CME / Staff Biographies

Dr. Frank Tuitt is the Associate Provost for Inclusive Excellence and Associate Professor of Higher Education at the Morgridge College of Education at the University of Denver (DU). Dr. Tuitt is a scholar devoted to the examination and exploration of topics related to access and equity in higher education; teaching and learning in racially diverse college classrooms; and diversity and organizational transformation. His research critically examines issues of race, Inclusive Excellence and diversity in and outside the classroom from the purview of faculty and students.

Dr. Tuitt is a co-editor and contributing author of the books Race and Higher Education: Rethinking Pedagogy in Diverse College Classrooms andContesting the myth of a post-racial era: The continued significance of race in U.S. education. Some of Dr. Tuitt’s recent publications include: Enhancing visibility in graduate education: Black women’s perceptions of inclusive pedagogical practice (International Journal of Teaching and Learning); Black like me: Graduate Students’ Perceptions of their Pedagogical Experiences in Classes Taught by Black Faculty in a Predominantly White Institution (Journal of Black Studies); and Enacting Inclusivity Through Engaged Pedagogy: A Higher Education Perspective (Equity and Excellence in Education).

In the past, he has served as the Cabot Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Bok Center for Teaching and Learning at Harvard University. Dr. Tuitt is a Boston native of Caribbean descent and earned his doctorate from the Harvard Graduate School of Education in 2003. In 1997, he earned his MEd in Administration, Planning and Social Policy from Harvard University, and his BA in Human Relations from Connecticut College in 1987, where he recently finished serving his alma mater as a member of its Board of Trustees.

Stefanie Ungphakorn Cowan, BS

Office Manager

(303) 871-2507 |

Stefanie is a native of Denver, Colorado, where she graduated from Denver North High School and earned her BS in Biology from Regis University. Stefanie is currently pursuing a Master’s in Higher Education with an emphasis in Leadership and Organizational Change.

Before arriving at DU, Stefanie worked for Regis University and has extensive knowledge about serving students with disabilities. In addition to her work at the Center for Multicultural Excellence, Stefanie serves on the executive board of the Staff Advisory Council, co-chair of the Staff of Color Association, as well as many other campus committees and groups. She also has a passion for LGBTIQA issues and in addition to being Queer and Ally (Q&A) trained, in the spring of 2010, helped to coordinate Westboro Baptist Church counter-protests at Denver area high schools and Jewish centers.

Johanna M Leyba, MA

Assistant Provost for Campus and Community Partnerships

(303) 871-7661 |

Johanna is a native of Denver, Colorado. She earned a BA in Sociology with an emphasis in ethnic and urban studies from Colorado College in 1994, with a thesis on Identity Formation of Mexican Origin People Living in the United States. In 2002, she earned a Master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning with an emphasis in Community Development from the University of Colorado at Denver.

Johanna began her professional career as a Summer Minority Intern Scholar at the Coors Brewing Company. There, she assisted with Organizational Development Diversity Training for employees, supported community relation efforts among minority markets, and helped facilitate the Minority Intern and Scholarship Program. After her internship and undergraduate degree, she focused the next 11 years managing and supporting nonprofit programs and organizations focused on youth development, employment and training, healthcare for the uninsured, college access and leadership development of Latinas. She rounded this experience as a nonprofit management consultant where she facilitated strategic planning processes, fundraising planning, program development and evaluation and support of executive leadership.

She joined the University of Denver in 2004 as the Director of CME, where she assisted in the growth and development of the Center. In January of 2008, Johanna became the Assistant Provost for Inclusive Excellence which evolved into her current position, through which she helps support and coordinate cross campus partnerships to advance an inclusive agenda at DU. She also works to build new and strengthen existing relationships between DU and historically underrepresented communities in the Metro Denver area. Some of her most recent accomplishments include having led an effort to administer a campus climate survey and establishing the new Staff of Color Association. Johanna oversees the Inclusive Excellence Fellow Program that places master's students in departments across campus to gain work experience and produce inclusive projects for the unit. She currently serves on the Inclusive Excellence Collective, Consortium for College Access and Pipeline Programs, the Women’s Leadership Council, and co-chairs the annual Diversity Summit.

Anthea Johnson Rooen, MBA

Director of College Access and Pipeline Programs

(303) 871-2270 |

Anthea Johnson Rooen brings over 18 years of experience in diversity, student success, and college access from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Ms Johnson Rooen worked as the Associate Director for Student Development, Co-Director for Recruitment and Acting Director for the Multicultural Engineering Program (MEP) at the University of Colorado at Boulder from 2002–2009. She was responsible for recruiting and retaining historically underrepresented students to the College of Engineering and Applied Science. The MEP offered a number of resources, scholarships and opportunities to all participating students in a welcoming and vibrant academic community. She also served as the adviser for National Society for Black Engineer (NSBE) and the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) Regional Conference Planning Committee in 2005.

Ms Johnson Rooen was the Director of Outreach Programs for the two years at the Alliance for Technology, Learning and Society (ATLAS) Institute from 2009–2011 where she successfully coordinated outreach programs and collaborated with on and off campus partners to expose students to opportunities in technology and college. She has won several awards for her work related to advising and outreach such as the 2007 Service Award from Colorado Math, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA) and Outstanding Multicultural Engineering Program (MEP) Staff Member in 2003 and 2009.

Ms Johnson Rooen earned a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Denver Daniels College of Business, and a Bachelor of Arts and Science in Communication from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

headshot of Adrienne Martinez
Adrienne Martinez, MSW

Assistant Director, Student Access and Success Programs

(303) 871-7660 |

Adrienne comes to the Center from the DU Office of Alumni Relations, where she was responsible for engaging alumni affinity groups by partnering with volunteer leaders to create meaningful and creative programming for alumni of color. Her work with the DU Latino Alumni Association (DULAA) culminated with the creation of the DULAA Scholarship Endowment, which will provide financial assistance to Latino undergraduate students at DU.

In line with her passion for supporting and creating strong pipeline programs for historically underrepresented students, she also serves as the interim Director of Student Life at College Track – Summit 54, a national nonprofit that provides programming to increase a college-seeking culture for underserved communities. In this role, she works directly with freshman and sophomore students from Rangeview High School in Aurora to inspire social and community engagement by coordinating volunteer and leadership development opportunities. Adrienne also facilitates an all-girls support group dedicated to addressing the physical and emotional well-being of young women.

Adrienne earned her bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Colorado at Boulder while working part-time in the community relations department providing campus tours for historically underrepresented middle school students. As a Denver native and Denver Public School district graduate, she is passionate about outreach and college access for the communities surrounding DU. In June 2013, Adrienne will complete her Master’s in Social Work at DU's Graduate School of Social Work.

Debra Mixon Mitchell, PhD

Director of Diversity Recruiting

(303) 871-6204 |

Dr. Mixon Mitchell performs work focused on the recruitment and hiring of university employees to fully utilize the resources gained from diversity and Inclusive Excellence. She is also teaches courses in the University’s Graduate School of Social Work and The Women’s College. Dr. Mixon Mitchell co-authored Beyond the question of color: Diversity issues in child welfare supervision (2009) and was a contributing author to Colorado’s Child Welfare Practice Handbook (1998). Her areas of expertise include intercultural communication, organizational communication, clinical supervision and the development and delivery of competency-based and culturally competent pedagogy.

Dr. Mixon Mitchell maintains a commitment to service within the professional community. She was awarded Governor Bill Ritter, Jr.’s Service & Leadership Award as an intercultural specialist (with expertise in youth development and cultural competence) during the Haitian Orphan Operation following the tragic earthquake in Haiti. Dr. Mixon Mitchell also served on the Governor’s Cultural Competence subcommittee to the Colorado Child Welfare Action committee in 2008-2009. Previous to that she was a member of the Colorado Department of Human Services’ Minority Over Representation committee in 2003. Her service work within the community connects large and small scale projects, and has opened up dialogue about diversity and social justice issues for diverse constituencies.

Tracey Adams-Peters, MA

Director of Student and Leadership Development

(303) 871-7659 |

Tracey is a proud native of Denver, Colorado. In her role at CME, Tracey is responsible for student success programs and leadership development opportunities for all undergraduate and graduate students on campus, as well as within the state and across the nation. Tracey's work is to underscore the academic, social, leadership and personal development of the students at the University of Denver as it relates to Inclusive Excellence and diversity. Tracey is dedicated to the Denver community and works tirelessly to increase the awareness and involvement of communities of color in pre-collegiate preparation and access.

Tracey earned her BA in African American Studies from Metropolitan State University of Denver, and her MA in Higher Education with an emphasis in Leadership and Organizational Change from the University of Denver. Tracey is a proud graduate of the 2010 Chamber Connect Leadership Program and recipient of their 2010 Inclusive Excellence award, serves as a board member for the national Association of Black Culture Centers, is currently the chair for the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated Epsilon Nu Omega Chapter's I.V.Y. League college preparation program for high school girls in the Denver Metro area and serves as the chair for the organization's scholarship committee.

Tom I Romero, II, JD, PhD

Assistant Provost for IE Research & Curriculum

(303) 871-7784 |

Tom is Professor of Legal History, Property Law and Water Law at the DU Sturm College of Law, and joins us for the 2013-14 academic year to oversee deeper integration of Inclusive Excellence in campus research and curricula, largely gathered under the IRISE initiative.

Additional biographical information will be posted here soon; see also his profile on the Law website.

Thomas E Walker, PhD

Director of Educational Programs & LGBTIQA Services

(303) 871-4614 |

Thomas previously served as the Assistant Director of Arizona State University’s Intergroup Relations Center, where he coordinated diversity education programs, provided social justice training, and served as a diversity consultant for the ASU and larger community. In his eight years at ASU, he also served as liaison to the LGBTIQ community and Advisor to the LGBTQ Student Coalition. He has been engaged in the diversity and social justice field for two decades, working with NCCJ-Anytown, the National Coalition-Building Institute, the Southern Institute for Education and Research, C Harris Companies, Inc., the Social Justice Training Institute, and the University of Michigan-based Multiversity Intergroup Dialogue (MIGR) Research Project.

Thomas studied at the Victoria University of Manchester (England), earned his bachelor's degree in Interpersonal and Group Communication from Tulane University, and earned both his Master's and doctorate in Intercultural Communication at Arizona State University.

Evette Allen, MA - Kristin Deal, MEd - Stevie Lee, MA

Graduate Research Assistants

(303) 871-2942 | Evette Kristin Stevie

Evette comes to DU from Arkadelphia, Arkansas. She earned a BA in Communication Studies from Arkansas State University and an MA in Communication Studies from University of North Texas. She is currently a doctoral student in the Higher Education department, Diversity and Higher Learning Track. Her research interests include First Year Students, African American students in higher education, and Social Justice initiatives.

Kristin comes to DU from Glendora, California. She is an alumnae of Westmont College, where she earned her BA in Communication Studies and of Azusa Pacific University where she completed her MEd in College Student Affairs. She is currently a 3rd year doctoral student in Higher Education; and her research interests include graduate student socialization, critical Whiteness studies, social justice education, and student affairs curriculum development.

Stevie is the Native American Student Services Coordinator for CME. She graduated with a BA in sociocultural anthropology at Scripps College, Claremont California. Stevie recently graduated with a MA in Conflict Resolution from DU's Conflict Resolution Institute. Prior to earning her Master's degree, she worked for the non-profit Outward Bound, and has experience working with youth leadership development and at-risk youth as an Instructor and Course Director. She is currently pursuing a PhD through DU's Morgridge College of Education. Stevie is a member of the Dine Nation; and Shiprock, New Mexico is her hometown. She is excited for this upcoming year working for CME, planning events and partnering with organizations to cultivate a growing sense of Native presence on the DU campus.

H Ray Keith, Jr - Sujie Kim - Yvette Lerma - Bridget Wetzel
Inclusive Excellence Fellows
(303) 871-2942 \| Ray Sujie Yvette Bridget
Ray is pursuing his Master's in Higher Education, with a concentration in Leadership and Organizational Chance, at DU's Morgridge College of Education. Before joining CME, he earned his BS in Criminal Justice from Oklahoma City University, and worked as a counselor and high school administrator with underrepresented students. His work at CME focuses on Student Access & Pipeline programs. Sujie is pursuing a Master's in Higher Education with a focus in College Student Development at DU's Morgridge College of Education. Previously, she earned her BA in English from the Ohio State University. Yvette earned her BS in Sociology with three minors including Gender and Sexuality Studies, Women’s Studies and Latin@ Studies from the Pennsylvania State University. She is currently a Master’s candidate in the Higher Education Program within the Morgridge College of Education. Bridget earned her BA in Communication Studies with a minor in Sociology from Metropolitan State University of Denver. She is pursuing a Master's degree in Higher Education from DU's Morgridge College of Education.

Center for Multicultural Excellence (CME) · 1981 South University Blvd, Denver, CO 80208-2300 · Phone (303) 871-2942 · Fax (303) 871-7700
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