Meet the 2025-2026 TGIF Committee
The TGIF Committee is the decision-making body of The Green Initiative Fund. It chooses which projects receive funding, approves changes to awards, and guides the general direction of TGIF.
Voting Members
Jesse Martinez | Chair
Jesse Martinez (he/him/his) is a third year Environmental Science Major and Film, Television, and Digital Media Minor. He is passionate about science communication and science equity, with the goal of creating art and media that makes science both exciting and accessible for everyone. Outside of TGIF, he enjoys hiking, gaming, photography, and going on adventures with his roommates.
Michael Griffin | Vice Chair
Michael Griffin (he/him/his) is a fourth-year Biology major with a minor in Evolutionary Medicine. He is particularly passionate about sustainable transportation and advocating for public transit equity around Los Angeles. Outside of TGIF, Michael is the External Assistant Commissioner for the USAC Facilities Commission (FAC) and an undergraduate researcher in the Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology. He was also Campaign Director for Bruins for Better Transit in Spring 2025, which ran a student referendum to extend funding for the Universal Access Transit Pass (U-Pass). In his free time, Michael enjoys hiking, reading, playing guitar, and taking transit to explore everything LA has to offer.
Dante Ray | Historian
Dante Ray (he/him/his) is a 3rd year student double majoring in Political Science and Economics and minoring in Scandinavian Studies. He is interested in the ways in which cultural preservation and sustainability are linked. During his free time he enjoys reading, hiking and playing with his two cats, Fred and Lucy. He is also a proud member of the UCLA men’s rowing team.
Avantika Mohan | Internal Outreach Chair
Avantika (or just AV!) Mohan (she/her/hers) is a 3rd year at UCLA. She's curious about the intersection between sustainability and healthcare and finding ways to make UCLA a greener, happier place. She loves rewatching Avatar: The Last Airbender, stand-up comedy, Odissi (Indian classical dance), and tacos!
Sanjana Sudhir | External Outreach Chair
Sanjana Sudhir (she/her/hers) is a third-year transfer student majoring in Psychology and minoring in Public Affairs. She’s passionate about the connections between sustainability and education, and hopes to work in education policy or with special needs children one day. Outside of TGIF, she serves as the External Relations Staffer for TSR, Outreach Coordinator for the Green Policy Initiative, and a Policy Analyst. In her free time, Sanjana enjoys exploring restaurants with friends, baking, and watching romcoms.
Tamar Christensen | Faculty Committee Member
As a Continuing Lecturer in Writing Programs, Tamar uses the platform of rhetorical analysis as an access point for students to both understand and act on our climate crisis. In her pedagogy, campus involvement, community engagement, and lifestyle, Tamar’s focus on the intersection of access and ability empowers others to take tangible climate action that will help manifest the kind of equitable climate future we want to see. In her spare time, Tamar enjoys living in LA without a car, regenerative gardening, spending time with her cats and backyard chickens, traveling slowly, and eating spicy vegetarian food.
Professional Staff
Jonathan Wisner | Grant Coordinator
Jonathan Wisner (he/him/his) is the Student Government Support Manager and TGIF Grant Coordinator at the Associated Students UCLA. He serves at the primary advisor to the Undergraduate Students Association Councill (USAC) and their various committees, organizations, and funding bodies. Jonathan is both a UCLA and USAC alum, previously serving as the elected Community Service Commissioner. He is passionate about student-led and student-initiated programs and firmly believes in the true power they hold to change not only our campus but our local and global community.
Dion Lymuel | Support Staff
Dion Lymuel (he/him/his) is a 3rd year undergraduate student at UCLA, double majoring in Geography/Environmental Studies and Political Science with a concentration in International Relations. Dion has led an individual research project under the Sustainable LA Grand Challenge Undergraduate Research Scholars Program and is involved in the UCLA Chapter of the United Nations Association as well as the International Urban Sustainability Student Corps (IUSSC). He seeks to pursue a professional career working at the intersection of international law and sustainable development, and is especially passionate about mobilizing economic equity and safeguarding human rights in the Global South. During his free time, you can find Dion writing, listening to music, or sunbathing!
Lorelei Claxton | ASUCLA Advisor
Lorelei Claxton (she/her/hers) is the Student Government Support Specialist at Associated Students UCLA. In her role she helps to advise the Undergraduate Students Association Council (USAC) and the chairs of its funding bodies. As an undergraduate student, Lorelei worked with her campus’s Office of Sustainability which allowed her to further develop her appreciation for student initiated sustainability projects. As an advisor to the committee, she hopes to support its projects and students as they incorporate sustainability into their academics and future careers.
Sustainability Advisors
Nurit Katz | Chief Sustainability Officer | Email
UCLA’s first Chief Sustainability Officer, Nurit Katz is working to foster partnerships among academic, research, and operational departments to facilitate creating a world class living laboratory for sustainability at UCLA. Nurit also serves as an Instructor for UCLA Extension’s Sustainability Certificate Program. For six years Nurit also served as Executive Officer for UCLA Facilities Management.
Bonny Bentzin | Deputy Chief Sustainability Officer | Email
As Deputy Chief Sustainability Officer at UCLA, Bonny is a key member of the leadership team for sustainability at UCLA, helping manage sustainability across the university and working to foster partnerships among academic, research, and operational departments to create a world class living laboratory for sustainability.