Staff Spotlight

Although she’s only been at CSUDH a relatively short time, Lily Arana is already sure she’s at the right place. She serves as a bilingual counselor and advocate at the on-campus Center for Advocacy, Prevention & Empowerment (CAPE), a space that provides confidential assistance, support, and education for those affected by sexual abuse, assault, intimate relationship abuse, and stalking.

Arana says she wouldn’t trade jobs with anyone, and she “loves how intimate the CSUDH campus is, and how friendly everyone is.”

A South Bay native, Arana got her BS in psychology from CSU Los Angeles, then attained a master’s in social work at CSU Long Beach. While pursuing her graduate studies, she interned as a clinical social worker at a local domestic violence agency, and realized that advocating for and counseling survivors or trauma and assault was her calling.

She has been at CSUDH since September, 2022. “Growing up in an underserved community in the South Bay, I want to make a difference by being the support and advocate that I wish I had growing up and attending a CSU,” she says. “As a first-generation college graduate, I had to navigate higher ed on my own, and I want to be that guide for the first-gen students here.”

As a counselor and advocate, she says that every day is different and unique. “I can go from scheduling meetings with campus survivors to doing advocacy on- and off-campus to creating content for presentations. My favorite days are Tuesdays, when I host Social Hour with CAPE, where we have open conversations about relationships and other topics.”

Her favorite part of working at CSUDH is interacting with the students on a daily basis. “I love being around students!” she says. “Whether it’s during Social Hour on Zoom or when CAPE is out there tabling an event, I love meeting and working with Toros!”

When she’s not working, Arana spends most of her time “chasing after my 15-month old daughter.” In the rare moments she gets to herself, she enjoys cooking and baking, painting, and indoor gardening. Arana is also a nature lover who loves being outdoors every chance she gets.

CSUDH Sustainability Manager Ellie Perry thinks that she has the “best job ever” as the person in charge of the university’s environmental initiatives and sustainability efforts.

“I like that every day there are new opportunities to make things better,” she says. “Even though our office has accomplished a lot in the five years that I’ve been here, we are still growing by leaps and bounds when it comes to our sustainability efforts as a campus.”

Perry spends much of her time keeping the lines of communication open with a wide variety of people, units, and departments from both on- and off-campus who are vital to ensuring that CSUDH delivers on its sustainability promises.

“Sustainability is one of our core values as a university,” she says. “It serves as a catalyst for our educational mission to support our underserved communities in so many ways. The students we serve are coming from communities that will be most impacted by climate change, energy costs, food insecurity, and so on. They have the most to gain from a campus that embraces sustainability both operational and culturally.”

When she’s not answering emails or attending Zoom meetings, Perry keeps tabs on a range of campus sustainability programs. She might pop up at the CSUDH Urban Farm, the weekly Farmers Market that she helped establish, campus physical facilities, or student outreach activities. It’s all in a day’s work.

Perry was introduced to her vocation while attending the University of California, San Diego, when she got a position as a sustainability intern at the school. “It completely opened my eyes to the field,” she says. “That’s why I’m always thrilled to be able to offer that same experience to the CSUDH interns who work in our office.”

In the few years since becoming the university’s first sustainability manager, Perry has positioned CSUDH as one of the national leaders in such efforts. “I’m very proud of the national and statewide recognition and awards we have received for our sustainability efforts, despite only have an Office of Sustainability for less than five years,” says Perry. “On a personal level, I am proud that we have a weekly Farmers Market, Campus Urban Farm, and zero waste system that continue to be a part of daily campus life.”

When she’s not helping position CSUDH as a national sustainability leader, Perry likes to spend time playing beach volleyball at Redondo or Hermosa Beach, which gives her an excuse to spend a lot of time by the ocean. She also enjoys baking, gardening, and hiking, “When I can spare time from managing my 14-month-old toddler!” she laughs.

Perry is also an avid scuba diver, and has been lucky enough to dive at some of the world’s best spots. One place still on her bucket list is the Red Sea, “which is supposed to be phenomenal,” she says. She also has a motorcycle license, which she obtained because they’re more fuel-efficient, “but I’m too risk-averse to actually manage one.”

She wakes up each morning full of inspiration, with visions of sustainability projects dancing in her head. “The earlier I get up, the more likely it is that I’ll get to work on projects and programming before my day gets jam-packed with meetings!”