Michelle Villegas-Frazier, who previously worked for a decade in outreach programs on campus, returned to become the first director of Strategic Native American Retention Initiative in Student Affairs. She brings with her more than 30 years of experience in Native American outreach and retention services and programs.

Michelle will provide strategic leadership to identify opportunities for enhancing the persistence, achievement and graduation rates for students. She will lead efforts to develop partnerships across the university and implement a plan to serve students from orientation through graduation.

To schedule an appointment with Michelle, please email Jean at jmforlee@ucdavis.edu 

William (Will) Sampson is a first-generation college graduate who originally comes from Tulare, California (Yokuts lands). He graduated from UC Davis in 2019 with degrees in Native American Studies and History, and received his M.A. in History from the University of Washington in 2022. Will was amongst the first students to work in the Native Nest when it first opened in 2017, and is excited for the opportunity to work with and support the community that played a critical role in his growth as a Native person in higher education. He is committed to developing strategies for students to succeed academically and professionally during their time at UC Davis, as well as foster opportunities for student leadership. 

Nora Zade is a UC Davis Alumni, graduating in 2022 with degrees in Native American Studies and Psychology. During her time at UC Davis, she worked at the Native American Academic Student Success center as a student assistant, which further cultivated her passion for supporting students in educational settings. She is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Multicultural Education at Sacramento State University. Nora is dedicated to improving people’s access to higher education, as well as promoting equitable relationships between educational institutions and tribal communities.

Jean Mako Murata joined the NARI team in January of 2024 and is honored to be a part of the Native Nest supporting students at UC Davis. She is a second-generation, LA-born and raised, Japanese-American. She graduated UC San Diego with a degree in Sociology, and studies in Theatre and Dance. Between then and her current role, Jean explored many of her interests including administration, vocational training, early childhood education, bodywork, and meditative movement.

Jean brings with her a holistically-informed approach to student success. Through utilizing her strengths in organization and passion for efficiency, she is dedicated to supporting the mission of the Native American Academic Student Success Center and the Native American Retention Initiative.

Ariel started at UC Davis as a graduate student in 2008.  After earning her M.A. and PhD in linguistics, she started working as a writing specialist in the AATC.  As someone who didn’t particularly enjoy college writing or feel confident in it, she has since published multiple academic articles.  She is eager to help other writers feel confident and competent with their writing.

Ariel has been offering drop-in writing support in the Native Nest since 2017, and also facilitates a student book group that meets once a quarter: https://aggielife.ucdavis.edu/organization/bookgroup

Get help at any stage of the writing process:

• Understanding the prompt and generating ideas
• Developing, connecting and organizing ideas/arguments  
• Identifying grammar error patterns and learning the rules to remedy them
• Learning how to edit sentences to make them more concise

Session details/policies:

• AATC Writing Specialist Ariel Loring is holding hybrid drop-in writing support for Native Nest students every Thursday from 3:00-4:00 p.m. You can choose to attend in-person in the Native Nest or virtually on Zoom. The Zoom link is https://ucdavis.zoom.us/j/98864303944. If you’re doing any writing this quarter, either for your classes or if you’re applying for a scholarship or graduate school, I’d love to work with you. You don’t need to bring a finished draft to meet with me— I’m here to help support you at whatever stage you are at, even if you haven’t started writing yet. If you meet with me, I’ll ask what you want to go over and we’ll have a conversation about it. If I have feedback, I’ll phrase it as suggestions, but you are the writer and you make whatever choices you want based on that feedback.
• If you need grammar support, please also visit the Aggie Grammar Guide: https://tutoring.ucdavis.edu/agg
  • The AATC also offers academic support in other subjects: https://tutoring.ucdavis.edu/     

Learn more about the services Ariel can provide: 
Video

M.S. Counseling: Marriage and Family Therapy, San Diego State University

B.A. Psychology and Chicano Studies, California States University Fresno

Cresencia was born and raised in Fresno/Madera, California, homelands of Yokuts and Mono peoples. Her parents migrated to the area from the Ñuu Savi/Mixteca region of Oaxaca, Mexico. She draws her passion from first hand experience as a non-traditional student and the struggles her community faces. 

Cresencia joined Native Nest and EOP in July of 2024 as a Community Advising Network (CAN) Counselor after years of providing culturally and linguistically (English & Spanish) competent therapy services to underrepresented and underserved communities in San Diego and Fresno County. In the last 4 years of her career, Cresencia provided individual therapy to the indigenous population in Fresno as well as mental health support during Gathering of Native American (GONA) youth camps. 

She looks forward to providing a welcoming space for students to seek mental health support while achieving their academic goals. 

These communication methods are intended for staff, faculty, students, and community communications. To make an initial appointment, please send an email to Cresencia at crvcruz@ucdavis.edu. Students who have already established care with Cresencia are advised to use Health-e-Messaging for all communications.