Suad Abdoun [she/her]
Editor-in-Chief
Suad is a fourth-year English major specializing in Modern Literature and Critical Theory—a result of her undying love of existentialism. Her inspirations include James Joyce, Albert Camus, and Ottessa Moshfegh. In her free time you can usually find Suad at various coffee shops writing, people watching, and trying to look as mysterious as possible. Suad joined the Catalyst in Winter ’22 and instantly fell in love with the magazine. Being granted the honor of Editor-in-Chief is a dream come true and she is thrilled to be able to spend her final year creating and collaborating with some of the coolest people she’s ever met!
Caleb Ingle [he/him]
Managing Editor
Caleb is a fourth-year English major with a minor in Educational Studies. He loves the community that has been built around Ihe Catalyst and hopes to foster it even further during his time as Managing Editor. In his free time, Caleb likes sipping espresso, hanging out with his cat, and zooming around IV on his bike. His poetry is most inspired by psychedelic rock music, nature, and obscure sensory experiences. Contrary to appearances, his cat is not a prisoner.
Quill Sang [they/them; ze/zir]
Art Editor
Quill is secretly three raccoons in a trench coat that have snuck onto The Catalyst editorial team as the art editor (don’t tell anyone!). They are interested in reading, drawing, playing video games, and leaving behind a notebook full of cryptic clues after zir mysterious disappearance into the woods. Hopefully they’ll have an English degree by then!
Andra Veness [she/her]
Literature Editor: Poetry
Andra is a fourth-year English major specializing in creative writing and aiming for a future in professional writing. When she isn’t reading webcomics or writing poetry, she is living her pitch perfect dream in VocalMotion A Cappella. You may even find yourself trying the sweet treats she bakes one day, or see her taking a walk around IV. Andra joined The Catalyst in Winter ’22 and is so excited to join the editorial team for this year. The Catalyst is a creative haven she looksforward to sharing with every Catalyte!
Yiu-On Li [he/him]
Literature Editor: Prose
Yiu-On is a fourth-year English major with (hopefully) a professional editing minor, having spent his first two years as a computer engineer. His name roughly translates to “bright, peaceful plum”; he refuses to rule out inebriation as a factor in his parents’ decision-making. He likes scarves, platypuses, and bright blue jackets, and in his spare time you will find him watching Star Trek, gaming, or rediscovering his inner child in The Catalyst.
Aoife Arras [she/her]
Assistant Editor
Aoife is a second-year English major. She joined The Catalyst her first quarter of her freshman year and is now an Assistant Editor. She can be found around campus with her AirPods blasting music full-volume and her computer out for writing poems about various subjects. She has been passionate about the creation of literary magazines since her freshman year in high school, where she first served as an editor for a magazine. Her current favorite food is taco quinoa. She is excited to meet everyone and read their work!
Sophia Lovell [she/they]
Assistant Editor
Sophia is a fourth-year English major. They love dabbling in all kinds of art, with a particular passion for writing, and so she found a home at The Catalyst, and is excited to continue on as an Assistant Editor this year. She loves to put just about everything down on pen and paper—curled up in coffee shop corners—from poetry, to evaluating current issues, to chicken-scratching grocery lists. When they aren’t translating life into words, they fill their time by cuddling up with their dog, painting with friends, and trying to keep their houseplants alive.
Kiana Perez-Granados [she/her]
Assistant Editor
Kiana is a third-year double major in English and Black Studies who romanticizes life by writing poetry and dreaming about the Italian countryside. After graduating from UCSB, she’d like to attend NYU for an MFA in creative writing and publish in renowned literary magazines or write novels. Her simple pleasures are exercising, binging nostalgic TV shows, and eating poke. Kiana enjoys reading bits of Sylvia Plath and finds herself most inspired by abstract, scratch-your-head-in-torturous-thought poetry. She is stoked to be part of The Catalyst and to work with such a talented set of individuals!
Henry Coburn [he/him]
Graduate Teaching Assistant
Henry is a fourth-year PhD student in the English Department, and The Catalyst’s graduate teaching assistant for 2022–23. As a native Brit with an abiding love of 20th-century and contemporary writers such as James Joyce and Vladimir Nabokov, he hopes to be a part of creative environment at UCSB that is inclusive, nurturing and above all, audacious. When spending downtime in the States, he much enjoys mispronouncing ‘aluminium,’ inserting pointless u’s into ‘colour’ and ‘humour,’ and perilously driving down the wrong side of the road.
Brian Donnelly [he/him]
Faculty Advisor
Prof. Brian Donnelly has been the faculty advisor for The Catalyst since 2015, which will mean 24 issues come Spring 2023! Brian was born and raised in New Zealand, where he graduated with a BA in English Literature, before traveling to Britain and completing his PhD at the University of York. He moved to UCSB in 2007 and joined the English Department. His research interests are in word and image studies, science fiction and Victorian literature. Having been a baby when black-and-white photography was just what happened, rather than a fancy filter, he thinks he knows a thing or two about art and design. While he is always pushing his Catalyst editorial teams and their students to work harder, to be better, and to achieve more, he secretly believes they are among the most brilliant and dedicated students he has ever worked with, and he considers it a huge privilege to be part of The Catalyst project.