UW System Outstanding
Women of Color In Education Awards

Award Recipients for 2009

Sarada Prasad, UW Colleges
Nichole Ray, UW-Eau Claire
Imelda Delchambre, UW-Extension
Mai Lo Lee, UW-Green Bay
Victoria M. Sanchez, UW-La Crosse
Janice M. Rice, UW-Madison
Kathy Berry, UW-Milwaukee
Joan Prince, UW-Milwaukee
Kadihjia Kelly, UW-Oshkosh
Maria Martinez, UW-Parkside
Artanya Wesley, UW-Platteville
Nija Lawrence-Porter, UW-River Falls
Nisha Fernando, UW-Stevens Point
Lelahvon Lugo, UW-Stout
Eri Fujieda, UW-Superior
Nomsa Gwalla-Ogisi, UW-Whitewater
Angela Moore, UW System

Past Award Recipients by Campus or by Year

Sarada Prasad, UW-Colleges

Sarada Prasad is a Professor of Business in the Department of Business and Economics at University of Wisconsin Washington County.    Early in her career, she held positions at the Boys and Girls Club of Milwaukee and at the Social Development Commission (SDC) in Milwaukee.  Over the years, Sarada has made numerous contributions to UW Colleges as a scholar, teacher and as an advisor to students and an informal mentor to women students returning to continue their education.  Sarada received her M.S. in Accounting from UW-Milwaukee and was certified as a CPA while raising a family.  Thus she has first -hand experience of the juggling act that non-traditional female students with families go through.   As a faculty member at UW Colleges she served on Status of Women Committee, UW Colleges and UW Extension Diversity and Equity Council and Campus Climate Committee and represented  UW Colleges on the Advisory Committee of the UW System Institute for Race and Ethnicity.   As chairperson of the Department of Business and Economics, she participated in promoting the UW Colleges adult education initiative and identified programs and courses to meet the needs of returning students.

In the area of pedagogy, in addition to teaching a heavy credit load of 24 credits every academic year, Sarada was instrumental in developing a course in International Business and enhancing existing courses by integrating various disciplines.  She was recently awarded a grant by UW Colleges supporting her proposal “Preparing an Entrepreneurial Generation at UW Colleges”.  Sarada’s students describe her as an enthusiastic, passionate, helpful and knowledgeable  teacher.  In recognition of her teaching excellence she was awarded the Rolfs Foundation Teaching Award in 2006.

Sarada’s scholarly activities include several research papers in the areas of international business, accounting and marketing.   She also served as a discussant at numerous professional conferences.

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Nichole Ray, UW-Eau Claire

Nichole Ray holds an undergraduate degree with majors in American Indian Studies and Political Science and she is currently a graduate student in History at UW-Eau Claire. First however, she is an Oglala Lakota who has committed herself to the study of her own culture as well as to the study of the history and culture other tribes in order to educate others.

An emerging educator herself, she is a graduate assistant and a frequent guest lecturer in the University’s American Indian Studies Program. Nichole has worked in conjunction with the Chippewa Valley Museum to update their display of Native American artifacts. She is committed to teaching about past traditions with respect while remaining equally committed to acknowledging the evolution of traditions in the living American Indian cultures of today. Nichole sees the powwow and its accompanying material and expressive traditions as one of the most important sites for the expression and sharing of contemporary Indian culture. True to the recognition of the contemporary importance of the of the pow wow she has assisted in researching and developing a curriculum for teaching American Indian musical culture as a whole, while focusing on powwow music to ensure accuracy, cultural appropriateness, and meaningfulness to both native and non-native students. Nichole Ray is also the owner of Powwow Fabrics and Designs, a business that provides consultation on American Indian arts, crafts, and dance outfits to insure historical accuracy, or to reflect contemporary designs.

Nichole Ray’s activism extends beyond her academic and cultural work. The recent loss of her father, Lt. Col. Frank Tall Dog Duran, to multiple myeloma and the loss of a friend and colleague to a rare form of leukemia revealed that it is much more difficult for people with minority heritage to find bone marrow donor matches. Nichole Ray has worked with her friend's spouse and others to educate about the issue and conduct a bone marrow registry drive, recruiting minority and Caucasian donors.

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Imelda Delchambre, UW-Extension

Imelda Delchambre is described by her colleagues as a remarkable woman and an outstanding Extension educator.  She is being acknowledged for her work as a Nutrition Educator (Associate Instructional Specialist) in Cooperative Extension, and in particular for her contributions to the Hispanic Communities of Door & Kewaunee Counties.  Imelda understands the lives and culture of the people she serves.   Growing up in Texas as a child of Mexican immigrants, she did migrant work herself.  Later, as single parent she raised 4 children while completing an associate degree in criminal justice.

Imelda brings drive, creativity and pragmatism to her work.   As one of the very few county employees who speaks Spanish, her work has been invaluable in meeting the needs of under-served members of the community.  Due to her efforts  for the past five years Spanish speaking women in Kewanee County have had available to them a Hispanic Women’s Cooking Class with a curriculum offering  how best to prepare food-stuff not common to a traditional Hispanic household. Sensitive to the needs of her learners, children and other family members are welcomed to afternoon and early evening classes, and a Kids in the Kitchen program is offered in the summer while their mothers are in class.  She recently added the class in Door County to meet community needs.  Cooperative Extension has long provided educational programming to Home and Community Education groups throughout Wisconsin.  Imelda took this model to the Hispanic communities of Door and Kewaunee Counties to help assimilate Hispanic women into the rural Wisconsin communities in which they now live.  In addition to conducting  nutrition education programming at three local food pantries as part of her role as a Cooperative Extension employee,  Imelda volunteers to  provide needed guidance to Spanish speaking families when necessary.  

The Hispanic Resource Center of Door & Kewaunee Counties, Inc (HRC) is one of Imelda Delchambre ’s  important personal community service contributions.  In 2000, in addition to her 80 percent position with Cooperative Extension she started the Resource Center and has functioned as its executive director, working with a board of directors, to oversee operations.  The Center offers personal and family assistance such as employment counseling, housing information, food, lifestyle concerns, furniture, clothing, application assistance, translation and interpretation and referrals to community services.   Imelda Delchambre is one of very few professionals in the community who has the skills and knowledge to serve Hispanic families, helping them understand how to access community services, medical facilities and law enforcement agencies.  For this and so much more we honor her.

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Mai Lo Lee, UW-Green Bay

Mai J. Lo Lee is a multicultural advisor in the American Intercultural Center at UW-Green Bay, and the staff advisor of the student organizations, Southeast Asian Student Union and Organizacion Latino Americana.  Mai works tirelessly to ensure that our multicultural students have successful and positive experiences during their time at the university.  Students respect her highly and view her as a trusted ally during their educational journey. Mai has been steady and reliable source of information, support and advocacy for our students of color during a time of transition.  

In addition to her advising role, Mai J. Lo Lee has been a visible face of diversity programming on campus.  Most recently, she played a lead role in organizing, promoting, and implementing the ALLY Conference, held on the UWGB campus in fall 2008. Characteristic of her collaborative nature, she worked effectively to ensure faculty, staff, student and community buy-in and ownership of the conference.  Well over 100 people attended the conference, and it presented a powerful, safe and inclusive learning opportunity for participants to explore social power structures and the issues of oppression related to gender, race, disabilities and the LGBTQ community. 

Mai also presented social justice workshop sessions at the fall 2008 conferences of professional organizations, Wisconsin Academic Advising Association and the Wisconsin College Personnel Association. The session explored the roles of student affairs professionals who choose to be allies for victims of hate.   Currently, she is the chair of the Diversity and Social Justice Commission for the Wisconsin College Personnel Association. Finally, Mai J. Lo Lee successfully sought funding for and organized an Institute on Race and Ethnicity sponsored reading group for faculty and staff.  The books she selected focused on the lived experience of students of color in higher education institutions and provided an engaging forum for faculty and staff to discuss ways to better meet the needs of such students.   These are but a few recent examples of the many diversity programs Mai has organized to promote tolerance, understanding and peaceful discourse on the UWGB campus.  For this and so much more we recognize her.

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Victoria M. Sanchez, UW-La Crosse

Victoria Sanchez is in her third year working as the Coordinator of Multicultural Recruitment in the UW-LaCrosse Admissions Office.  Vickie has long been active in diversity recruitment and mentoring.  As an undergraduate, she volunteered for both the Cultural Diversity Office and the Admissions Office at Winona State University.  While in graduate school at UW-La Crosse she served as a co-advisor for the Latin American Student Organization.  In her current position in the Admissions Office Vickie leads outreach efforts to recruit a diverse population of students to the UW-LaCrosse campus.  She has built relationships with high schools including those with significant populations of student of color and coordinates bringing students for campus visits, making sure they understand the admissions process, have their questions answered and concerns addressed.  She follows up with each of the potential students, working hard to assist them complete their applications for admission, on-campus housing, and financial aid.  In the end, many students of color have matriculated at UW-L having experienced Vickie’s support and dedication to their success. While she spends a great deal of time with off-campus recruiting, she continued her role as co-advisor of the Latin American Student Organization.  Along with working closely with the staff of the Office of Multicultural Student Services who support her recruitment efforts, she also serves as a mentor for currently enrolled students of color.

Victoria Sanchez has a passion for helping people better themselves and it extends beyond the university into the community of La Crosse.  She was drawn to the YWCA because of their mission of creating opportunities for women, and their tag phrase “eliminating racism-empowering women. ”  She volunteers at the YWCA in their “Traditional Housing Program,” a program that provides support to women who are homeless, single and who have children.  These disadvantaged women are given the opportunity to live on their own by being provided with a furnished apartment and professional resources to aid in their transition.  Vickie serves as a mentor, a person to whom these women can turn for encouragement and help them stay on task in building a better life for themselves and their children.  Underlying all of the above-mentioned efforts is a determined, hard-working, and industrious colleague who strives to excel in her service to students and young adults.  Her commitment to “going the extra mile” will continue to help improve the climate of diversity on the campus.

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Janice M. Rice, UW-Madison

Janice M. Rice is officially the College Library’s Outreach Coordinator, but she has more broadly served the university and the community as an educator, a resource person, a role model and a mentor.  In her role as librarian, Janice invites students to learn about Native American culture—both in book form and through the use of technology. She also has a world view and puts Native American history and culture in context for students.  Honored by on- and off-campus groups, she is described as knowledgeable, resourceful, tireless, positive, generous and gracious. 

Janice Rice is counted among community leaders inspired to create a better world for American Indians.  Attending UW-Madison, she forever changed the campus community by helping found the first Native American student organization, and establishing the first pow wow at UW-Madison.  Recognizing the value of American Indian Studies, and Indigenous languages and cultures, Janice helped elevate the recognition of Native American knowledge cultures on the Madison campus.  She continues to do this almost thirty years later as a professional and vital community member, guiding and supporting almost every Native American community effort.

In 2002, Janice co-chaired the American Indian Campus Symposium at UW-Madison, which communicated American Indian community priorities to the UW-Madison administration in a twelve-point summary of these priorities.  This process contributed significantly to the development of the American Indian Cultural and Student Center, planned to open at UW-Madison in the fall of 2009.

Along with influencing the institutional developments involving the Native American campus community, Janice filled a central role in the UW-Madison’s annual 2008 Diversity Forum that remains beyond description.  With the university’s increasing awareness and interest in the 12,000-year human history of its grounds, Janice supported nearly every committee of the Diversity forum as the forum highlighted aspects of Native American histories, languages, and contemporary cultures. The forum communicated these aspects to the central administration of campus and the greater campus community in ways meaningful both to the Native American and non-Native participants alike.

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Kathy Berry, UW-Milwaukee

Kathy L. Berry is a professional Non-Teaching Academic Staff Coordinator and Manager who has a very responsible position on UW-Milwaukee campus overseeing the certification and licensure programs for the School of Education, Peck School of the Arts, the Helen Bader School of Social Welfare, the School of Library and Information Studies and the College of Health Sciences.

In addition to the responsibilities of her assigned position Kathy Berry serves as the Co-Chair of the campus African and African American Faculty/Staff Association for two years.  She is now the primary communications officer keeps the Employees of Color informed and involved in advocacy. The 2008 Facilitator for the Women’s Health Forum – Lunch and Learn, Ms Berry organized a valuable series on women’s health issues, specifically designed to address issues of concern to Women of Color.  She was also instrumental in bringing the Congressional Black Caucus Health Fair to UWM in February of 2008 and served as a lead volunteer.

Through this type of responsive leadership, Kathy has lived the values of assisting the UWM campus to be free of sexism, racism and other barriers that affect women of color.  She has advocated on behalf of women of color by lodging a complaint with the a campus organization regarding a highly inappropriate and offensive flyer that resulted in an apology and a re-commitment to efforts to create safe space in which to discuss the complexities of misogyny and racism in American culture and media.

An active volunteer, Kathy Berry has served actively in many organizations including as a member of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund Advisory Committee, the Academic Staff Committee, and she currently serves as an Ombudsperson helping women and People of Color find a confidential non-judgmental ear to share problems. A resource for others, and the go-to person on the UW-Milwaukee campus for women and People of Color, Kathy L. Berry is a conscientious leader, highly respected by peers and students.

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Joan Prince, UW-Milwaukee

Joan M. Prince is Vice Chancellor for Partnerships and Innovation at UW-Milwaukee, where she also hold an appointment as Clinical Associate Professor in the College of Health Sciences.  As Vice Chancellor, Dr. Prince has primary responsibility for crafting and managing external relationships between UWM and the greater Milwaukee community, as well as connecting UWM with various regional, national and global partners in the public and private sectors. In that capacity, she has established frameworks, strategies, and evaluation processes regarding university-community engagement.  Internally, she has the responsibility of being the Chancellor’s envoy, which includes establishing and staffing all of his advisory groups, and serving as the University’s representative on local, regional and national boards and initiatives.  She has partnered UWM faculty, students and staff with various global opportunities, and serves as the Chair of the UWM Campus Ombuds Council.  A few of her commitments to University-Community engagement include staffing the Chancellor’s Community Roundtable, NASULC and ACE committee representation for campus, and involvement in ensuring representation of UWM faculty, staff and student on community boards and commissions.  Dr. Prince has played, and continues to play, a vital role in enhancing UWM's standing as a major urban research university through her contacts, both locally, regionally, and nationally.

Joan Prince has long been a strong advocate for gender equity on the UWM campus.  She co-chairs the Chancellor's Council on Inclusion, which advises the Chancellor regularly on issues of race, ethnicity, and gender and makes recommendations to bring about a more diverse, equitable campus.  She heads several important committees, which deal with issues and policies regarding gender and minority equity and fosteing a supportive workplace environment at UWM.  Dr. Prince has conducted gender equity workshops for faculty and staff over the years, and has been a steadfast supporter of the Women's Resource Center, the LGBT Resource Center, and Women's Studies.

Joan M. Prince has been actively engaged in social justice issues for more than 30 years, serving on numerous civic boards in a variety of leadership roles.  Among them are her current role as a trustee of the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, immediate past president of the Milwaukee Public Library Board of Directors and immediate Past President of the Tempo International Board of Directors (an international women's professional mentoring and networking organization). She was a founding board member of Pearls for Teen Girls, a leadership development organization serving at-risk teen girls in Milwaukee, and is past Chair of the Delta Memorial Endowment Fund, a fund comprised of women giving back to the community through increasing awareness of literary works by people of color and to providing scholarships to promising high school seniors.

This account of her service, while impressive, is by no means complete, as evidenced by her many awards.  A native of Milwaukee, Prince holds three degrees from UWM: a Ph.D. in urban education, a master's in clinical laboratory sciences and a bachelor's in medical technology.  UW-Milwaukee is both proud and honored to count her among our most distinguished alumnae.

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Kadihjia Kelly, UW-Oshkosh

Kadihjia Kelly currently serves the UW-Oshkosh campus community as s victim advocate in the Campus Violence Prevention Project through a grant from Reach Counseling Services. She received her bachelor degree in social work from Marian College. After graduating, Kadihjia worked as a case manager in Milwaukee for three and a half years. There she advocated for teen mothers by providing home visits, education on growth and development, transportation to W-2 appointments, and connected them with housing and other community resources. She has co-facilitated groups for recovering alcoholics, the Nurturing Program, and the Living Skills groups. Successfully completing the Basic and Advanced Sexual Assault Victim Advocacy training, she is a current member of the Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault (WCASA), and the Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) and WOC committee.

In her role as victim advocate, she provides support and information about the legal and disciplinary options for dating or domestic violence, stalking, sexual assault, or sexual harassment. She accompanies victims and speaks for their rights in any community or campus actions they might choose to pursue; provides them with ongoing support and information through 24-hour crisis support; attends medical or legal appointments with victims, and helps with safety planning. Safety planning includes helping victims file restraining or no-contact orders and to make changes in their residence hall or classes to avoid contact with the person who hurt them. Besides meeting with victims at legal or medical offices, Kadihjia will meet with her clients in her on-campus office or in the place they will feel most comfortable.

In addition to the ongoing work of her position, Kadihjia regularly presents as a speaker with the campus Women’s Center, student organizations and for students in talk-back sessions on such topics as date rape, the relationship between pop-cultural imagery and violence, and sexual assault, including focused discussion on the sexual assault and women of color.

Kadihjia plans make a career of advocacy as evidenced by receiving her Graduate degree in Community Counseling in 2007.

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Maria Martinez, UW-Parkside

As an assistant professor of English, Maria Martinez has made a significant contribution to diversity in the Women’s Studies Program at UW-Parkside. Her scholarship offers feminist analysis of problematic representations of women of color in Cuban-American literature. And her activism includes working on campus centered issues related to the status of women, especially Latinas, including numerous lectures, panels and discussions on key topics. She is a member of the Steering Committee for the Center for Women’s and Gender Studies and the Ethnic Studies Center. She also functions as the adviser to Queer Students of Color and UW-Parkside’s Amnesty International.

Dr. Martinez has contributed much to campus curriculum development and infusion efforts, teaching new diversity courses that center on women of color, including “Latina Literature” and “Cuban American Literature,” and interdisciplinary courses like “Diversity in the United States,” a general education course which she redesigned to center on race, gender, and class. As a curriculum redesign project during her of her participation in the Summer Institute II: Infusing Diversity in the Curriculum, Maria has teaches “Introduction to Women’s Studies” [addition] regularly and has recently shaped it to officially include a more considerable focus on issues especially relevant to women of color. She has also created cross-listed courses like “Animals in Literature and Folktale,” which examines texts that employ racially marked and gendered animal figures as central elements.

Maria Martinez is a mentor to women of color in the course of her teaching and advising, and has opened wonderful opportunities for her students to travel to [addition] Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Chiapas, Mexico to participate in action-based research and activism. Maria herself is part of a social justice group which travels regularly to Cuba, establishing relationships with organizations on the island dedicated to improving the status of women on a global level. She has made a significant impact on the Women’s Studies, the English Department, on UW-Parkside, and beyond, for which we honor her.

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Artanya Wesley, UW-Platteville

Artanya M. Wesley earned her MS in Educational Counseling from UW-Platteville in 2006, and is currently working on a doctorate in Philosophy focused on Educational Psychology.  Artanya served as a Resident Director for the UW- Platteville Housing Department from 2006 until recently when, following a national search, she was selected for the newly created position of Student Services Coordinator in the Office of Student Affairs.  It was her demonstrated commitment to education, service to students and staff, experience related to issue resolution and student discipline, and her commitment to diversity that made her the obvious choice for the position. 

Artanya Wesley is a recognized and valued leader in the UWP campus community.  During her time at UW-Platteville she has been a resource to all of the Multicultural Educational Resource Center’s student organizations, and has been directly involved with the development and creation of the mission statement and initiatives for the Division of Student Affairs Council on Diversity.  She was responsible for the development of the Frontline Diversity Training that addresses topics such as comprehensive racism, white privilege, homophobia, and oppression.  Artanya also participated in Safe Zone Trainings facilitated by UWP Counseling Services so she can help the campus work effectively with issues, challenges, and to counter stereotypes that Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning (GLBTQ) students face on campus and within the community.

Artanya is a skilled and often requested speaker, giving presentations at the Wisconsin Education Association of Student Support Programs, the National Black Student Union Conference, and during the UWP’s Ebony Weekend and, as mentioned, she has facilitated Frontline Diversity Trainings and Learning Circles.  In the larger Platteville community Artanya has participated in an internship, with Family Advocates, and organization devoted to working with domestic violence victims.  There she answered the crisis line, worked with women and children support groups, advocated for sexual assault awareness, and helped network to provide resources for domestic violence victims. Artanya M. Wesley is an active and valued advocate for members of the UW-Platteville campus and community.

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Nija Lawrence-Porter, UW-River Falls

Njia Lawrence-Porter is serving her fourth year as Assistant Director of the McNair Scholars Program at UW-River Falls.  Her mission is to prepare underrepresented, first-generation, and low-income students for graduate programs and for doctoral studies. 

Njia also serves as advisor for the Black Student Union (BSU) and was named as Outstanding Advisor of the Year for 2007-08.  As the BSU advisor, Njia helps African American student leaders develop programs, organize events, and collaborate with other departments and student organizations to create programming that will serve students across campus.  As an additional benefit of Njia’s involvement and visibility on campus, students of color are also exposed to the benefits that exist for them in the McNair Program to go beyond the bachelor’s degree.

The UWRF student population is predominantly European-American, and when Njia was hired, she was one of only a few women of color among the faculty and academic staff.  In that context, Njia’s presence is extremely important since female students of color often find it difficult  to imagine themselves as capable of excelling within academia, much less moving through the ranks of academia as graduate scholars, future leaders and educators. The students Njia mentors, both formally and informally, don’t have a safety net; they come from backgrounds where hardly anyone can help them financially.  “To be self-sufficient,” Njia explains, “women from low-income, first-generation backgrounds need to have a funded position in graduate school.  Graduate fellowships and full  funding empowers these young women not be dependent on somebody else.” 
Approximately 60-70% of the UWRF McNair Scholars have been women, many pursuing degrees in fields that are traditionally male dominated.  Eight out of the ten graduates of 2007-08 were female, and seven of those women are successfully enrolled in graduate programs today.  Njia’s success stories include an African American woman now studying media and communications at the University of Minnesota with a highly competitive fellowship;, an Iranian American woman working on a Master’s in Bacteriology at UW-Madison; and a Hmong woman pursuing a Master’s in Counseling and Student Development at St. Cloud State University with a full graduate assistantship and tuition waiver. 

The culture of higher education is largely based on middle-class, white culture.  As a first-generation scholar and former TRIO participant herself, Njia says she has been inspired by bell hooks, whose writing talks about how women’s intellectual  pursuits have often been devalued within working-class families and communities of color.  “Once the light bulb goes on,” says Njia, “ a woman can’t go back to being satisfied with a meager existence.  You want to develop yourself fully and explore the power of your own mind.”   One student says of Njia:  “her presence continued to motivate me when I felt I could go no further. Her guidance in the process was essential to my success in being accepted into two graduate schools.  In all my undergraduate academic experiences, Njia’s unwavering belief in me and support will stand out twenty years down the road.”

Njia understands that these students and their families need to know the significance of their intellectual work.   By organizing and hosting a large, formal McNair banquet and ceremony, Njia succeeds each year in placing students’ accomplishments in broader context.    Njia assembles a multi-media presentation, succeeds in getting  faculty, campus leaders and top administration officials to attend, brings in a keynote speaker, and creates an impressively inspiring atmosphere. By itself, this is a huge undertaking for an individual.  However, it is hardly out of the ordinary for Njia.  In fact during her first year at UWRF, she along with a faculty member from  Political Science, facilitated a book discussion of sociologist Stephen Steinberg’s The Ethnic Myth, and subsequently hosted a campus-wide “Visiting Scholar Lecture” and Campus Dialogue on Race, Ethnicity and Class in America, featuring Dr. Steinberg.  In total, these events were attended by over 300 students, faculty, staff and community members.

 In sum, Njia’s contributions to the UWRF community transcend the bounds of her job title.  Njia Lawrence-Porter richly deserves recognition for her empowerment of women, and her inspiration to underrepresented first-generation students.

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Nisha Fernando, UW-Stevens Point

Dr. Nisha Fernando is described by her nominators as having made a difference on the UW Stevens Point campus from the day she arrived.  She received her B.S. and Masters Degrees in Architecture from University of Moratuwa in Sri Lanka, and she earned her Ph.D. in Architecture from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee.  She is a registered architect in Sri Lanka and an Associate Member of the American Institute of Architects in the U.S. She is currently an Associate Dean and the Division Head (chair) of the Division of Interior Architecture  at UW-Stevens Point. 

The Division of Interior Architecture at UWSP has long been a supporter of multicultural issues on campus and Dr. Fernando’s presence is one of the reasons. Modeling appreciation for cultural competence as a part of an excellent 21st century education, the Division offers many opportunities to its students for attending multicultural events on and off campus.  Some of the department’s classes focus on the cultural aspects of design both in the U.S. and outside the U.S., and students’ projects reflect a thorough understanding of  multicultural issues. 

Dr. Fernando has written about new pedagogical approaches to teaching in the design studio and student-centered teaching strategies that emphasize the links between design research and creativity.  A popular professor, she receives high ratings from her students, who can’t wait to take repeated classes with her.  A mentor to all of her students, several of the upper-level Interior Architecture students she has taught have been recognized and have presented at UW-System events as well as national events on undergraduate student research and creativity.

Dr. Nisha Fernando has been an active agent for positive change on campus since her arrival. She has been a faculty mentor for minority students via the Equity and Affirmative Action Committee, a Chancellor’s committee designed to help the Equity and Affirmative Action Office interpret issues and help to educate the campus in areas of Diversity.  The committee put together a series of educational programs designed to help the campus address the challenges and opportunities of diversity.  Dr. Fernando was chosen to present her ‘journey’ to and at UWSP.  It was a powerful presentation that has contributed to campus growth.

Publishing on the intersection of culture and architecture, Dr. Fernando is an active member of the Environmental Design Research Association (EDRA).  Nisha Fernando is a dedicated professor in Interior Architecture and an educator dedicated to for social justice who brings much to her campus and community.

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Lelahvon Lugo, UW-Stout

Lelahvon Lugo received her BS in Library Science and History and her Masters of Arts in Library Science from UW-Oshkosh, and a Masters in Library Science from Indiana University. Lelah came to UW- Stout in November of 1988. As a Senior Academic Librarian charged with Electronic Resources Access and Assistive Technology she is responsible for maintenance and troubleshooting of online databases and search related technology in the library. Also the Assistive Technology Librarian, she is additionally responsible for the equipment and a computer system with specialized software and devices for disabled users, and for instructing users in their use. Lelah also acts as the library liaison to the UW-Stout Office for Students with Disabilities. Other responsibilities include references services and library instruction sessions.

In her twenty years at UW-Stout Lelah Lugo has provided service to both the campus and community at-large through her participation and leadership roles in several of the Universities most important committees, including: the Senate of Academic Staff Governance; the Equity for Women Initiative; Diversity Plan 2008; the Curriculum and Pedagogical Transformation Team; the Sexual Harassment Education Committee; the Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on Minority Faculty and Staff; the Equal Opportunities in Education Committee; the Campus Link Program (mentor for minority student); and the Ad Hoc Committee on Faculty and Staff Equity.
For many year Lelah has also been the Chair of the Academic Staff Personnel Committee which among other important tasks, provides recommendations regarding exceptions to multiple year contracts. She regularly goes beyond what is expected and personally serves as a resource to academic staff members on contract issues (this involves primarily instructional academic staff of which the majorities are women).

Lugo has long been an active member of the UW-Stout Minority Faculty and Staff Network (MFSN) advocating for it’s to its mission to foster growth and opportunities for minority faculty and staff, to create an awareness of people from diverse backgrounds, and to enhance relationships to benefit the campus and community at-large. She was a key person in the UW-Stout senate deciding to formalize the process of seeking a Minority Senator nomination from the Minority Faculty/Staff Network. An approachable, thoughtful person who clearly articulates her perspective and shares experience, and Lelahvon Lugo brings a wealth of institutional knowledge and a history of advocacy to the betterment of the UW-Stout campus community.

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Eri Fujieda, UW-Superior

Dr. Eri Fujieda is an active and valued member of the Women’s and Gender Studies Program at the UW-Superior. With a specialization in international, gendered migration and the political economy of gender, Dr. Fujieda presents and publishes nationally. Teaching in the WS as well as in the Department of Social Inquiry (Sociology Program), she engages students in actively exploring and analyzing the impacts of social structures and institutions on people's thoughts and actions. Regularly teaching the Sociology of Gender, with the encouragement of the Women's and Gender Studies Committee, she has designed the course, now regularly cross-listed, entitled Gender and Globalization in Transnational Asia.

Eri puts great energy, time, and consideration into course development and connecting with students. She is a past OPID fellow and an active participant in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. She has mentored and advised many students, particularly International students. This fall, she developed and taught a first-year seminar course on Food and Social Justice. She received recently received a technology award to support the custom design of a computer-based learning environment to help her students compare industrial, organic, and forage food systems. For spring 2009, she plans to offer an experimental independent study course, Global City, with a study trip to New York City.

As a colleague and community member, Eri Fujieda actively works for equity, diversity, and inclusion. She currently co-leads the campus “Equity Scorecard” institutional research project team. She is the UW-Superior campus representative to the UW-System Institute on Race and Ethnicity Advisory Committee and Syllabi Bank coordinator.  She has been a leader in the work to institutionalize UW-Superior’s commitment to global studies, chairing the Global Studies Minor subcommittee, and fostering the development of a new Global Studies minor. In these ways and more, she makes a significant difference in the lives and academic success of her students and her colleagues.

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Nomsa Gwalla-Ogisi, UW-Whitewater

Dr. Nomsa Gwalla-Ogisi is a Professor in the Special Education Department, UW–Whitewater.  There she has been invaluable in assisting the Department to insure diversity has been actively integrated across the curriculum. This is a critical issue given the over representation of minority students in special education.

Committed to her local community she works actively with the public schools in Whitewater, participating in a project encourage girls to excel in science sponsored by the AAUW.   Passionate about empowering young African American girls who have grown up in poverty to succeed, she is known for her active mentorship of African American girls in three schools in the area. Nomsa became a trainer in the Ruby Payne Framework for Working with Learners and Families from Poverty so that she could better serve her mentees and their families while also sharing those skills with students in her courses.

In her teaching, Nomsa has been a model and mentor to many students of color on this campus both female and male. It is not an exaggeration to say that the women of color that have matriculated from the program did so because she served as a strong advocate and mentor.  Nomsa has helped lead study abroad projects to South Africa to offer Whitewater students the opportunity to have global experiences in education.  Co-presenting with students at national conferences and co-authoring and publishing professional articles with on issues of diversity, she is encouraging the next generation of culturally conversant scholars.  Sometimes she brings the academic community to her campus as well.  She organized an international conference on Special Education issues that brought representatives from 77 different countries, and resulted in several international students choosing UW-Whitewater as the place to study.  

At the university level, Gwalla-Ogisi’s leadership has included participation on the University Conflict Resolution Team, Appeals and Grievances Committee, Faculty Senate; Chancellor’s Diversity Task Force, AA/EEO/Diversity Committee and the Women’s Issues Committee. Each of these committees requires considerable tact and skill as a mediator on campus. She has actively assisted in resolving numerous sensitive conflicts on campus.  Her efforts have also brought recognition and resources to the UW-Whitewater.  She co-authored and coordinated a half-million dollar Teacher Preparation Federal Grant for the department and has authored several smaller grants successfully. Nationally, she has been an active leader as a consultant with the U.S. Office of Special Education Programs in Teacher Preparation.  We recognize Nomsa Gwalla-Ogisi for the difference she has made in her communities.

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Angela Moore, UW System

Born in the mid-1950s in the segregated South of Virginia, Angela Moore was keenly aware of the racial inequities around her, even at an early age. Seeing the repeated mistreatment of her own family members, friends, neighbors and others like her, helped serve as motivation to focus her life on achieving equal rights not only for people of color, but also for women.

Demonstrating her commitment to positive change and equality, Angela has served many years as a Girl Scout professional helping to foster and develop girl leadership. Her 26-year career with the Girl Scout organization includes 16 as the Chief Executive Officer for the Girl Scouts of Badger Council, which serves girls in Rock, Walworth, and Green counties in Wisconsin, and Northern Winnebago County in Illinois. As the CEO, she has been a strong advocate for girls and women of all races in the community and has helped to provide leadership opportunities through program offerings that are both traditional and innovative.

Perhaps most notably during her tenure as CEO, Angela assisted in the coordination of a successful capital campaign that resulted in raising $1.2 million to build a program center that has served the girls and volunteers in her council now for a decade.

Angela’s commitment to leadership extends beyond her personal career and into her personal life in the way of her service to the community. She is involved in numerous community organizations and has served on several board of directors, including The Greater Beloit Chamber of Commerce, The Zonta Club of Beloit, The Beloit Rotary Club, The Beloit-Janesville Symphony Orchestra, The Beloit Health Department, and Head Start of Rock and Walworth Counties, just to name a few.

In addition, Angela has served on The Tribute to Women Dinner Committee, was one of the developers of The Status of Women in Rock County Report, and played the role of a reader for The Status of Girls in Wisconsin Report. Staying true to her focus on racial equality, Angela has served on numerous Diversity Committees and Commissions, including The Diversity Commission for Rock County, The CEO Diversity Council, and The University of Wisconsin President’s Diversity Council.

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