Noya Kansky is the program manager at Mesa Refuge. She began her career working in student services at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, where she was committed to broadening access to undergraduate research experiences for traditionally marginalized students in the STEM fields. Her work at Cal Poly also focused on creating more supportive infrastructures for undocumented students at the university. This work expanded beyond the university campus and into local community colleges and K-12 education. Noya completed her graduate work at UC Santa Cruz in the Feminist Studies Department. Naturally, academia led her to take a sharp turn into the culinary world for several years, where she worked in pastry and as a line cook.
Her other interests include ikebana (Japanese flower arrangement), urban walking tours (especially if they include neon signs!), watching films, Danzan Ryu jujutsu and aikido, and making food for her loved ones.