Our Staff

Monique Posadas, Ph.D., GSMN and GSRC Program Specialist (She/Her/Ella)

Monique is the Graduate Student Resource Center & Mentorship Network Specialist. She has been a student affairs professional for over a decade. Previously, she worked with the McNair Scholars Program at Cornell University and California State University, Fullerton. At Fullerton, she was the inaugural Goldwater Scholarship Campus Representative. She served as Staff Advisor to the Cornell graduate and undergraduate chapter of the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science. She also co-founded the first East Coast chapter of Mujeres Activas en Letras y Cambio Social. 

Monique is a certified facilitator for the Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research. She received a Ph.D. and M.A. from the School of Educational Studies at Claremont Graduate University, with a research focus on the success of minoritized graduate students. She received her M.A. in Cultural Anthropology from Syracuse University. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology and a Bachelor of Science in Nutritional Science from San José State University. She is a proud community college transferista. 

Monique served on the Board of Directors of the American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education (AAHHE) as the Graduate Student Member-at-Large from 2021 to 2025 and was an AAHHE Graduate Student Fellow. With a grant from the Educational Testing Service, she spearheaded the formation of the AAHHE Undergraduate Student Fellowship Program, for which she served as Chair. 

Email: monique.posadas@ucr.edu
Office: Life Science Building 1425

Melanie Navarrete, GSRC Lead Consultant (She/Her/Ella)

Melanie Navarrete is the Graduate Student Resource Center (GSRC) Lead Consultant. She is a first-generation Latina and Professional MBA candidate at the UCR School of Business with a passion for marketing, data analytics, and using creative, data-driven strategies to connect with targeted audiences. She earned her B.S. in Business Administration with a concentration in Information Systems from UCR. As an A. Gary Anderson Graduate School of Management Graduate Ambassador, Melanie helps undergraduate students navigate graduate education opportunities and discover the resources UCR has to offer.

As a GSRC Lead Consultant, she is excited to use her background to create meaningful tools and resources that empower students to pursue their academic and professional goals. As a first-generation Latina, Melanie is driven by a commitment to break generational cycles of poverty and create greater opportunities for herself and the communities she serves.

Email: gsrc@ucr.edu
Office: Life Science Building 1425

(Position to be filled soon), GradSuccess Consultant

Email: gradsuccess@ucr.edu
Office: University Office Building 141