DUE Central Leadership & Staff

Stacey Brydges is Interim Dean of Undergraduate Education and Teaching Professor in the Department of Chemistry at UC San Diego, as well as an affiliate faculty member of the Mathematics and Science Education Doctoral Program joint with San Diego State University. She received her Ph.D. in inorganic chemistry from McMaster University and served as an associate research scientist and lecturer in the Department of Chemistry at Columbia University before joining UC San Diego in 2008.  

As a chemical education researcher and practitioner, Brydges has devoted more than two decades to advancing access, engagement, and persistence in the sciences and higher education more broadly. Her commitment to inclusive, evidence-based teaching and creative advancements in the undergraduate classroom have been recognized with the UC San Diego Academic Senate Distinguished Teaching Award (in 2013). Building on these efforts, she has secured external funding for undergraduate curriculum design (NSF CCLI, NUE), research opportunities for transfer students (NSF REU), graduate student socialization in teaching (Department of Education GAANN, NSF GK-12), and faculty professional development in teaching (NSF EAGER).

Brydges serves as Director of Education and Outreach for UC San Diego’s Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC), a role that integrates her scholarship with broader educational impact. She has held previous appointments as Vice Chair in Chemistry and Biochemistry, Faculty Equity Advisor for the School of Physical Sciences, and Chair of the UC San Diego Academic Senate Undergraduate Council.

Christine Alvarado received her PhD in Computer Science from MIT in 2004. In addition to serving as Associate Dean for DUE, Christine Alvarado is also a Teaching Professor and holds the Paul R. Kube Chair in the Computer Science and Engineering Department. Her scholarship focuses on designing curriculum and programs to make computing and computing education more accessible and appealing, with the specific goal of increasing the number of women and Black, Latinx, Native American and Pacific Islander students who study computing.

 Outside of work, Christine enjoys doing yoga and running marathons (half and full). She spends plenty of time with her husband and two (middle- and high-school-aged) sons--sometimes traveling to fun places, but often just driving them around San Diego. She is also a certified US Swimming Official and frequently can be found on a pool deck around San Diego, hoping not to have to disqualify young swimmers.

Pamela Frugé is currently serving as the Assistant Dean, Undergraduate Education, responsible for the overall administrative management of units in the Division. Pamela is a graduate of UC San Diego, Warren College where she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree and went on to obtain her Master of Business Administration. Pamela has been a proud Triton staff member for over 25+ years with experience spanning a variety of campus departments from Admissions & Registrar, Managing the UCSD Guardian to MSO for Education Studies (formerly TEP) and the Undergraduate Colleges Business Office. Pamela also serves as a campus Lead Fellow and has chaired the UC San Diego Black History Month Planning Committee for the last 7 years, raising funds for student scholarships and highlighting the academic achievement of traditionally underrepresented students at UC San Diego.

As the Academic Advising Program Director, Katie coordinates undergraduate advising efforts across academic departments and programs and between the departments, programs, and the undergraduate colleges. She works closely with the Dean of Undergraduate Education, department/program advisors, and the colleges’ Council of Deans of Academic Advising to develop policies, procedures, and efficiencies across academic advising. She also leads training for departmental/program advisors.

Roberta Camarena is a successful higher education leader with more than 30 years of progressively responsible roles spanning student services, admissions, enrollment management and community and government engagement. For the past several months she successfully served as the Interim Director of SSCE while also holding the position of Director of Campus Local Government and Community Relations to the City of San Diego. Previously she worked as the campus’ Director of Chancellor Community Relations and Assistant Director of Admissions. She is a proud alumna of UC San Diego, earning a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry & Cell Biology, with minors in Mathematics and Spanish Literature.

As the Director of Student Services and Community Engagement for the UC San Diego–Chula Vista program, Roberta will provide operational expertise and strategic leadership for student services and community engagement efforts, partnering with numerous campus units – both at UC San Diego and Southwestern College – as well as community organizations and stakeholders (families, K-12 school districts, local employers and more) – to support student success, retention, and workforce readiness. Camarena will also be responsible for program assessment and advancing recommendations for new degree programs. Collectively, these efforts will be carried out in collaboration with the Division of Undergraduate Education (DUE) and Organizational Transformation (OT).

Part of the University Now Initiative, the UC San Diego–Chula Vista program is a partnership with Southwestern College that aims to provide local, in-person access to a UC degree in the South Bay region. Beginning in Fall 2026, the pilot will enable community college students at Southwestern College to transfer to UC San Diego’s Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science to complete a Bachelor of Science in Public Health degree.

 

Hailey Caraballo is responsible for performing high-level analysis on a diverse range of policies, programs, projects, and issues. She plays a key role in developing new programs and executing implementation plans for workgroups and committees within the Division of Undergraduate Education. She also manages undergraduate program reviews and is actively involved in assessment and accreditation efforts.

April Burcham is responsible for academic personnel administration for the Dean of Undergraduate Education (DUE). She also manages the Freshman and Senior Seminar Programs.

The Executive Assistant (EA) to the Dean of Undergraduate Education is responsible for managing the Dean's and the Associate Dean's calendars. The EA helps to coordinate several committees and working groups, and is a main point of contact for the Division.