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The Graduate Division is excited to welcome our new Graduate Programming Assistant, Chava Nerenberg. She will be working closely with the staff of the Graduate Student Resource Center on programming and initiatives that support our campus' graduate students. Read on to find out more about Chava!

By Graduate Division Staff
Thursday, June 11th, 2020 - 4:40pm

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The Graduate Division is excited to welcome our new ​​​Graduate Programming Assistant, Chava Nerenberg. ​She will be working closely with the staff of the Graduate Student Resource Center ​on programming and initiatives that support our campus' graduate students. Read on to find out more about Chava!

​HER STORY

I grew up in San Diego, California and completed my Bachelor's degree at Cornell University in upstate New York. I then joined the Peace Corps, where I spent two years in Niger, West Africa. I returned to Washington, D.C., where I completed a Master's degree in International Development, then moved overseas, where I worked for nonprofits in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. I also served as a U.S. Foreign Service Officer in two countries before coming back to UCSB to complete my PhD in Counseling, Clinical, and School Psychology. UCSB was a clear choice for me when considering PhD programs due to the ​exciting research our department conducts on resilience and its focus on multicultural populations. I am thrilled to be combining my overseas experience with the excellent clinical and research training offered at UCSB, and hope to leverage these experiences into a career that includes both research and therapy.

HER RESEARCH

My research focuses on how people can recover from trauma and build their psychological resilience. I am especially interested in risk and resilience factors for aid workers, who often live outside of their home culture for years at a time while providing services to vulnerable populations.

FUN FACTS

I love travel and have been privileged to live in 10 countries because of my past work. I also really enjoy cooking and try to learn at least one new recipe whenever I travel someplace new. I love cats and promise to appreciate all of your cute cat photos.

HER ​ROLE

As the new Graduate Programming Assistant, I am excited to support programs to help graduate students develop professionally and prepare for jobs after graduation. I am looking forward to sharing my experience in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors to help peers who might be interested in similar positions. I have benefited greatly from this kind of programming ​in the past, and am excited to pay it forward and to connect graduate students to the many resources available at UCSB.

Welcome, ​​​​Chava!