UW System Outstanding
Women of Color In Education Awards

Award Recipients for 2008

PaLee Moua, UW-Colleges
Rama Yelkur, UW-Eau Claire
Kimberly Porter, UW-Extension
Diana Borrero-Lowe, UW-Green Bay
Barbara Martin-Stanley, UW-La Crosse
Linda Greene, UW-Madison
Linda Huang, UW-Milwaukee
Jennifer Castillo, UW-Oshkosh
Thea Jackson, UW-Parkside
Annie Kinwa-Muzinga, UW-Platteville
Megan Wisbar, UW-River Falls
Danielle Lawe, UW-Stevens Point
Glendali Rodriguez, UW-Stout
Marsha Francis, UW-Superior
Danae Davis, UW System
Joy Yang, UW-Whitewater
Shirley Butler, UW-Whitewater

Past Award Recipients by Campus or by Year

PaLee Moua, UW Colleges

PaLee Moua is a Senior Student Services Advisor at the University of Wisconsin-Fox Valley. For the past seven years, PaLee has worked directly with minority, low-income, and disadvantaged students. Drawing on her own background, she understands the many struggles and barriers that first generation students face. PaLee has a passion for creating opportunities that will meet the cultural needs of students and promote their academic success. She recognizes the need for pre-college preparation and works to create connections within the community as well as with other educational institutions by serving on committees and volunteering to help smooth the transition from home community to college.

Often first generation students are apprehensive when they arrive at college. The welcoming, supportive, and culturally sensitive environment that PaLee Moua strives to create soothes anxieties and helps students envision themselves on campus. She sponsors and supports such programs as the Multicultural Campus Visit, bringing multicultural students from high schools to take part in a college visit. Students learn about admission, financial aid, academic preparation, and engage in conversations with other students who are already in college. The Mentoring Program which PaLee will be implementing this spring will encourage multicultural students and will create a support system using second-year students to mentor incoming freshmen.

PaLee Moua currently serves as Advisor to the Universal Multicultural Association, a campus student organization with the goal is to educate and embrace diversity on the campus and in the local community. PaLee helped them establish their first multicultural scholarship in 2004. Since then they have continued to raise funds for the scholarship. Now, two candidates who show academic progress and financial need are annually selected to receive $400 scholarships.

Last year PaLee Moua co-chaired a Hmong Educational Conference, which focused upon how to better provide resources and services to promote positive change for the Hmong community. She was selected to serve on the UW Colleges Equity Scorecard Team. This important task force was formed to explore specific barriers that may be hindering the academic performance of multicultural students and to suggest ways to reduce educational inequity.

Her value as a resource is being acknowledged beyond the Fox Valley campus. Recently, PaLee was selected by the Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce to participate in Leadership Fox Cities 2007-08. This program was initiated to educate and train the next generation of community leaders to focus on issues and concerns within the community. PaLee Moua’s leadership, dedication, and service have enriched the lives of many students and women of color on her campus and in the greater community. The UW Colleges and UW System is pleased to recognize her many contributions.

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Rama Yelkur, UW-Eau Claire

Rama Yelkur is a Professor of Marketing and Coordinator of International Business Programs in the College of Business at UW-Eau Claire. Dr. Yelkur's service to the campus community has been monumental. To name just a few of her contributions, she has served on the Chancellor's Diversity Advisory Commission, the Latin American Studies Committee, the International Education Advisory Board, the Commission on the Status of Women, the Faculty Awards Committee, the International Business Program Coordinator, the College of Business Curriculum Committee, the MBA Program Committee, and she is a Faculty advisor to the student organization AIESEC.

As a scholar, Rama Yelkur has written 23 scholarly articles including research on Super Bowl advertising, and gender differences in advertising among others. She serves on the editorial boards of the Journal for Advancement of Marketing Education and the European Journal of Innovation Management, and has served as track chair, session chair and discussant for numerous international and national conferences.

Dr. Yelkur's service has extended beyond the walls of the University as she has been on the Marketing and Promotions Committee for Downtown Eau Claire, Inc., and she is active with the Eau Claire Chamber of Commerce and the Wisconsin Department of Commerce Division of Investment and Export.  She is the treasurer for the non-profit Marketing Management Association. She recently received a U.S. Department of Education Title VI grant to globalize the curriculum of the College of Business that includes faculty and student development activities as well as outreach activities for area businesses.  As project director as well as author of the grant proposal, Dr. Yelkur has been busy traveling to Greece, Ireland and China to set up the program which is titled “Partnerships in International Education.”

The list of her many areas of campus and scholarly service cannot give a full picture of what Rama Yelkur brings to the UW-Eau Claire campus community. Rama Yelkur is a warm and welcoming presence at UW-Eau Claire. She does a significant amount of informal mentoring to women students, faculty and staff, and in particular women of color. Her contributions as a colleague, teacher, scholar, volunteer and mentor are gifts to the UW-Eau Claire community and beyond.

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Kimberly Porter, UW-Extension

Kimberly Porter is an advocate for women and children of color who brings creative thinking to every task she undertakes. As a staff member of UW Extension Milwaukee County, she recognized the need to provide culturally appropriate, evidence-based parenting curriculum to the State of Wisconsin. Through a partnership with the Center for Improvement of Child Care (CICC), she completed a 1.5 yr. training internship to become an Effective Black Parenting (EBP) program trainer. She is the only Extension staff member in the country who is certified to do so.

By applying to the Summer Affirmative Action Internship Program (SAAIP) Kimberly was able to bring an intern from Alverno College student to work with the UWEX Milwaukee County office. SAAIP is designed to recruit racial/ethnic minorities, female students, and students with disabilities for positions that provide valuable training, experience, and exposure to jobs in the University of Wisconsin System and state government.

Kimberly Porter is actively involved is the UWEX Milwaukee County office Community Change Circles (CCC) Initiative (also known as Study Circles). This program undertakes a combination of dialogue and action planning to move communities from poverty to prosperity. A trained Study Circles facilitator for the pilot sites located in racially diverse neighborhoods neighborhood, Kimberly’s efforts support this innovative grass roots initiative. The project strives to bring together people from all walks of life to share ideas about what makes communities thrive, and then to develop an action plan to effect positive changes in their communities.

Kimberly Porter has a commitment to improve the lives of impoverished families. Across the State she facilitates and coordinates core professional development workshops for professionals that work with low-income families and children. In addition to training, Kimberly is responsible for providing technical assistance to the City of Milwaukee Health Department Empowering Families of Milwaukee Home Visitation program, helping administrators to set policies and procedures, choose community partners, select curriculum and maintain model fidelity. The project’s purpose is to ensure healthy developmental outcomes for children and healthy relationships between parents and children.

Beyond UWEX, Kimberly is a member of the Board of Directors for the Council for the Spanish Speaking. In her role as board member, she focuses on supporting programming for Hispanic cultures, as well as cultivating agency partnerships, assisting with organizational resources, setting policy and overseeing services offered by the Council. As a member of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.  Kimberly is committed to providing mentorship to young African American women, participating in community service and supporting educational programs that benefit families in need. Kimberly Porter embodies the criteria for this award as a role model, mentor, and advocate for women of color. She is an inspiration to her community and institution.

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Diana Borrero-Lowe, UW-Green Bay

Diana Borrero-Lowe has been the Coordinator of the American Intercultural Center (AIC) at UW-Green Bay since 2000. Diana is extremely student-centered in her role as mentor, advisor and role model for students of color. She has had an ongoing engagement with campus and community diversity initiatives, consistently working to support students as they strive to meet their career, personal and professional goals. Diana makes it her charge to connect students to community programs, services and opportunities. Just a few of the organizations and initiatives she supports include: advising the Organizacion Latino Americana (OLA); coordinating the annual Pow Wow and acting as liaison with Inter-Tribal Student Organization. Diana is Chair of the Campus Life Diversity Task Force and she is Coordinator and an advocate for UWGB students attending the system American Multicultural Student Leadership Conference (AMSLC).

Diana’s influence is felt on campus, and in the city of Green Bay. She also holds membership on the Chancellor’s Diversity Council; the International Education Committee, the North Western Technical College President’s Diversity Advisory Committee, the Mayor’s Hispanic Advisory Council in Green Bay; the Fort Howard Resource Center; the Wisconsin Indian Education Association (WIEA) and the committee that supports the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. City Celebration.

Diana Borrero-Lowe is a person willing to go above and beyond to help students, faculty and staff. She is known for her mature, open-minded, positive approach to leadership and her commitment to encouraging both students and staff to reach their fullest potential. Diana has been a successful mentor to several “new” professional staff on campus, and she continues to support their growth by providing training and support for ongoing professional development. Her commitment to professional development has made it possible for members of the campus professional staff advisors to complete their Master’s Degrees while working in the American Intercultural Center. Diana Borrero-Lowe puts her actions where her commitments are, and her influence is felt on the UW-Green Bay campus and beyond.

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Barbara Martin-Stanley, UW-La Crosse

Barbara Martin-Stanley is the Transfer Admissions Counselor at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. She earned a B.A. in Psychology from Smith College and a Masters degree in Education from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse (UW-L). Since 2001 Barbara has been dedicated to helping UW-L realize its commitment to diversity through her work with the Master of Education Professional Development Program and the Admissions office. Her work with the Black Student Unity (BSU) organization, which she advises, increases campus awareness of diversity issues in order to prepare students to become culturally competent global citizens.

Barbara’s service to UW-L and the surrounding community has been far-reaching. She has been a member of a planning committee for the Dr. Martin Luther King celebration. Barbara Martin-Stanley has worked diligently to bring diversity programming to campus as a part of the educational experience for all members of the university community. She has been a guest presenter in UW-L classes attempting to infuse diversity content and experiences into the classroom. She recently served as a member of a panel on “Experiencing Race and Racism in Wisconsin,” sponsored by the Central Wisconsin History Collaborative.  Barbara has been involved with diversity training for elders in the La Crosse community and she is currently the Vice President of the La Crosse Community Jail Board Ministry.
As a social justice and diversity advocate, Barbara has worked with organizations and schools to assist them in meeting the needs of students of color. Barbara has volunteered with the YMCA to provide tutoring assistance to middle and high school students of color. She promotes the value of diversity through sharing the African American Kwanzaa Cultural Celebration with local schools and churches. In 2004 Barbara received the Community Advocate Award for her continued commitment to enhancing the lives of all children within the Coulee region and beyond. This award was presented by the Research Center for Cultural Diversity and Community Renewal at UW-L. She is also the recipient of a 2006 Educational Leadership Award from the Graduate Studies Office at UW-L. Her campus and community recognizes Barbara Martin-Stanley as an innovative and forward thinking positive change agent.

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Linda Greene, UW-Madison

Professor Linda S. Greene is the Evjue-Bascom Professor of Law at UW-Madison Law School. Dr. Greene came to campus in 1989 with a teaching and scholarship concentration in the areas of Constitutional Law, Civil Procedure, Legislation, Civil Rights and Sports Law. Her leadership at UW-Madison has included key roles in such policy-making bodies as the University Committee, the Athletic Board, the Social Studies (Sciences) Executive Committee, and the Law School Faculty Appointments Committee. Outside of the University, Professor Greene has led efforts to recruit minorities and women into academia through, among other things, serving as President of the Society of American Law Teachers and as Chair of the American Association of Law Schools Section on Minority Groups. A co-founder of the Black Women in Sport Foundation, she is committed to promoting equal opportunity in sports and athletics and has led efforts to diversify coaching and administrative ranks in intercollegiate athletics. For twelve years she was a leader in the United States Olympic Committee (USOC), where she chaired the USOC legislation committee, was vice chair of the USOC Audit Committee and a co-author of the USOC diversity policies. Linda Greene is also an avid supporter of the arts as a Board member of the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art.

In 1999, Professor Greene became Associate Vice Chancellor at UW-Madison, a post she would fill for five years. It was in this top administrative role that she set direction and policy for a lasting positive impact on UW Madison's faculty and gender diversity efforts. She led the faculty strategic hiring effort to increase the numbers of women scientists and engineers, minority faculty, and interdisciplinary hires. In 2000, in recognition of her considerable academic diplomatic skills, Provost Wiley and Chancellor Ward chose Greene to coordinate the UW-Madison expanding interdisciplinary hiring program which Greene renamed the Cluster Hiring Initiative (CHI). Greene worked with deans, chairs, faculty and UW-Madison leaders to formalize the CHI and to identify additional areas of interdisciplinary hiring, boosting the total CHI faculty to 150.  The program, widely admired and imitated, enhanced the intellectual reputation of the UW-Madison.  Also, serving as the internal advisor for a large national science foundation ADVANCE grant, Associate Vice Chancellor Greene was
instrumental in facilitating a partnership between the university administration and the Women in Science and Engineering Leadership Institute (WISELI) to ensure the advancement of women in academic science and engineering at UW-Madison. She undertook the development of new faculty programs, professional development opportunities for deans and department chairs, and the women faculty mentoring program. She led a campus-wide review of women faculty salaries to achieve pay equity and thereby created a faculty-wide salary review process. As faculty ombudsperson, she laid the groundwork for the establishment of a campus-wide ombuds office. Professor Linda Greene’s work has had positive consequences across the University of Wisconsin-Madison and beyond.

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Linda Huang, UW-Milwaukee

Linda Huang joined the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) in 1989. Since that time, she has been the University's primary facilitator of innovations supporting diversity. Linda has worked behind the scenes quietly and effectively supporting UWM’s designated M/D coordinators and diversity efforts for the past 18 years. With skill and accuracy, she has carried out the unglamorous but vital compilation of reports and statistics that assess the institution’s progress toward equity and diversity. Linda has also initiated projects and activities that promote and celebrate diversity not only at UWM, but also across the University of Wisconsin System.

Myriad is an annual publication portraying the array of individuals and activities that feature multicultural people and programs on campus. Linda has edited this publication since its inception in 1990, and every edition presents fascinating facets of the UWM campus community. She has also been instrumental in planning and implementing events that engage students in multicultural leadership activities and bring the community together. These activities include the UWM’s Diversity Career Day; the UW System’s American Multicultural Student Leadership Conference; and "Education: A Family Affair," an awards banquet co-sponsored by several community partners honoring parents and children together. She is also involved in the Cantos de las Americas, a program that showcases students from over ten Milwaukee Public Schools in dances and songs from the various Greater American cultures. This program is co-sponsored by UWM, the Milwaukee Public Schools, and the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts.

Linda Huang is the person UWM has repeatedly turned to for coordination and facilitation of efforts like the Equity Scorecard project, the Milwaukee Initiative and Milwaukee Commitment (UWM’s Plan 2008), Access to Success, and the new Multicultural Student Center. She facilitated the relocation of multicultural offices to a common facility, coordinated these offices in their new location, and helped to launch the new First Year Center. Linda Huang has amazingly high energy that she brings to all her work for cultural diversity. Her students, the campus, and the larger community benefit from the commitment that fuels it.

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Jennifer Castillo, UW-Oshkosh

Jennifer Castillo is the director of the UW-Oshkosh Women’s Center, as well as an adjunct faculty for both UW-Milwaukee and UW-Oshkosh. She is also an advisor for the POWER Advisory board.

Jennifer models balancing the needs of work and family as a working mother. Her many responsibilities pull her in a hundred directions as she juggles the seemingly impossible task of fulfilling the Women’s Center mission in a half-time position while advising and supervising students. Jennifer advises the Women’s Advocacy Council, an active student group instrumental in bringing United Council’s Women’s Leadership Conference to UW Oshkosh this past November. She also oversees an internship program at the Women’s Center and serves as advisor to the Student Organization for Latinos.

Under Jennifer’s leadership, the University now has a Women’s Center with programming that addresses gender, race, health, and social justice through student/family engagement, art, theatre, film, and literature. She has created an inclusive environment for all socioeconomic levels, traditional and non-traditional students, families, sexual and gender orientations, and ethnic or cultural backgrounds. Jennifer also lends her support to countless campus programs for the students and community such as: Women’s History Month, Hispanic Heritage Month, Safe Spring Break, Take Back the Night.

Students describe Jennifer as a mentor, a role model, and an inspiration. She supported UW-Oshkosh Latino students during a difficult semester when they experienced blatant discrimination. She has taught her students how to be advocates and pioneers and they have learned how to effect significant systemic change. This has been crucial to students who feel marginalized or unsupported, and for students wanting to make a difference in their campus community. Jennifer spends countless hours consulting and collaborating with social agencies with similar missions to share the resources of the Women’s Center to address the welfare of women and children in the Oshkosh community. Many women and children in the larger Oshkosh community are familiar with the Women’s Center as a result. Jennifer has impacted the UW-Oshkosh campus and our students in a deep and lasting way.

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Thea Jackson, UW-Parkside

Thea Jackson is a Senior Sociology major at UW-Parkside with a double minor in Ethnic Studies and Women’s Studies. She has also earned a certification in Conflict Resolution from the Department of Communication. Thea has learned to live comfortably at the intersection of many cultures. Growing up in one of Miami’s most beautiful and diverse counties, South-Dade, she gained an appreciation of the differences among cultures. She brought this appreciation to Parkside, recognizing just how many forms of diversity are represented in her campus community.

Thea has explored her bi-racial identity in a term paper that earned her a place in the ASA Honors Program in 2007. She made a conscious decision to contribute as fully as possible to the campus student community without leaving any of her multiple identities behind. In 2007 she co-founded UW System’s second Queer People Of Color organization in order to accommodate the multicultural LGBTQISA community. She is a valued mentor through the First Year Experience Mentor Program with Student Support Services, and had engaged with as many as eight youth, encouraging them to remain enrolled in university. She also works to support other female students on campus through the Zeta Sigma Chi Multicultural Sorority Inc., where she became Cultural Coordinator position in the spring of 2007. Thea also volunteers at the Women’s Center and was made its coordinator and commits herself to bringing groundbreaking programming to UW-Parkside campus. In the middle of her college career she spent a year in Okinawa, Japan, working with at-risk youth on Kadena Air Force Base broadening her ever more complex appreciation of the value of diversity in thought, culture, and expression.

Ms. Jackson plans to serve in the Peace Corps for two years in South America upon graduation where she hopes to again work with at-risk youth. It is her intention to continue her education and earn a PhD in Sociology, and to continue her efforts to promote cultural awareness and acceptance wherever she finds herself.

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Annie Kinwa-Muzinga, UW-Platteville

Dr. Annie Kinwa-Muzinga is an Associate Professor of Agribusiness at UW-Platteville. Originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Dr. Kinwa-Muzinga earned an MBA degree and a Ph.D. in Ag Economics both from the University of Illinois before joining the UW-Platteville faculty in January 2002. Since that time she has made her mark on the University in many ways.

Tapped to serve on major university committees such as the University Undergraduate Curriculum Commission and the University International Education Committee, as well as being asked to serve on a number of search and screen committees, Professor Kinwa-Muzinga has actively embraced the role of advocate for diversity in all of her work. As an active member of the UW-Platteville College of Business, Industry, Life Science and Agriculture Diversity Equity committee, she is an outspoken advocate and example for other staff and faculty in the School of Agriculture in her expression of concerns faced by minorities in the campus community. Her research includes a project assessing the overall level of satisfaction of minority faculty and academic staff with the campus environment. Specifically, she is working with the committee to make the larger campus community aware of potential issues that faculty and academic staff face as a result of their racial or ethnic minority status.

Dr. Kinwa-Muzinga was recognized for her innovative teaching when she developed an interactive lesson on lending. This lesson was set in a real life environment where students were faced with decisions relevant to their careers. She was also selected to be the 2007-2008 Wisconsin Teaching Fellow for UW-Platteville, participating in the annual Faculty College.

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Megan Wisbar, UW-River Falls

Megan Wisbar is a senior at UW-River Falls majoring in Teaching English to Speakers of another Language (TESOL). A South Korean adoptee from Stillwater, MN, her award nominators call her “a sparkler” bringing light, energy and commitment to her efforts to improve the world.

Megan brings an attitude of creativity and “give back” to her campus life. She transferred to UW-River Falls from Century College in White Bear Lake, Minnesota. At Century College, she had become a member of Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) and began encouraging other women, along with support from Student Support Services (SSS) to complete their associate degrees and matriculate to four-year campuses. She arrived at UW-River Falls like a whirlwind, participating in the annual welcome events and overnight multicultural leadership retreat. She demonstrated great energy and ability that first year, encouraging students, particularly the women, and she immediately volunteered for a variety of multicultural programs and activities. That commitment to getting the most out of her college years has never wavered.

As a member of the Minnesota Literacy Council (MLC), Megan demonstrated her commitment to literacy in Minnesota. As a Technology Leadership Cadre (TLC) member, Megan helps fellow students and even faculty and staff with technological issues. As a Student Support Services Mentor, Megan works to smooth the transition to campus life for other students. As a senior, she is paired with a female freshman student as guide through campus life, touching base at least once a week and offering activities once a month. Megan additionally tutors a Japanese student, serving as a cultural mediator, and helping the student adapt to American academic and social settings. A Journey House resident, Megan is the unofficial public relations manager, functioning as a mentor and representative of the campus ministry. Megan exemplifies the house’s motto “Everybody is Welcome.” Her commitment to tolerance and social justice has compelled her to raise money and awareness for Turningpoint, a non-profit safe house for victims of sexual and domestic abuse in the northwestern Wisconsin area.

A McNair Scholar, Megan has been encouraged by the program to continue her education after her undergraduate and to continue to obtain a Ph.D. In turn, she has become a one woman public relations dynamo, challenging fellow female students to participate in the program, especially if they are low-income, minority, or first-generation, like herself. Megan is the walking embodiment of the kind of student the program is designed for. As a person who began a 2-year college education with no clear goals, she has thrived in the college setting and gone on to identify her career path through the program’s mentorship and support. Megan has influenced her institution for the better as well. Her summer McNair research project centered on an analysis of the effectiveness of TOEFL test preparation sessions completed by Japanese students matriculating to UWRF. The majority of the students who participated were female and often looked to Megan for academic and inter-cultural orientation and support. Just as importantly, Megan had the opportunity to offer positive suggestions for curriculum development and the improvement of the instruction of the students based on her research findings. We look forward to Megan continuing her career and her goals of becoming a college faculty herself.

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Danielle Lawe, UW-Stevens Point

Danielle Lawe is currently a senior majoring in Elementary Education and Exceptional Education at the UW-Stevens Point. An excellent student, she has a 3.52 GPA. Danielle is the model of an engaged student deeply involved in her campus community. She is an active member of both American Indian students groups, AIRO (American Indians Reaching for Opportunities) and AISES (American Indian Science and Engineering Society). Recognized as a mature and responsible leader she has been called upon to serve as a chaperon for the Wisconsin Youth Conference, and she has been a residence hall staff member for the last two years. There are very few Native American employees on the Stevens Point campus. Danielle's visible position on campus makes her an important role model to other students.

Sharon Cloud, Director of the Native American Center at UW-Stevens Point, comments that staff members in the center's office have commented that Danielle is an 'anchor' for AIRO Program. Her contributions add a great deal to the group dynamic and she is a great asset of that student organization.

A true and committed volunteer in her community in a variety of ways, Danielle Lawe has been a willing speaker for several faculty in their classes and she has single-handedly offered a series of sessions in the residence hall and on campus. Despite a soft voice and humble demeanor, Danielle speaks out on diversity issues with courage. Her ready smile and ability to get along well with other students has made her an asset to the whole campus. She's a woman making a difference in her community.

She is a Menominee woman who plans to return to her home area to be a teacher. We can think of no better gift to the future than knowing that Danielle Lawe will pursue her career guiding the educational growth of future citizens.

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Glendali Rodriguez, UW-Stout

Glendali Rodriguez is a licensed architect, an Assistant professor in the Department of Operations, Construction & Management and an active member of her campus community. An educator who believes in engaging students through community connections and experiential learning, she has introduced service learning into her classes. This has been to the benefit of such local institutions as the River Heights Elementary School, where her architectural design students helped design and construct a playground. In 2006, four students led by Glendali spent spring break on a service trip exploring Central American construction methods and education. The group assisted Spanish-speaking workers in building furniture and fences for an orphanage near San Jose, Costa Rica.

Glendali Rodriguez is described by her campus as a self-starter who sets high standards for herself. She possesses excellent research and writing skills, and is considered an amazing communicator who interacts well with people at all levels. She is described as a campus leader dedicated to working toward the creation of an inclusive social, cultural, and educational working environment for herself and her campus community. Presently she serves as a representative of the faculty senate on the Sexual Harassment Prevention Committee and she is also Secretary of the campus Minority Faculty and Staff Network. Using her exceptionally high-level organizational skills, Glendali Rodriguez has made significant contributions to the Minority Faculty and Staff Network. She has helped to initiate and implement the Minority Faculty and Staff Network Mentoring program. Glendali has displayed remarkable presence in responding to questions, and dealing with the complex concerns, remarks, and attitudes surrounding difficult issues. She has demonstrated a deep understanding of the interplay between family, community, and culture that exists in the lives of women of color. She has worked to engage people with diverse views and concerns in common cause to advance the agenda for the success of people of colors and people in other underrepresented groups, knowing that this improves the campus for everyone.

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Marsha Francis, UW-Superior

Marsha Francis embodies her Korean American culture and respects and advocates for other cultures. Marsha earned both a BS in Indian Cultural Studies Individualized Major in 2002 and an MS in Education, Guidance and Counseling: PK-12 from UW-Superior in 2004. She is currently employed by UW-Superior as the McNair Scholars Program’s Academic Coordinator where she serves students of color and underrepresented undergraduate students who are pursuing graduate school.

Marsha grew up in Minocqua, Wisconsin which is near the Lac du Flambeau Ojibwe Reservation. Since high school, Marsha has actively tried to create positive changes in the area of American Indian and non-Indian relations specifically within the school district. She has assisted in the coordination of numerous multicultural events such as the annual Powwow and Asian Pacific American student activities. In addition to presenting at multicultural conferences, she has taught a multicultural music course with a First Nations and African concentration within the Superior School District, and supported various other culturally diverse programs on campus. She has stepped in to teach as an Instructor for the First Nations History course for the Center for First Nations Studies Program when one of their faculty members became ill. When the Red Lake Tragedy occurred, she served on a panel with key UW-Superior American Indian faculty and staff to lead a discussion on the ramifications and solutions surrounding troubled youth in our communities of color. And, she has served as a mentor and role model for female students of color, earning their respect, despite being only a few years older than them. UW-Superior has observed Marsha Francis develop as an undergraduate student, a graduate student, and now as a professional colleague in higher education that they are proud to know and work with.

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Danae Davis, UW System

Governor Doyle appointed Danae Davis as a Regent of the UW System in 2003. As a member of the Board of Regents she serves on the Executive Committee and Chairs the Education Committee, Teaching Excellence Awards among other responsibilities. Offering a consistent voice for educational excellence, access, and affordability, Danae Davis is a leading voice for excellence through diversity in the UW System.

Herself a graduate of UW-Oshkosh and the University of Wisconsin Law School, she has served as legal counsel for Gov. Tony Earl. Regent Davis was previously director of diversity affairs at Miller Brewing Company, director of the Department of Employee Relations for the City of Milwaukee, a commissioner on the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission, an executive assistant at the Department of Employment Relations, and she was director of diversity management and work/life programs at Kraft Foods, Inc. Danae is also a member of the African American Women's Project of the Milwaukee Foundation. She is also on the Board of Directors of Safe and Sound.

Today, Danae Davis is the executive director of PEARLS for Teen Girls, Inc., a position she had held since January 2006. It is a Milwaukee-based girl empowerment and leadership non-profit organization. In that position she contributes passion, enthusiasm and intelligence on a daily basis to help Milwaukee girls forge ahead, one teen at a time. PEARLS' mission is to help girls, especially those facing the challenges of poverty, "to envision their personal potential, take meaningful action and direct the course of their own lives." Working primarily with African American and Latina girls to develop skills and address self-esteem and relationship issues; to improve academic performance through graduation and admittance to college; and to engage in community service activities, the organization offers a real solution to the tremendous challenges facing girls in Milwaukee. With Danae Davis at the helm, PEARLS is working to help girls become strong, self-directed and successful women. Whether helping to guide the UW-System or fighting to help teenage girls improve their lives one person at a time, Danae Davis is a leading voice for positive change in Wisconsin.

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Joy Yang, UW-Whitewater

Joy Yang is currently a successful Art Director in University Marketing & Media Relations at UW-Whitewater. She entered UW-Whitewater after marrying and moving to Wisconsin, earning both a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Graphic Design in December 1998 and a Master of Science degree in Mass Communication in 2006. Joy comes from a family of eleven children headed by a single mother. She is celebrated in her family as both the youngest and the first of the three daughters in the family to earn a college degree. During her student years her record of awards and recognitions is impressive. Joy was a Ronald E. McNair Scholar; a Golden Key National Honor Society member; a recipient of the Roberta Fiskum Graphic Design Scholarship; and she was Student Speaker at the winter 1998 Commencement.

The University realized her talents early on and took advantage of her abilities in the service of the school. Since 1998, she has served UW-Whitewater in a series of progressively responsible positions: as a Web Designer in the College of Arts and Communication; as a Graphic Designer, and an Associate Graphic Artist, for University Photo/Graphics; and now Art Director, for University Marketing and Media Relations.

In her time at Whitewater Joy Yang has filled multiple roles in addition to her professional achievements. She is an active member of the larger UW-Whitewater campus community and a source of inspiration to students and staff through her campus and community service. She serves as an advisor to the Southeast Asian Organization, as a volunteer designer and pre-school teacher at CrossPointe Community Church; and as volunteer staff, for the campus InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. While advising the Southeast Asian Organization (SAO), Joy helped coordinate the 2007-08 Southeast Asian Heritage month lecture series. She played a large role in identifying the series theme “We are still our mothers’ daughters,” focusing on successful Hmong women who respect and value their tradition. As a volunteer staff for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship (IV), Joy hosts and co-leads weekly studies at her house for their Asian student group, and recently helped the group host their third leadership conference in Whitewater, bringing together more than 80 Hmong college students from Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota.

Joy Yang began her University career as a talented and motivated student who utilized the programs and services available to her as an undergraduate and graduate student. Since completing her education, she has utilized her skills, abilities and energy to help others develop personally and professionally. She remains committed to the state of Wisconsin and the UW System as a practicing professional and a contributing community member on the UW-Whitewater campus.

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Shirley Butler, UW-Whitewater

Shirley W. Butler is an Assistant Director of the Financial Aid Office at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where she has worked for 22 of the 30 years she has worked in higher education. Shirley received both her Bachelor of Science in Education (Physical Education) and her Education Masters (Higher Education Administration) from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. She began her career at UW-Whitewater in 1977 as a counselor in the Financial Aid Office. In 1980 she was employed by Northern Illinois University as a CHANCE program counselor. She returned to UW-Whitewater as an Assistant Director in 1988.

Shirley is more than willing and often goes beyond the call of duty to ensure that students receive financial aid to the maximum extent possible. She has committed herself to developing strategies and counseling students on the availability of financial aid funding aimed at improving access of minority and economically disadvantaged students. Shirley is an excellent role model for female students, sometimes serving as a mentor in the UW-Whitewater Academic Support Services Mentor/Mentee Program. She is a commissioned Notary Public who offers her service free to the campus and community. She has been recognized with Leadership Awards, the first in 1992 from the African American Educators Committee and from the Black Student Union, and then in 1997, 1999, and 2003 with “Friends of Trio Programs” awards for service.

Ms. Butler’s efforts in establishing clear and efficient office funding procedures for study abroad programs has resulted in many more female students of color gaining access to educational travel opportunities. Since 1993 she has been a member of the Academic Support Services Study Abroad Forum. She was co-instructor for UW-Whitewater’s first travel study group, consisting of 16 female students to Ghana, Africa. The following year she was a co-instructor/chaperone for a Brazil travel study class. She has conducted financial planning seminars for Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority to help encourage/teach financial survivor skills to chapter members.

Ms. Butler has made many outstanding contributions to young women on the Whitewater campus. She is active in service as a UW-Whitewater faculty/staff advisor for the campus chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.; she has presented to UW-Whitewater Pre-College Programs; she has raised funds for Girl Scouts of America; she is a member and presenter for the Wisconsin Association of Educational Opportunity Program Personnel; a member of the African American Educators Committee, Student Awards Committee, and the Wisconsin Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, as well as a member of the UW-Whitewater International Education Committee.

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