hang Nguyen (Resident GA)

Hang is a third-year medical student. She graduated from Yale (JE 2021) with a BS in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology. During college, Hang was involved with the first-generation/low-income (FGLI) community and the Vietnamese Students Association at Yale. In her senior year, she served as a first-year counselor (FroCo) for JE. In her free time, she enjoys painting and taking care of her plants. If you have questions, especially about being pre-med, email her at hang.nguyen@yale.edu.

Holden Miles

Holden Miles is a third-year Masters of Architecture I student undergoing his professional degree program. He holds a B.S. in Architecture from the University of Virginia with a minor in Architectural History. Holden’s fascination with architecture is primarily in the built form and seeks to achieve designs which balance current social-environmental issues with strong, atmospheric and emotional engagement. He is always interested in how architecture is utilized and perceived, not only from an academic perspective, but from all who encounter it. Yale has a strong architectural legacy so if anyone has even the slightest interest in architecture, urbanism, or design in general, Holden is happy to speak with you about it. When not in studio, you can find Holden sleeping, playing guitar, or sleeping.

Jacob Romm

Jacob Romm is a Ph.D. candidate in the joint program between Comparative Literature and Early Modern Studies, also working on certificates in translation studies and book history. His research interests include trans and queer histories of the early modern period, cultural and literary exchanges between Jewish and Christian communities, and the history of the printed book. Jacob translates from French, Yiddish, and Hebrew and is currently translating the Yiddish poet Menke Katz as a Yiddish Book Center fellow. He also is an enthusiastic student of the art of letterpress printing, and has recently started a tiny print shop, Letter and Spirit Press.

Jisun Kim (Culural Draw Ticketing / Show Schedule Manager) 

Jisun Kim (she/her) is a DFA candidate in Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism at Yale School of Drama. She is an idealist, dramaturg, artist and scholar. She created a non-verbal puppetry/movement piece benjisun presents bodyssey with Benjamin Benne, and an online puppet musical Let’s Go to the Moon with Nicole E. Lang (Yale Cabaret). Jisun is a former managing & web editor of Theater magazine (Duke UP). She received her BA and MA in English Literature from Ewha Woman’s University, South Korea. She believes in a transformative power of theater, because it transformed her. Her recent research interest is queer of color comedy. Jisun is also deeply in love with coffee. Please let her know if you want to get a coffee (or tea or water) with her. She’s excited to get to know JE students.

Kathleen Voight

Kathleen is a Master of Environmental Science candidate at the Yale School of the Environment. Her research focuses on agricultural land management throughout the Rocky Mountain West and on improving drought resiliency on farms and ranchers. Kathleen studied History of Art while in JE during undergrad at Yale College. Prior to returning to Yale, Kathleen worked in environmental education and in agriculture, growing diversified vegetables and raising pastured livestock in Colorado. In her free time, Kathleen likes to bike, hike, and ski as much as possible.

Kelly Xu

Kelly Xu is a second year MBA student at the Yale School of Management. She is a New York City native and majored in Applied Economics and Management at Cornell University. After graduating early, Kelly spent some time volunteering in Amsterdam, the Netherlands as a primary school English teacher and traveling around Europe. She worked in the financial services industry at Citigroup’s HQ in Manhattan prior to Yale SOM. Kelly enjoys biking, swimming, trying new desserts, reading fantasy novels, and learning about art history in her free time. Fun fact is that she named her cat after Kalliope, the muse of epic poetry in Greek mythology. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to Kelly to grab coffee or share a meal in the dining hall to discuss anything on your mind, she’s excited to meet everyone at JE!

Yoonmin Kim (Culture Draw Operations Manager)

Yoonmin Kim is a PhD candidate in Slavic Languages and Literatures. She is interested in contemporary Russophone poetry and what makes a piece of poetry good or bad (if it’s poetry at all). Before coming to Yale, Yoonmin studied Russian language and literature at Sungkyunkwan University, South Korea, and Ural Federal University, Russia. When not working, you can find Yoonmin playing guitar, doing yoga, or doing clown exercises with friends. Yoonmin is happy to chat with you about anything or practice Russian or Korean together. Just shoot her an email!

Matthew Beattie-Callahan

Matthew Beattie-Callahan (JE ’18) is a student at Yale Law School. Originally from Hawaii, Matt graduated from Yale with a degree in Ethics, Politics, and Economics.  While at Yale, Matt worked in the Buttery and was the JE gym manager.  After graduation, Matt served in the United States Marine Corps for five years as an infantry officer stationed primarily out of California with deployments to Iraq and the Pacific.  Matt loves any and all outdoor activities, comedy shows, and practicing his Swahili.  He is absolutely ecstatic to have the opportunity to rejoin the JE community and is eager to get to know current Spiders and help them with making the most of their time at Yale.

Ryan Sandler

Ryan Sandler is a J.D. student at Yale Law School and a proud alumnus of JE (’22).  Ryan is passionate about constitutional law, pedagogy and education policy; he loves discussing each with anyone and everyone interested!  Ryan has worked in federal public defense, in the federal judiciary and in D.C.’s public schools. During college, Ryan spent many a late night crafting letterpress prints in JE’s pressroom.  Say hello anytime: ryan.sandler@yale.edu

Rebecca Li

Rebecca is a second year MPH student in Social and Behavioral Sciences. She is interested in improving maternal and child health and addressing health disparities in underserved communities. Originally from Minnesota, Rebecca graduated from Yale (JE ‘23) with a B.S. in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology and a certificate in the Global Health Studies program. In her free time, she enjoys the New York Times games, jigsaw puzzles, and taking long walks around New Haven. Please reach out with any and all questions – she is so excited to connect with students in JE!

Inês Forjaz de Lacerda

Inês Forjaz de Lacerda (she/they) is a doctoral student in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, where she works comparatively on spaces of Iberian colonial and migrant influence, with an emphasis on work emerging from the relationship between the Portuguese-speaking world and Asia (Japan, Macau, Goa, East Timor). Before coming to Yale, Inês spent three years as an educator in her hometown of Lisbon, Portugal. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, group fitness classes, baking, and caring for her many plants. Inês is always up for a chat, so please feel free to say hi if you see her around campus!

Lauren Fadiman

Lauren (LG) Fadiman (she/hers) is a first-year graduate student in History interested in the pathologization of political dissidence and the political abuse of psychiatry in the United States during the Interwar period. Previously, she completed her undergraduate degree in Folklore and Mythology at Harvard University — culminating in a thesis project concerning the folkloric impact of the cell phone on American popular culture — with a joint-concentration in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and a secondary field in Celtic Languages and Literatures, focusing on Modern and Middle Welsh. Outside the classroom, she is an independent folklorist and writer — whose work on conspiracy theories, contemporary legends, and the cultural periphery, has appeared or is forthcoming in publications including The Baffler, Jacobin, Current Affairs, The Drift, Orion, and Real Life — as well as an assistant editor at Jacobin. Some of her hobbies include quilting, camping, cooking, writing fiction, and singing Sacred Harp; and she would love to talk with you about anything, especially grad school, public writing, tenant organizing, and the contemporary Left.

Precious Ndukuba

Precious Ndukuba is a first-year MArch II student in the School of Architecture. She grew up between London and Rugby in the UK and holds a B. A professional degree in Architecture from the University of Cambridge. Before Yale, she worked in public policy research and large-scale urban planning in London. She is particularly interested in prioritizing young black people in public spaces and has spent a lot of time advocating for de-colonized teaching. She loves film photography and will always be on eBay looking for a new camera. She also paints and sketches in her free time. Other loves include F1, innumerate playlist curation, chocolate making, plants, and poetry. Feel free to reach out, she is always down for a chat over a hot chocolate.