Bio


Thien Crisanto (she/her) serves as the Undergraduate Advising Director in the Academic Advising Office (VPUE). Prior to this, she was an Academic Coach at the Center for Teaching and Learning.

She holds a Ph.D. in Plant Biology from UC Berkeley where she specialized in bioenergy, genetics, and algal photosynthesis research. As an undergraduate transfer student, she majored in Cellular and Molecular Biology while conducting experiments related to marine solutions for climate change. Before her scientific pursuits, Thien earned an AA from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising and worked as a fashion designer and merchandiser.

Her dedication to working with students originated from her commitment to enhancing retention and diversity in education, which began when she started peer mentoring during her senior year as an undergraduate. She enjoys collaborating with Stanford students to foster resilience and helping them discover their passions.

In her free time, Thien enjoys road-tripping with her animals, paddle boarding, long-distance roller skating, music composition, costume crafting, and surfing in her native California. Thien dedicates her volunteer time to ocean health initiatives and making surfing more accessible to brown folks, queers, and womxn. She is originally from Orange County and has lived in 4 different regions of the state (her favorite is the far Northern Coast). She is mixed-raced and can speak Vietnamese.

PhD - Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley
BS - Cellular and Molecular Biology, minor in Botany, California Polytechnic Humboldt
AA - Merchandise Product Development, Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising

Past Affiliations: Lawrence Berkeley National Labs, Marine Scholars Program, Louis Stokes Association for Minority Participation