Becoming People for Others

Michael Engh, SJ, Panelist

A Los Angeles native, Michael Engh, S.J., is a Jesuit priest and the Chancellor of Loyola Marymount University (October 2020-present). His doctorate in American history is from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and he has published on the history of Los Angeles and the role of religion in the American West. Teaching history at LMU (1988-2003), he then served as Dean of LMU’s College of Liberal Arts (2003-2008), and led Santa Clara University as President, (2009-2019). He has served on boards trustees/directors for Boston College (2011-2019), the Silicon Valley Leadership Group (2009-2019), the Catholic Education Foundation of Los Angeles (2020-present), the University of San Francisco (2022- present), and the Institute for the Advanced Study of Catholicism (2020-present).

Nicole Murph '04, Panelist

Nicole Murph is a Reference & Instruction Librarian at the William H. Hannon Library at Loyola Marymount University. She is a Los Angeles native, born and raised in Pasadena. Nicole graduated from Loyola Marymount University (LMU) in 2004 with a Bachelors in psychology and a minor in history. In 2010, she received her Master’s in history from California State University, Northridge (CSUN). Upon graduating from LMU, she interned and worked at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), the Norton Simon Museum, and the Wende Museum in their collections management, registrar, curatorial, and public relations departments. Nicole also worked in the environmental lab industry reviewing analytical reports and providing basic analyses and prepping of water samples. 

In 2012, Nicole returned to her alma mater, LMU, to work for the Department of Art & Art History as the Senior Administrative Coordinator. During her time with the department, she created and directed the Department of Art & Art History’s KaleidoLA Speaker Series. In January 2020, Nicole began working for the William H. Hannon Library as a Reference Assistant. In 2021 she received her master’s in library and information science (MLIS) degree from San Jose State University and in the fall of 2022, she was promoted to Reference & Instruction Librarian at the William H. Hannon Library. 

At LMU, since 2012, Nicole has been actively involved in committees and task forces, served as Vice President on the Staff Senate, and currently serves on the executive boards of two staff affinity groups: Black Faculty & Staff Association and the Latinx Staff Association. 

Librarians are teachers and as a librarian, Nicole continues to strengthen her skills in teaching information literacy, which is important to her since these are lifelong set of skills essential to community life beyond the classroom and one of the cornerstones of a democracy having an informed citizenry.

Ariane Sadanaga '16, Panelist

Ariane Sadanaga obtained her law degree from Loyola Law School, Los Angeles in 2019, where she also received her mediation certificate under the California Dispute Resolution Programs Act. Ariane has assisted in many indigent, marginalized, and/or under-served communities in Los Angeles County who face significant barriers when trying to access necessities, such as food and housing, and legal services, including conflict resolution. Since becoming a licensed attorney in California, she has represented distributors, dealerships as well as consumers under the Song-Beverly Warranty Act and Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act civil litigation cases throughout Southern California. 

Prior to law school, she attended Loyola Marymount University double majoring in Asian and Pacific Studies and Political Science and a minor in Asian Pacific American Studies in 2016. She is currently an associate with Turner Henningsen Wolf & VanDenburg, LLP.

Fun fact: Ariane met her husband while at LMU and recently got married at Sacred Heart Chapel in September 2022.

Priscilla Torres '17, Panelist

Priscilla Torres is a PhD candidate at Duke University and an incoming Assistant Professor of Political Science at Wellesley College. She graduated from LMU, class of 2017. Since graduating from LMU, Priscilla has been engaged in policy-relevant research (focused on peacebuilding and gender and international relations) and teaching. Her PhD research focuses on understanding how communities try to achieve peace for themselves and understanding what the presence of international peacebuilders, like the United Nations, has done to the ability of local communities to achieve peace for themselves. Priscilla has also worked with the ELSIE Initiative, where she conducted assessments of security sector institutions to understand the barriers to women’s meaningful participation in United Nations Peacekeeping Operations. Through her research, Priscilla conducted fieldwork in Liberia and collaborated with Liberian research firms, United Nations Women and the Armed Forces of Liberia. As a teacher, Priscilla has worked with the Ralph Bunche Summer Institute, a program for underrepresented undergraduate students interested in graduate school. Priscilla’s approach to research takes into account the ethics of engaging in research outside of the United States. Her approach to teaching focuses on empowering students, especially encouraging students of color, to be involved in international politics.

Sean Dempsey, SJ, Moderator

Sean Dempsey is a Jesuit priest and associate professor and chair of the LMU History Department. A specialist in U.S., religious, and urban history, he is the author of the recent book, City of Dignity: Christianity, Liberalism and the Making of Global Los Angeles (University of Chicago Press) that charts church-based social justice activism in mid-to late 20th century L.A.