Meet the Team

Ellie Yates

Director and Founder

Hi everyone! My name is Ellie and I’m from Austin, Texas. I graduated in 2025 with a BS in Biochemistry, a BSA in mathematics, and a minor in Chinese. I am currently a research post-baccalaureate at Stanford in a bioengineering lab. After being in a new environment and reflecting on all of the resources I gathered during my time in college, I wanted to return some of the guidance I have received back to UT! Combining these resources with the STEM Muse mentorship program felt like a perfect fit. I’m very excited for this year with RISE!


Ali Arain

Operations Coordinator

Hi y'all, my name is Ali and I am from Lubbock, Texas. I graduated from UT in 2024 with a B.S.A in Biology. I am currently a full time clinical researcher at Dell Medical School in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. I will be helping to operationalize and support RISE in things such as mentor and mentee recruitment, website management, and mentor matching! I look forward to meeting everyone and hope your time at RISE is both enjoyable and meaningful!