About Us
Erina Vlashi
2021 Science Slam Chair
Erina studies cell biology and drug development and is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology at UCLA. Erina has one son at Westwood Charter.
Mary Susselman
Future Chair
Mary received her BS in Psychobiology at UCLA and completed her Nuclear Medicine Technology internship at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. She is currently an Associate Chief Nuclear Medicine and MRI Technologist at the UCLA Brain Mapping Center. Mary's oldest of two daughters is in 2nd grade at Westwood Charter.
Sonya Chapnick
Past Chair
Sonya holds a degree in environmental biology, and loves exploring and sharing the mystery in all living things including human physiology. She's a certified yoga therapist and a proud and happy mom of two girls. One who is a 5th grader in Westwood Charter.
Nina Nattiv
Volunteer Coordinator
Nina has has a BA in Molecular and Cell Biology from UC Berkeley. Currently she practices dentistry at her own dental practice. She loves doing science experiments with her daughters who are in first grade at Westwood Charter.
Karen Cavassani
Volunteer Coordinator
Karen has a background in cellular immunology and is currently a Project Scientist at Cedars Sinai Medical Center where she is studying the role of immune cells in prostate cancer progression. Karen has two children who attend Westwood Charter.
Heidi Cruz
Treasurer and technology guru
Heidi is a technology lover who works in advertising. She enjoys board & video games, art and science-fiction. She'd like to make a science-fiction experiment for Science Slam, but her teleportation experiments have been unsuccessful. Her daughter is a 3rd grader at WWC.