Warren Writing Program

Dr. Jeff Gagnon

Program Director
jgagnon@ucsd.edu
EBU3B 1122, 858-534-1700

Dr. Jeff Gagnon is the Director of the Warren College Writing Program, a position he has held since 2017.  His most research teaching and research interests include adaptive leadership, ethics in STEM education, and science communication for the public. Originally from Massachusetts, he is an avid follower of Boston sports teams, especially the Boston Red Sox.

Dr. Haleema Welji

Associate Director
hwelji@ucsd.edu
EBU3B 1110

Dr. Haleema Welji earned her Doctorate in Anthropology from UC San Diego, and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Comparative Human Development from the University of Chicago. Prior to returning to UCSD, she taught in the Duke Thompson Writing Program. She received the 2020 Award for Excellence in Teaching Writing from Trinity College of Arts & Science at Duke University. Dr. Welji conducts research on writing pedagogy and assessment, focusing on the role of metacognition.

Ishika Rathi

Program Coordinator
irathi@ucsd.edu
EBU3B 1108, 858-534-3068

Ishika Rathi holds a B.S. in Cognitive Science (Neuroscience) and a B.A. in Literature/Writing from UC San Diego. Her firsthand experience as a Warren Writing undergraduate student instilled in her a deep appreciation for the program's impact on students. Maintaining a multidisciplinary background, she conducts research on AI detection and writing pedagogy. In her free time, she can be found writing, reading, surfing, or enjoying sunny San Diego.

Niall Twohig

Lecturer
ntwohig@ucsd.edu
EBU3B 1107, 858-534-4352

Niall Twohig has an M.A. in English from Boston College and a Ph.D. in Literature from UC San Diego. He teaches to bring lineages of systemic analysis, humanism, and contemplation to students. Niall has published nonfiction with City Works Press and his first novella with Charybdis Press. Much of his wisdom comes from parenting a daughter who asks him the big existential questions at bedtime.

Keith McCleary

Lecturer
kmccleary@ucsd.edu
EBU3B 1112, 858-534-4351

Keith McCleary holds an M.F.A. in Writing from UC San Diego, and a B.F.A. in Film & Television from New York University. He has taught at UCSD since 2011 in Warren College, Sixth College, and the International Triton Transition Program. Keith's research deals with pedagogy, writing, and multimedia, and he is an author and/or contributing editor for a variety of comic books, graphic novels, journals, and anthologies. 

Mark Young

Lecturer
mtyoung@ucsd.edu
EBU3B 1112, 858-534-4351

Mark Young earned his Ph.D. in English from the University of California, Riverside, with emphases in twentieth- and twenty-first-century literature and media. As a writer and researcher, his interests include the roles of music, nostalgia, and the fantastic in the processes of artistic creation and public remembering. As a teacher, he has worked at all levels of California’s higher education system and shares a particular interest in how mentorship drives academic innovation and the success of first-generation college students.

Tricia Ornelas

Lecturer
trornelas@ucsd.edu
EBU3B 1114

Tricia Ornelas earned a master's degree in English literature from Northern Arizona University and a bachelor's degree in Psychology from San Diego State University. With her thesis and master’s emphasis on African American women’s literature, other areas of literature interest are the genre of magical realism, Hispanic literature, The Zora Canon, and anything ever written by Toni Morrison or Haruki Murakami. She is a San Diego native and with over fifteen years' experience, she has taught on several campuses throughout the city. She reaches for progressive andragogy to engage student experience and question antiquated hierarchical foundations of higher education. She enjoys live music, writing poetry, and building community. 

Natalie Susi

Lecturer
nsusi@ucsd.edu
EBU3B 1109

Natalie Susi received a bachelor’s degree in English education from the University of Delaware and a master’s degree in English literature from San Diego State University. She has been teaching at UC San Diego for 6 years. She also has more than 15 years of experience as an entrepreneur. She founded and grew a beverage company called Bare Organic Mixers, and sold the company in 2014. Currently, outside of teaching at Warren Writing, Natalie provides conscious communication coaching to executives, entrepreneurs, and global business leaders.

Walter Merryman

Lecturer
wmerryman@ucsd.edu
EBU3B 1120

Walter Merryman earned his Ph.D in Comparative Literature from University of California, Riverside, focusing on comparative readings of concepts of community and human rights in twenty-first century Anglophone Literature and Continental Philosophy. He is originally from Ohio and earned a BA and MA in English from Bowling Green State University. His past teaching experience includes teaching First-Year Writing and Writing Across the Curriculum at UC Riverside, World Literature at Moreno Valley College, and Technical Communication at University of Michigan. Having taught writing and communication in a variety of disciplinary settings, Walter teaches with an emphasis on writing as a transferable and adaptable skill useful in academic research, professional settings, and communication in general. Walter plays the drums, and from that he has learned that learning should be unafraid of failure and fun.

Emma Uriarte

Lecturer
emuriarte@ucsd.edu
EBU3B 1109

Emma Uriarte holds a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Oregon State University, where she taught undergraduate composition and fiction writing. She earned her B.A. in English from the University of San Diego before spending three years teaching ESL in Madrid, Spain. Her current teaching interests range from alternative narrative craft to analyzing the rhetoric of discourse communities. Her writing has been published or is forthcoming in Flash Fiction Magazine, SLAB, and X-R-A-Y. When she isn’t teaching or working on creative projects, she enjoys walking around her neighborhood, befriending local cats, and doing yoga.

Simrita Dhir

Lecturer
sidhir@ucsd.edu
EBU3B 1109

Simrita Dhir holds a doctorate in Comparative Literature from Panjab University, India. Later she studied Advanced Rhetoric at the Department of Rhetoric and Writing Studies, San Diego State University, where she explored written, spoken, and visual language and its relationship to knowledge and culture. Her research interests include American Fiction, South Asian Studies, Colonial Novel, Diaspora Studies, Post-Colonial Novel, and Subaltern Narratives. She is the author of acclaimed novels The Rainbow Acres (2018) and The Song of Distant Bulbuls (2023). She has extensive experience teaching Literature, Writing and Critical Thinking in the United States and abroad. Through all her courses, she seeks to create an equitable, inclusive and antiracist classroom environment, so that all students have the resources and support to reach their full learning potential. She enjoys gardening, swimming, poetry, and coffee.

Emily Windham

Lecturer
ewindham@ucsd.edu
EBU3B 1109

Emily Windham earned a bachelor's degree in history from the University of California, Santa Barbara and a master's in history from San Diego State University. Her research focused on women's Progressive-era organizations as a form of mental health support. Emily has taught at UCSD as a Humanities TA since January 2023. She has been involved in the San Diego Community College District as well as local San Diego history programs as her family has roots in the area. She is exploring practicing mindfulness in the classroom as well as in her personal life.

Jordan Escobar

Lecturer
joescobar@ucsd.edu 
EBU3B 1107

Jordan Escobar holds an MFA in Creative Writing with an emphasis is poetry from Emerson College and a BS in Animal Science from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. His chapbook collection of poems, titled Men With the Throats of Birds, was published by Cutbank Books in 2023. He is the recipient of the Emerging Artist Award from the St. Botolph Club Foundation, the Djanikian Scholarship from the Adroit Journal, the Galway Kinnell Memorial Scholarship from Community of Writers, and a Fine Arts Work Center Scholarship from the City of Boston Office of Arts and Culture. In addition to UCSD, he has taught writing at Emerson College and Babson College.

Mathew Holloway

Lecturer
mholloway@ucsd.edu 
EBU3B 1109

Mathew B. Holloway II is an educator, artist, writer, and consultant. He is the principal of Conversations by Courage, a consulting practice dedicated to collective well-being through connecting ideas, sectors, and communities. As a scholar-practitioner and skilled storyteller, Mathew delves into social pain, care, and conflict in U.S. public affairs. He lectures at the University of California, San Diego, and serves on the boards of the San Diego Diplomacy Council and Black Men Flowers Project. Mathew is also Vice President of the Fulbright Association San Diego Chapter. As a public artist, he creates restorative and contemplative experiences that bring people together across differences. With the upcoming 250th anniversary of the U.S., his work aims to reshape the discourse on these critical issues.

Jill Martiniuk

Lecturer
jmartiniuk@ucsd.edu 
EBU3B 1120

Jill Martiniuk earned her doctorate and Master’s degree in Slavic Languages and Literatures from the University of Virginia and holds a bachelor’s degree from Emory University in Russian Area Studies and a Master’s degree in Learning Design and Technology from the University of South Florida. She has taught in first-year writing programs at the University of Houston and the University of South Florida. She has also taught professional and technical communication at the University at Buffalo. Her current research interest centers on contemporary adaptations of Slavic folklore, and accessibility and equity in online learning spaces. She enjoys exploring new places, reading, and taking her beagle, Hank, on walks.

Hadley Clark

TA - WCWP 10B
hgclark@ucsd.edu
EBU3B 1111

Hadley Clark is a Master's student at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. She earned her B.S. in Marine Science at California State University Monterey Bay. She then worked as a Research Assistant in a Remote Sensing Lab at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution for 3.5 years. There she studied the spatial correlation between dimethyl sulfide (DMS) concentrations in relation to the highly endangered North Atlantic Right Whale abundance to eventually provide real-time location information to proximate ships to decrease right whale ship-strike fatalities. Her research at Scripps focuses on using passive acoustic technology to understand the interaction between Hawaii’s endangered false killer whale population and the local fisheries for conservation and management implementation strategies. In her free time, Hadley enjoys running, sailing and spending time with friends.

Pedro Pimenta

TA - WCWP 10B
pnevespimenta@ucsd.edu 
EBU3B 1111

Pedro Neves Pimenta is a Master’s student at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, where his research focuses on coral ecosystems and their conservation. He earned his B.S.E in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from Princeton University, where he concentrated on designing technology for environmental resilience. At Scripps, Pedro is part of the coral reef engineering research group, studying ecological resilience and developing innovative engineering solutions to protect coral reefs. He is also passionate about climate advocacy and strives to integrate his scientific expertise into efforts for environmental justice. In his free time, Pedro enjoys scuba diving, photography, and spending time at the beach.

Sarah Stembridge

Sarah Callahan

TA - WCWP 10B
scallaha@ucsd.edu
EBU3B 1111

Sarah Callahan is a Master’s student in the BS/MS Marine Biology program at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. She graduated from UCSD with a BS in marine biology in Spring 2024, with interests in fisheries management, stock assessment, and marine conservation. Her work aims to provide valuable insights into sustainable fisheries efforts by analyzing physiological stress markers in fish. She also works at the Birch Aquarium in the education department, engaging with guests and communicating the importance of caring for the ocean and environment as a whole. During her time as an undergraduate she wrote multiple articles for the Saltman Quarterly, UCSD’s undergraduate biological research journal. This experience solidified the importance of communicating science in a concise, effective, and accessible way. In her free time, Sarah enjoys crocheting, baking, and going to the beach!

Bibi Renssen

TA - WCWP 10B
borenssen@ucsd.edu
EBU3B 1111

Bibi Renssen is a master's student in marine biology at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UCSD with a strong background in biogeochemistry and microbiology. Their current research focuses on the intersection of microbial ecology and habitat conservation, including the use of metagenomics to explore the ecological and biogeochemical dynamics of coral reef and tidepool systems. She earned her B.A. in Environmental and Ocean Sciences at the University of San Diego, where she utilized foraminifera as bioindicators for past and future climate changes. Bibi is passionate about translating complex science into digestible and intriguing concepts that reel in scientists and non-scientists alike. She is excited to join the Warren Writing Program as a Teaching Assistant for WCWP 10B, where she aims to help students develop strong analytical and writing skills, drawing on their interdisciplinary scientific background and enthusiasm for fostering collaborative learning environments. In her free time, Bibi enjoys scuba diving, reading, cooking, and hiking and camping with friends.

Sophia Zummo

TA - WCWP 10B
szummo@ucsd.edu
EBU3B 1111

Sophia Zummo is a Master's student at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, where she is researching coral reef microbiology. Before Scripps, she was the main personnel on an NSF-funded project studying the delivery effects of nutrient-rich submarine groundwater discharge on coral reef primary productivity in Maunalua Bay, O'ahu. Sophia holds a B.A. in Biology and a minor in Sustainability from Pepperdine University. She is passionate about conservation, climate justice, and scientific communication. In her free time, Sophia can be found hiking, whale watching, identifying limu, spending time with friends, or eating papaya.