Bethany Johnsen, Co-Chair

Bethany was born in southern California under admittedly inauspicious circumstances, but very quickly garnered acclaim for herself with a convincing performance as Baby Jesus in a church nativity play. Following a checkered theatrical career, she has since earned a B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin and very little money. As a third-year UCLA English PhD student, Bethany works on the 18th-century novel, Enlightenment philosophy, Gothic and sentimental fictions, and narrative theory. As a first-time Marathon Reading co-chair, she scribbles ideas in hopes of their eventual execution by herself and others. As a twenty-sixth year (reluctant) homo sapien, her non-academic interests include dogs and whales. Bethany is the prolific imagined author of numerous unpublished and unwritten texts.

 Robin Kello, Co-Chair

Robin was born in the wondrous and troubled land of North Carolina and is now pursuing a Ph.D. in English, specializing in literature of the early modern Mediterranean. Between those points, he has found himself teaching English in Barcelona and Madrid, working in the warehouse of New York’s Strand bookstore, living on a mountainside in the Appalachians, serving beverages in a Granada teahouse, designing an undergraduate course on food justice, and organizing educational programs for recently resettled refugees. Along the way, Robin earned a B.A. in Sociology from NYU and an M.A. in English from UNC-Charlotte. A very, very long time ago, he published a single poem in a small journal about having a sandspur lodged under his tongue when he was a toddler. Like all reasonable folks, Robin is fond of coffee, dogs, and books, and he is delighted to be part of this year’s Marathon Reading at UCLA.

 Cailey Hall, Ragtag Volunteer

Cailey is a PhD Candidate in the English department, an unlikely Los Angeles native, and a somewhat more likely (British) Romanticist. Her dissertation, “Visceral Romanticism: The Literature and Culture of Digestion, 1780-1830” argues that writers in Romantic-era Britain engaged with changing understandings of health and illness to make sense of somatic and social issues, with a particular focus on the gut. She is also very invested in the interspecies friendship between Samuel Johnson and his beloved cat, Hodge.

Greg Harrington, Professional Consultant

Greg is a partner in the Public Finance Department at the international law firm Orrick. He has particular expertise as bond counsel for cities, school districts, and special districts, and he also serves as underwriters counsel for a diverse group of national and regional investment banks. Greg holds a B.A. in Philosophy and Political Science from UCLA and a J.D. from the University of Southern California.

Desi Aleman, Supreme Chancellor

Supreme Chancellor Desi was born and raised in Los Angeles, California and acquired a flare for the dramatic at an early age to make up for his humble upbringing. Throughout his education as a UCLA American Literature and Culture major, Desi has fought in the American Revolution, sailed down the Mississippi River, ran with bootleggers, and single-handedly recovered the Maltese Falcon. He is also interested in a wide variety of international literature which he explores through his Comparative Literature minor. For the Marathon Reading, Desi occasionally designs and collaborates on promotional material as a Creative Director. (A title he clearly doesn’t consider grandiose enough to adopt.) During his spare time, Desi can be found drunkenly wandering about spewing philosophy, a subject he has no knowledge in, to anyone brave enough to ask his opinion on anything. His favorite color is red.

Tiffany Fung, Fundraising Manager

Tiffany Fung is a 3rd-year Biochemistry major. She manages the team for corporate outreach and helped coordinate our SPARK campaign to fund undergraduate and graduate research in the humanities. Her hobbies include reading (of course) and kayaking. She says: “Please come out to support our amazing event as we celebrate public humanities with the greater Los Angeles community!”

Shaili Mathur

Shaili is a sophomore in the Computational and Systems Biology Program at UCLA. While she spends most of her time thinking about bacteria, she is an animal lover and a voracious reader (favorites include The Importance of Being Earnest, Catcher the Rye, Jump and Other Short Stories, and many more). She is contributing to organizing sponsorships, the marathon reading fellowship and website content for the UCLA Marathon Reading. She’s excited to see you there for 24 hours of Atwood and Butlers’ brilliant work!

Hilda Atuncar

Hilda is a fourth-year undergraduate in the UCLA Psychology department, originally from South Central, Los Angeles. She plans on becoming a physician in the near future and work with Doctors Without Borders. Outside of academics, Hilda collects succulents with such fervency that it puts Home Depot’s nursery to shame.

Jacqueline Gerdne

Raised in the cold climate of Sweden, Jacqueline spent long hours in front of the fireplace with a book in her lap and a cup of hot chocolate. As a self-proclaimed book nerd she has too many favorites to pick just one but you can normally find her lurking around the speculative fiction aisle in the library. For the Marathon Reading she was able to combine her interest of filmmaking with her love for literature. As a Film and Television B.A. student she wrote, filmed and edited the marketing videos as part of the Audio/Visual Team. She is so happy to have made some small contribution to this amazing event!

Aden Copeland

Aden Copeland is a fourth year student at UCLA, studying Psychobiology and Spanish. She is reluctantly graduating in June and will be applying to medical school. An avid reader since an early age, Aden loves to bury her face in a good book; so much so that her parents had to create a “No reading at the table!” rule during her childhood. Aden will be creating posts for the Marathon Reading blog to update participants on exciting news about the event! Raised in the cold climate of Sweden, Jacqueline spent long hours in front of the fireplace with a book in her lap and a cup of hot chocolate. As a self-proclaimed book nerd she has too many favorites to pick just one but you can normally find her lurking around the speculative fiction aisle in the library. For the Marathon Reading she was able to combine her interest of filmmaking with her love for literature. As a Film and Television B.A. student she wrote, filmed and edited the marketing videos as part of the Audio/Visual Team. She is so happy to have made some small contribution to this amazing event!

Bethany Johnsen, Co-Chair

Bethany was born in southern California under admittedly inauspicious circumstances, but very quickly garnered acclaim for herself with a convincing performance as Baby Jesus in a church nativity play. Following a checkered theatrical career, she has since earned a B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin and very little money. As a third-year UCLA English PhD student, Bethany works on the 18th-century novel, Enlightenment philosophy, Gothic and sentimental fictions, and narrative theory. As a first-time Marathon Reading co-chair, she scribbles ideas in hopes of their eventual execution by herself and others. As a twenty-sixth year (reluctant) homo sapien, her non-academic interests include dogs and whales. Bethany is the prolific imagined author of numerous unpublished and unwritten texts.

 Robin Kello, Co-Chair

Robin was born in the wondrous and troubled land of North Carolina and is now pursuing a Ph.D. in English, specializing in literature of the early modern Mediterranean. Between those points, he has found himself teaching English in Barcelona and Madrid, working in the warehouse of New York’s Strand bookstore, living on a mountainside in the Appalachians, serving beverages in a Granada teahouse, designing an undergraduate course on food justice, and organizing educational programs for recently resettled refugees. Along the way, Robin earned a B.A. in Sociology from NYU and an M.A. in English from UNC-Charlotte. A very, very long time ago, he published a single poem in a small journal about having a sandspur lodged under his tongue when he was a toddler. Like all reasonable folks, Robin is fond of coffee, dogs, and books, and he is delighted to be part of this year’s Marathon Reading at UCLA.

 Cailey Hall, Ragtag Volunteer

Cailey is a PhD Candidate in the English department, an unlikely Los Angeles native, and a somewhat more likely (British) Romanticist. Her dissertation, “Visceral Romanticism: The Literature and Culture of Digestion, 1780-1830” argues that writers in Romantic-era Britain engaged with changing understandings of health and illness to make sense of somatic and social issues, with a particular focus on the gut. She is also very invested in the interspecies friendship between Samuel Johnson and his beloved cat, Hodge.

Greg Harrington, Professional Consultant

Greg is a partner in the Public Finance Department at the international law firm Orrick. He has particular expertise as bond counsel for cities, school districts, and special districts, and he also serves as underwriters counsel for a diverse group of national and regional investment banks. Greg holds a B.A. in Philosophy and Political Science from UCLA and a J.D. from the University of Southern California.

Desi Aleman, Supreme Chancellor

Supreme Chancellor Desi was born and raised in Los Angeles, California and acquired a flare for the dramatic at an early age to make up for his humble upbringing. Throughout his education as a UCLA American Literature and Culture major, Desi has fought in the American Revolution, sailed down the Mississippi River, ran with bootleggers, and single-handedly recovered the Maltese Falcon. He is also interested in a wide variety of international literature which he explores through his Comparative Literature minor. For the Marathon Reading, Desi occasionally designs and collaborates on promotional material as a Creative Director. (A title he clearly doesn’t consider grandiose enough to adopt.) During his spare time, Desi can be found drunkenly wandering about spewing philosophy, a subject he has no knowledge in, to anyone brave enough to ask his opinion on anything. His favorite color is red.

Tiffany Fung, Fundraising Manager

Tiffany Fung is a 3rd-year Biochemistry major. She manages the team for corporate outreach and helped coordinate our SPARK campaign to fund undergraduate and graduate research in the humanities. Her hobbies include reading (of course) and kayaking. She says: “Please come out to support our amazing event as we celebrate public humanities with the greater Los Angeles community!”

Shaili Mathur

Shaili is a sophomore in the Computational and Systems Biology Program at UCLA. While she spends most of her time thinking about bacteria, she is an animal lover and a voracious reader (favorites include The Importance of Being Earnest, Catcher the Rye, Jump and Other Short Stories, and many more). She is contributing to organizing sponsorships, the marathon reading fellowship and website content for the UCLA Marathon Reading. She’s excited to see you there for 24 hours of Atwood and Butlers’ brilliant work!

Hilda Atuncar

Hilda is a fourth-year undergraduate in the UCLA Psychology department, originally from South Central, Los Angeles. She plans on becoming a physician in the near future and work with Doctors Without Borders. Outside of academics, Hilda collects succulents with such fervency that it puts Home Depot’s nursery to shame.

Jacqueline Gerdne

Raised in the cold climate of Sweden, Jacqueline spent long hours in front of the fireplace with a book in her lap and a cup of hot chocolate. As a self-proclaimed book nerd she has too many favorites to pick just one but you can normally find her lurking around the speculative fiction aisle in the library. For the Marathon Reading she was able to combine her interest of filmmaking with her love for literature. As a Film and Television B.A. student she wrote, filmed and edited the marketing videos as part of the Audio/Visual Team. She is so happy to have made some small contribution to this amazing event!

Aden Copeland

Aden Copeland is a fourth year student at UCLA, studying Psychobiology and Spanish. She is reluctantly graduating in June and will be applying to medical school. An avid reader since an early age, Aden loves to bury her face in a good book; so much so that her parents had to create a “No reading at the table!” rule during her childhood. Aden will be creating posts for the Marathon Reading blog to update participants on exciting news about the event! Raised in the cold climate of Sweden, Jacqueline spent long hours in front of the fireplace with a book in her lap and a cup of hot chocolate. As a self-proclaimed book nerd she has too many favorites to pick just one but you can normally find her lurking around the speculative fiction aisle in the library. For the Marathon Reading she was able to combine her interest of filmmaking with her love for literature. As a Film and Television B.A. student she wrote, filmed and edited the marketing videos as part of the Audio/Visual Team. She is so happy to have made some small contribution to this amazing event!