Aaden Poyuzina

Aaden Poyuzina is a third-year undergraduate at UCLA pursuing a double major in Political Science and Public Affairs. He is deeply committed to building bridges across lines of difference and fostering understanding through open and honest dialogue. Aaden is the Founder and President of the Common Ground Collective, a student-led organization dedicated to dialogue facilitation at UCLA.

He has completed over 10 weeks of dialogue facilitation training and has since led an 8-week dialogue program on the Israel-Palestine conflict, organized a student-faculty dialogue dinner with key university leadership, including the Chancellor, and co-instructed a 4-unit dialogue course at UCLA. He is currently working to expand Anderson’s ECHO dialogue program to undergraduates, with the goal of cultivating inclusive communication skills across disciplines.

Aaden’s passion for interfaith dialogue is rooted in his own background, having been raised in a Seventh-day Adventist household and coming from a mixed ethnic and faith family. Though he no longer identifies with the denomination, his upbringing continues to inspire his commitment to bridging divides. A Southern California native, Aaden enjoys reading about politics, religion, and history, and finds joy in meaningful conversation, community-building, and storytelling.