Johanna (they/them) is the Student Affairs Manager with the Department of Communication. They are responsible for all aspects of managing the graduate program, including tracking student milestones and monitoring program requirements, coordinating admissions and orientation, and planning TA assignments and graduate financial support. They also oversee the undergraduate program, supervising the undergraduate advising staff and providing backup support as needed. They work closely with the Chair and Business Officer on curriculum planning. 

Johanna started as UCSB staff in early 2026 with the Bioengineering Department where they were the Academic Program Administrator. Johanna brings additional experience from roles as the APIDA (Asian Pacific Islander Desi American) Program Coordinator at Cal Poly and Program Assistant at Allan Hancock College. Johanna has their MS in Higher Ed Counseling and Student Affairs from Cal Poly, and a BA in Comm from CSU Fullerton. Johanna is currently a PhD student at University of San Diego studying Education for Social Justice. They are a plant parent and love to play Magic the Gathering.

Juven Nino Villacastin (or “N”) studies how the intersections between communication science, epistemology, cognitive science, and media studies inform theorizing and empirical research on metacognition in communication processes. His PhD research engages broad questions such as:

1. How do tangible and intangible tools afford and influence metacognition in relation to our epistemic and relational goals? 
2. How does metacognition play a role in communication processes — such as creating and repairing understanding, message processing, coordinating behavior, and persuasion — and do these roles vary across communication partners (human-human, human-machine, animal-animal), levels (biological, psychological, social), and contexts (intrapersonal, interpersonal, group)?
3. How is metacognition broadcasted through social stimuli? And how do expressions of metacognition vary across cultures? 
4. How do we theorize about theorizing communication? 

He is trained in post-positivist (MA Communicology, University of Hawai’i at Mānoa) as well as interpretivist and critical research paradigms (graduate units, University of the Philippines). He has won Top Student Paper Awards at NCA’s “Communication and Social Cognition” and “Communication and the Future” divisions and has presented his work in conferences across the US and Asia. He was also a data specialist for communication campaigns with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 

My research examines how exposure to and interaction with politics on social media shape individuals' emotional responses to politics and, ultimately, their political perceptions and behaviors. Specifically, I am interested in examining (1) how social media use patterns and message characteristics shape emotional responses to politics, (2) the emotional mechanisms linking social media use to political perceptions and subsequent (dis)engagement, and (3) the individual-level characteristics that moderate these relationships.

Giovanny Rodriguez is an M.A./Ph.D. student at the University of California, Santa Barbara. His research interests center on examining interpersonal and family communication patterns among migrant single parents and their children during migration and in post-migration U.S. integration. His scholarship is grounded in a community-based approach.

Andee is a first generation M.A./Ph.D. student in the Department of Communication at the University of California, Santa Barbara. As a previous McNair Scholar & CSU Pre-Doctoral scholar, Andee studied decision making in digital environments. She earned her B.S. in Information Systems at California State University, Long Beach and worked in research administration at UCI Law where she developed research interests in digital equity to support marginalized groups.

Sojeong Im is a doctoral student in the Department of Communication at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Her research centers on computer-mediated communication and human-AI interaction, exploring how interpersonal communication theories apply to AI contexts. Her research interests focus on: (1) the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral impacts of sycophantic or disconfirmatory AI; (2) how communication technology features and affordances shape long-term individual effects; and (3) broader questions surrounding human-centered AI. She received her M.A. in Communication from Seoul National University. Prior to her master's studies, she worked for about five years as a business planner and manager at an automotive distribution company. 

My research is inspired by culture-centered approaches to understanding health and well-being. I am interested in how cultural and structural factors shape health experiences, access to resources, and communication processes. I also study the role of emerging technologies in health communication, particularly how people perceive, interact with, and seek support from AI in health contexts.

Mahmudur Rahman is a doctoral student in Communication at the University of California, Santa Barbara. His research focuses on organizational and interpersonal communication, with particular interest in how artificial intelligence and emerging technologies shape relationships, collaboration, and organizing.