Meet the Employing Humanities Team
Jasmine Alinder (she/her)
Dean of Humanities
Jasmine Alinder serves as Dean of Humanities and Professor of History at the University of California-Santa Cruz. She served as PI for a National Endowment for the Humanities grant entitled “Humanizing Technology” (2022-2025), which created a humanities certificate program targeted to engineering students; and serves as PI for a Mellon Foundation funded project called “Employing Humanities,” to grow experiential learning opportunities and career pathways for humanities students (2023-2026). She is also an interdisciplinary, community-engaged scholar and teacher of public history, the history of photography, and the history of Japanese Americans during World War II. In Spring 2025, she partnered with the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History to teach a project-based course on the history of surfing.
Email: jaalinde@ucsc.edu
Maya Woolfe (she/her)
Director of Student Engagement
Maya Woolfe is the Director of Student Engagement in the Humanities Division. In this role, she oversees co-curricular programming, student communication, recruitment, and events. She leads the Student Engagement team, which drives the Employing Humanities Initiative, a divisional effort to expand experiential learning and career readiness opportunities for Humanities students. Maya has spent nearly a decade at UC Santa Cruz in a variety of leadership and student-facing roles supporting both undergraduate and graduate students. She earned her B.A. in Psychology from UC Santa Cruz and her M.A. in Counseling & Guidance in Higher Education, with an emphasis in Student Affairs, from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
Email: mwoolfe@ucsc.edu
Kylie Rachwalski (she/her)
Assistant Director of Experiential Learning
Kylie Rachwalski is the Assistant Director of Experiential Learning in the Humanities Division, where she develops and oversees programs connecting students with paid internships, public humanities projects, faculty-led research, community-engaged learning, and international study opportunities. She collaborates closely with partners at local community organizations, faculty, alumni, and other supporters to increase access to high-impact experiences that promote student growth and learning beyond the classroom. Kylie earned her B.S. in Liberal Studies from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, and her M.A. in Curriculum & Instruction from San Jose State University.
Email: krachwal@ucsc.edu
Meredith Pelrine (they/them)
Humanities Career Engagement Specialist
Meredith Pelrine is the Career Engagement Specialist in the Humanities Division. In this position, they design career programming and provide career support for Humanities undergraduate students, helping them explore career possibilities and prepare for meaningful, successful professional lives. Meredith previously served as Operations Administrator in the Humanities Division. Prior to joining UCSC, Meredith worked at a public service law firm. They graduated from Stanford University with a B.A. in Anthropology and Linguistics.
Email: mpelrine@ucsc.edu