Page 8 - April 2026 Insider

•
INSIDER April 2026

Page 8
New Member Profile

Jill Baltan, originally from Berkeley, California, is a third-generation
Californian with a career dedicated to environmental protection and
public health. She earned a BA in Political Science from UC, Berkeley,
and an MS in Marine Science from Moss Landing Marine Laboratories,
where she majored in biological oceanography.

For 18 years, Jill worked for the state of California as a senior
environmental scientist and public health regulator. Her work
spanned three varied public health programs, including managing
water quality where bivalve shellfish are commercially grown,
ensuring medical device manufacturing compliance, and helping establish the state’s cannabis
regulatory program, with a specific focus on cannabis manufacturing.

Before joining the state, Jill worked as a research technician assisting oceanographic research

projects and taught biology courses, primarily human anatomy, at several northern California
community colleges. Jill became more active in her community after moving to San Diego with
her family in 2012. While her two children were young, she passionately worked with their
school’s nonprofit foundation, helping lead the organization’s direct fundraising campaign,
creating new programs to support students and strengthening community engagement.

Now retired, Jill is navigating this new chapter in life and exploring ways to combine her
scientific background and lifelong love of nature. She recently trained to become a volunteer
naturalist with the San Diego Natural History Museum leading the public on guided hikes
throughout San Diego County. In her free time, she loves spending time doing pottery and
rowing with a local rowing club. She’s excited and honored to be a new member with ARCS.

ARCS Scholars & Scholar Alumni Making Headlines

Araz Majnoonian (2025-2026 ARCS Scholar at UC San Diego)
is a PhD student in public health at the joint program between UC San
Diego and SDSU. Araz is conducting pioneering research to evaluate
domestic violence support services nationwide in Armenia. Her study,
the first of its kind in the country, adopts a participatory approach
involving survivors of violence, domestic violence support center staff,
and partner organizations to assess the impact and accessibility of these

services. By generating evidence-based insights and recommendations,
her research aims to enhance support for survivors and inform policy and
practice. Her work contributes to the global fight against gender-based
violence, offering valuable lessons for low and middle-income countries.

Araz was featured in the April National newsletter and you can read the
full story here: https://arcsfoundation.org/node/5717