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Leadership Team

Professional Staff

ADVANCE Faculty Fellows

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Leadership Team

Denise Sekaquaptewa, Ph.D.

Director of ADVANCE

dsekaqua@umich.edu

Denise began her role as Director of the U-M ADVANCE Program in Fall 2023, after having previously served on the STRIDE Committee and as the Associate Director for Research in ADVANCE. She is University Diversity and Social Transformation Professor of Psychology. Her research program in experimental social psychology focuses on intergroup stereotyping, implicit bias, and the experiences of women and underrepresented minorities in science and engineering. She received the Harold R. Johnson Diversity Service Award (2015), and the Sarah Goddard Power Award (2012) from the University of Michigan for her work on diversity-related issues.

Mike Liemohn, Ph.D.

Associate Director

liemohn@umich.edu

Mike Liemohn is an Associate Director at ADVANCE and a member of the STRIDE Committee. Mike has a strong understanding of the research and values underlying the ADVANCE mission. He even co-authored a paper applying the STRIDE model to his field (March 2023, Frontiers in Astronomy & Space Sciences). He has also worked on programming focused on coaching and mentoring of faculty within his discipline of climate and space sciences and engineering.

Shelly Conner, Ph.D.

Associate Director and Director of Research & Evaluation

shellyah@umich.edu

The research & evaluation team supports ADVANCE and campus leaders by collecting and analyzing institutional data, climate surveys, salary equity, and various research projects focused on faculty. Shelly works with our staff and students to listen to and advocate for our faculty. Previously, she was an Assistant Dean in the Rackham Graduate School who focused on program evaluation, graduate student funding and policy analyses. She received her Ph.D. in developmental psychology from the University of Michigan.

Cynthia Hudgins, Ph.D.

Associate Director and Director of Administration & Programming

hudgins@umich.edu

Cynthia is responsible for unit administration, including finance, human resources, facilities and operations. She works closely with the Director to develop and implement strategic plans to meet ADVANCE’s mission. She has been at the University since 1991 and with the ADVANCE Program since 2004. She received her B.A. and M.A. degrees from Indiana University and her Ph.D. in higher education from the University of Michigan.

Professional Staff

Kelsey Arras, M.A.

Communication and Project Specialist

kkadams@umich.edu

Kelsey is responsible for program and research communication. She manages material development, dissemination of information, and other ongoing projects. Additionally, she is the program manager for the RISE committee. The RISE Committee is a group of faculty and staff working to support climates of respect and inclusion within academic units. Kelsey received her M.A. in Arts Management from Eastern Michigan University and a B.F.A. in Illustration from Northern Michigan University. She has been with the University of Michigan since 2018.

Shawn Beard

Administrative/Project Coordinator

spbeard@umich.edu

Shawn is ADVANCE’s staff lead for the U-M President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship Program. He also assists with administrative matters, programming, and STRIDE. He works closely with the Associate Director of Administration on day-to-day operations. He has been with the ADVANCE Program since 2009, and is currently working towards a degree in Elementary Education.

Anne Cope

Administrative Assistant Senior

acope@umich.edu

Anne is responsible for providing executive level support to the ADVANCE Program Director and works closely with unit leadership in managing the budget and financial accounts for the program. She closely monitors financial transactions, distributes funds awarded for the Elizabeth Caroline Crosby and the SUCCEED Faculty Grants, and coordinates funding transfers as needed. Anne is an administrative partner in providing support with complex scheduling, travel coordination, facilities & operations, and process documentation. She is also an avid hockey fan and is a superb parallel parker!

Jennifer Henry, M.M.

Project Manager

jkhenry@umich.edu

Jen provides strategic project management for various campus-wide initiatives including the Elizabeth Caroline Crosby and SUCCEED faculty funding programs. She also leads the development and expansion of the Launch Committee program, supporting new tenure-track assistant professors as they begin their careers at U-M. Partnering with ADVANCE’s operations team, Jen helps develop processes that support ADVANCE’s growing portfolio and impact. Jen received her B.A. in Communication Studies and Spanish Language & Literature and M.M. in Business Management from the University of Michigan

Jordan Hudgins

Research and Evaluation Intermediate

hudginsj@umich.edu

Jordan works on dashboards, department climate assessments, program evaluations, and other ongoing research projects. Jordan received her B.S. in Statistics from the University of Michigan in 2021. Before starting as a Research & Evaluation specialist, she worked at ADVANCE as a student for 2 years. Her research interests include the experiences of women in STEM fields, survey design and methodology, and data visualization.

Sarah McAllister, M.H.S.A

Project Manager

smcallis@umich.edu

Sarah shares her passions for cultivating talent and empowering leaders by managing faculty coaching programs, including the long-running Full Professor Coaching Program and the PACE (Post-Promotion Academic Career Exploration) Program for recently tenured faculty. She partners across campus for structured, goal- and data-driven projects to strategically grow ADVANCE’s portfolio for faculty development, satisfaction, and engagement. Sarah received her M.H.S.A in Health Management and Policy from the University of Michigan. Prior to arriving at ADVANCE, she coordinated clinical education programs at Michigan Medicine.

Allyson Moralez

Events & Projects Specialist

amoralez@umich.edu

Allyson oversees organizing various events, meetings and programming projects for ADVANCE. She works closely with the Associate Director of Administration to ensure all ADVANCE events run smoothly. Allyson received her B.A. in Cognitive Science from the University of Michigan in 2021.

Delaney Ryan, MPH

Research & Evaluation Specialist

delryan@umich.edu

Delaney works on department climate assessments, program evaluations, data design, and other ongoing research projects. She holds a master’s degree in Public Health from the University of Michigan. Prior to joining Advance, she collaborated with multiple academic groups at the University, participating in evaluation and research endeavors while also exploring innovative applications of data to promote positive transformations. Her research passions encompass workforce development, inclusive higher education, data handling and visualization, and community-based participatory research.

Jamie Saville, MPA

Project Intermediate Manager

jsaville@umich.edu

Jamie works with our collaborators to organize our STRIDE Committee, NextProf initiatives, Faculty Development Workshops and additional events and program initiatives. After spending 14 years helping to direct the University of Michigan’s Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) Program, Jamie is now applying her program management and development experience, as well as her passion for diversity initiatives, to U-M faculty.

Stephanie Shaulskiy, Ph.D.

Research & Evaluation Specialist

sshauls@umich.edu

As a member of the Research and Evaluation team, Stephanie works on program evaluations, research studies, and departmental climate assessments. Before joining the ADVANCE team, Stephanie worked as the Program Evaluation Coordinator for the Transforming Learning Program at the University of Michigan Biological Station, where she evaluated the effectiveness of new courses and field-based programs. She attended the University of Arizona, graduating with honors in Psychology and earned her doctorate in educational psychology in 2016 from The Ohio State University. Her research interests focus on the importance and development of belonging in educational settings.

Carolyn Winslow, Ph.D.

Research and Evaluation Specialist Intermediate

cwins@umich.edu
Carolyn Winslow, Ph.D., is an organizational research psychologist with technical expertise in program evaluation and survey design and analysis. Additionally, her content area expertise incudes best practices for promoting employee diversity, equity, inclusion, and wellbeing, and effective organizational leadership. Prior to joining ADVANCE, she conducted internal research and consulting for several corporations, higher education institutions, and government agencies. She received her B.A. in Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, and her M.A. and Ph.D. in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from George Mason University.

Jamie Zawistowski, MBA

Business Manager

jzawisto@umich.edu

Jamie is responsible for finance and human resources. With over 18 years of experience at U-M in finance and human resources, she works to support ADVANCE in these areas and enjoys the mix of responsibilities that comes with working in a small U-M unit. Jamie received her B.S. degree in Finance from St. Joseph’s University and her MBA from Villanova University.

Brittany Zydorczyk

Finance and Human Resource Specialist

bzydorc@umich.edu

Brittany Zydorczyk is the Finance and Human Resource Specialist for both the ADVANCE and CEW+ program. She works closely alongside with the Senior Business Administrator to support both departments. Brittany graduated from the University of Toledo with a BBA in Finance and a minor in Information Systems.

ADVANCE Faculty Fellows

Yeşim Orhun, Ph.D.

Business Administration, Information

Student Staff

Brittany Ribeiro Brown

Joint Ph.D. Program in Social Work and Psychology

Emma Christopherson

Undergraduate Student in Romance Languages and Literatures & International Studies

Olivia ‘Olive’ Jayakar

Graduate student in Higher Education

Jessica Kiebler

Graduate student in Women's and Gender Studies & Psychology

Taylor Lewis

PhD Program: Higher Education

Suraj Menon

Undergraduate Student in Biomedical Engineering

Mara Serbanesco

Undergraduate Student in Political Science

Yuliya Shyrokonis

Doctoral Student, Social Work and Clinical Psychology

ADVANCE Program Address

University of Michigan
1214 S. University Avenue
2nd Floor, Suite C - Galleria Building
Ann Arbor, MI 48104-2592

Connect With Us

advanceprogram@umich.edu
Phone: 734.647.6115
Fax: 734.647.6112
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