Skip to main content

Get to Know Us

Team Bios 

All assessments and analytics are built in-house by a dedicated team of experts the fields of psychological science, statistics, machine learning, data visualization, project leadership, and software engineering. 

We are artists, gamers, athletes, and fun-loving agents of change.

 

  • Angela Song, PhD

    Angela Song, PhD

    Sr. Director, Strategic Consulting, Assessments, and Analytics

    Angela Song, has over two decades of experience in strategy management and organizational assessment, and has led transformative projects at leading corporations and academic institutions. As the Senior Director of Strategic Consulting, Assessments, and Analytics, she directs the Tritonlytics™ program, renowned for its innovative survey methods and knack for turning complex data into actionable insights across universities nationwide.

    Holding an M.A. and Ph.D. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from UC Berkeley, Angela specializes in strategic planning, psychometrics, and organizational development. Her certifications in Change Management, Strategy Execution, PMP, and Lean Six Sigma Black Belt equip her to guide projects toward operational excellence with a people-centric approach and tangible outcomes. Beyond her professional roles, Angela serves as a Leadership Development Coach at the Center for Creative Leadership and as a board member of the Network for Change and Continuous Innovation (NCCI), advocating for leadership development and continuous improvement.

    Angela’s professional endeavors are deeply intertwined with her personal values, with a special emphasis on the fulfillment she finds in mentoring others.

    Outside of work, Angela blends leisure with her passion for learning and adventure. She relishes beach outings with her greyhound and whippet, and loves diverse culinary experiences. She enjoys sci-fi, comedy, and action (in both movies and books), is fascinated by the beauty of astrophysics, and as a former tennis player, she has now embraced venturing into pickleball!

  • Wayde Gilliam

    Wayde Gilliam

    Full-Stack AI/ML Developer

    Wayde has worked for UC San Diego for over 20 years including roles as the Lead Architect and Senior Software Developer for Business Financial Services.  Prior to UC San Diego, Wayde worked as a software engineer for a variety of e-commerce and B2B startups, in addition to working as a technical educator and independent consultant in Southern California.  Wayde has a Bachelor of Arts in History from UC San Diego and Master of Arts in Theology Westminster Seminary as well as numerous Microsoft certifications. He is Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt certified.  

    Wayde is a lifelong learner and coder, loves Halloween, enjoys making beer and sipping scotch (preferably with his two Labradors), and his favorite person in the world is Julie, his wife.

  • Grace Guarin

    Grace Guarin

    Principal Program Manager

    Grace has over 15 years of project and program management experience in healthcare and higher education.  She started her career at UC San Francisco managing postdoctoral and multidisciplinary research programs at the Center for Health and Community.  At UC San Diego, she served as the Constituent Programs Manager for Health Sciences Development, and is currently the Tritonlytics Principal Program Manager.

    Grace holds a Bachelor of Arts in Human Development with a Minor in Health Care and Social Issues from UC San Diego, and a Master in Public Administration and Health Services Administration from the University of San Francisco. She is also Lean Six Sigma Green Belt certified.  

    Grace is on a mission to up her golf game, and when she's not doing that, she's off exploring new places or cruising around on roller skates.

  • Kris Hergert

    Kris Hergert

    Campus Ideation and Action Director

    Kris drafts and drives the strategy of running innovation crowdsourcing campaigns and project deliverables for IdeaWave as well as administers ideation tools to integrate quantitative and qualitative data for continuous improvement for higher education clients across the United States.  Kris has spent over 11 years working in multi-campus, multidisciplinary research universities leading innovative career center and entrepreneurship teams.  He holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology and Master of Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  Kris grew up in Connecticut, is an accomplished athlete rowing UNC Division I Crew and finishing 3x Ironmans, aficionado of San Diego coffee and kombucha, and always sports a blue dress shirt in the office.

  • Xin Kaczmarek

    Xin Kaczmarek

    Special Projects and Administrative Officer

    Xin joined OSI in 2017 as a Project Coordinator to support various SCAA strategic planning projects.  Prior to joining SCAA, Xin worked at Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. in Portland, OR and Stryker in Seattle, WA as an Executive Assistant in the Legal and Human Resources Department.  Xin completed her Bachelor of Arts in Business from Hubei University in China.  Xin was a commercial model when she was 5 years old and her aunt trained her to sing Chinese Opera and she travels frequently with her family, having visited over 15+ countries.

  • Iuliia Kepley

    Iuliia Kepley

    Principal Survey and Metrics Analyst

    Iuliia's work with Strategic Consulting, Assessments, and Analytics (SCAA) focuses on coordinating the deployment of internal and external projects, executing advanced analytic techniques, as well as delivering high-end analytics to clients of different backgrounds and statistical experience. Her day-to-day goal is to empower others to make decisions using valuable research-based insights. She also has a passion for breaking down data in a way that allows clients to take actions, which would have significant effects on process improvement.

    Prior to SCAA, Iuliia held marketing and research roles over 7 years at GfK (Ukraine) and was a part of the research, data innovation and executive teams. She also has experience with advanced statistical analysis in both qualitative and quantitative methodologies. Iuliia holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the Pittsburg State University, also she graduated from Khakriv University (Ukraine) with a Master of Science Degree in Sociology.

    Outside of work, you'll most likely find her hiking or playing with her dog on the beach. Iuliia also enjoys traveling and cooking different cuisines using ingredients and techniques discovered through her travels.

  • Kristin Ly

    Kristin Ly

    Sr. Tritonlytics Program Analyst

    Kristin has worked at UC San Diego since 2017.  She supports operational projects and strategic planning engagements.  Prior to joining SCAA, Kristin worked as a Human Resource Manager for a local property management company.  Kristin earned her Bachelor of Science in Business Management from San Diego State University.  Kristin enjoys snowboarding, playing badminton, tennis and Tetris. She loves to eat and travel.

  • Khanh Nguyen

    Khanh Nguyen

    Sr. Programmer Analyst

    Khanh has worked with the team since 2017 as well as worked at UC San Diego for over 15 years at Business Financial Services, Office of Research Affairs, and Student Affairs Technology Services.  Khanh started his software development career at a vareity of technology firms including large Fortune 500 companies, consulting parnters to Microsoft, and startups prior to joining UC San Diego.  He has a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science with Minor in Management from University of Minnesota, Microsoft Certifications (MCSD, MCSE, MCSQL), Qualtrics CoreXM Expert Certification, and is a Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt.  When he’s not yelling in front of his monitor, he’s probably yelling the other F word on the golf course (FORE!). Khanh is a diehard Rom-Com fan, enjoy bags of chips, is skilled in sign language, and will sing The Rose (offkey) any chance he gets.

  • Cheryl Olson, PhD

    Cheryl Olson, PhD

    Principal Survey and Metrics Analyst

    Cheryl has been at UC San Diego for 6 years, all with SCAA.  In the past, Cheryl has taught undergraduate Psychology and Statistics, orchestrated a multi-year longitudinal mental health survey research study for the Navy, and applied social science research in support of public health and service programs including clean water and suicide prevention.  She has her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Social Relations from Harvard University and her Ph.D. in Social Psychology from UC Berkeley.  Cheryl enjoys knitting, Boroque music, reading Mysteries, Psychology, and Natural History books and cooking experiential world cuisine.

  • Alyssa Blankenship

    Alyssa Blankenship

    Marketing and Communications Intern

    Alyssa is a third-year student majoring in Business Psychology at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). In her capacity as the Marketing and Communications Intern for the Tritonlytics team, she actively contributes to the development and execution of marketing campaigns designed to promote campuswide surveys. Her responsibilities encompass the creation of visually compelling graphics to convey survey findings, the design of Tritonlytics branded materials, and the management of diverse projects within the team's purview.  Outside of work, Alyssa loves writing and thrift shopping, and her go-to Starbucks order is a venti Strawberry Acai Refresher.