SSRC Staff

Laura Gil-Trejo, M.P.H., M.A. Director Laura Gil-Trejo the Director for the Social Science Research Center at California State University, Fullerton, began her career at the Center began when she was hired as a Research Associate in 2004. She was promoted to Associate Director in 2007 and to Acting Director in 2008 where she maintained her position and grown the program in a very positive direction over the last three years. She holds a B.A. in Psychology and Social Behavior from the University of California, Irvine; two Master’s degrees-- one in Social Ecology from the University of California, Irvine; the other in Public Health from San Diego State University; and is presently working towards her PhD in Program Evaluation and Applied Research Methods at the School of Behavioral Organizational Sciences, Claremont Graduate University. Her teaching experience includes CSU Fullerton and Santiago Canyon College. Laura has several journal publications to her credit and has presented at both local and national conferences. Laura has written many professional technical reports including over two dozen reports for diverse programs including academic departments in most of CSUF's colleges and various research and service centers on campus. She has been consistently responsible for obtaining and managing grants and contracts that average $500,000 each year.

Nickolas Jones, M.A. Programmer and Research Support Technician Nickolas earned his BA in Psychology, cum laude, in the Spring of 2009 and his MA in Psychology in the Summer of 2011. Nickolas provides technical support with regard to data management and application programming utilizing Excel, SPSS, CI3 and other appropriate programming applications and computing tools as required to produce contract deliverables. His research interests include prejudicial attitude expression against LGBT individuals, modeling relationships between personality, empathy and prejudice, and using advanced quantitative methods (like structural equation modeling) to analyze applied social science data. In addition to his role at the SSRC, he is currently a part-time instructor in the Psychology Department (teaching computer applications in psychology and human sexual behavior).

Lizette Sanchez, B.A. Office Manager Lizette Sanchez joined the SSRC in 2001 and is the Office Manager. She is responsible for providing administrative support and budgetary management. She also produces fiscal reports and projections, prepares payroll, supports fiscal and personnel transactions and prepares and maintains all center records and reports regarding personnel and project accounts. She is bilingual and able to provide broad support in the CATI-Lab; she has had extensive experience with the SSRC’s CATI-Lab. Lizette received her BA in Psychology from California State University, Fullerton. She is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Public Administration at California State University, Fullerton.