About Us

Our Team

The Science Learning Intitute is managed by two teams, our Staff Team and the SLI STEM Impact Team.  Meet our teams members here.

Staff Team

Sophia Kim, SLI Director

Sophia joined Foothill College in April 2020. She is a transplant from Boston, where she spent almost 15 years working in the nonprofit youth work space, directing programs that primarily served Asian American youth from immigrant and low-income backgrounds, building youth leadership and supporting youth to effect positive change in their communities. Sophia also has a commitment to anti-oppression education and change work through initiatives to develop anti-racism trainings, activist trainings for young adults.

Sophia has a bachelor's degree from Williams College, where she double-majored in biology and history, and a master's degree in education from the University of Massachusetts Boston, with a focus on multicultural education at the secondary level.

Sophia spends her free time with her husband and young son, riding their bikes, camping in the forests and by the beach, hiking, and trying to be outdoors as much as possible. She loves cooking and baking for family and friends, and exploring new places with her family.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophia-kim-31805626/

Jovanah Arrington, MESA Program Coordinator

Jovanah joined Foothill College as the MESA Program Coordinator in September 2023. Prior to this, she was the Athletics Academic Advisor at De Anza College. During this time, she worked closely with student-athletes to support them in meeting their academic and athletic goals. Prior to De Anza, Jovanah interned for UCLA Athletics where she was an Academic Mentor for student-athletes from a variety of teams.

Jovanah has an Associate’s degree in Social and Behavioral Sciences from Merced College, and both a Bachelor’s in Education and Master’s in Sociology degree from Cal Poly Humboldt where she was a former Women’s Basketball student-athlete.

Paty Villegas, MESA Counselor

Patricia Villegas (Paty) server Foothill College students as a Counselor for the MESA Program. She is also a MESA Counselor at Mission College and an Adjunct Lecturer at Evergreen Valley College where she provides educational counseling and teaches courses on career planning and study skills. Paty is highly passionate in working with youth and young adults from underserved communities and guiding them with their academic and career goals.Paty’s life mission is to equip and empower students to pivot their mindset, find career fulfillment, and live a life with purpose and intention.

She says, “I recognize the struggle that students experience in identifying their gifts and talents and how to use their strengths in the workforce. I am determined to help them acknowledge their unique traits.” Paty holds advanced degrees from San Jose State University and the University of Southern California in Social Work.

Jordan Bueno, MESA Program Assistant

Lillian Swedlow, Student Empowerment Specialist

Lily is an Aerospace Engineering major who found her footing at Foothill College during the pandemic, launching her journey with SLI in the Techcore Cohort. Since then, she’s taken on various roles to empower students and build community—serving as a Peer Mentor for the Techcore Summer Institute (2021), a member of the STEM Impact Team (2021–23), Program Coordinator for the PRE-STEM Summer Institute (2022), and now as the STEM Student Empowerment Specialist. Her passion for space and innovation extends beyond Foothill—she’s participated in two NASA programs, further fueling her drive to make an impact in aerospace.

When she’s not championing student success or spreading awareness about SLI, Lily enjoys playing video games, listening to audio books, and spending time with friends, family, her partner, and their dog. 

Fernanda Aboytes, SLI Program Assistant

SLI STEM Impact Team 2024-25

Find out more information here. This leadership team is dedicated to change efforts to advance SLI's mission both on campus and in the local community. 

Click here to find out more about the 2021-22 inaugural STEM Impact Team. They laid an important foundation for the team's work, and SLI could not have done it with them!