Our Staff

Dr. Katherine Stygles (she/her/hers)

Position: Director of Multicultural Affairs and LGBTQ+ Programs
About: Katie provides leadership and oversight of the Office of Multicultural Affairs and LGBTQ+ programs, including strategic direction setting, staff supervision, relationship-building, and department- and division-level assessment.

She has prior experience in HIV prevention education, volunteer coordination, and other non-profit work, research, and co-curricular community and civic engagement. Katie has a Bachelor of Arts in Music Performance and a Master of Arts in Counseling. Her Ph.D. is from BGSU in Higher Education Administration, with a cognate in social justice issues in higher education. Her dissertation is titled “Queering academia: Queer faculty mothers and work-family enrichment.”

Katie also serves as a Title IX Deputy Coordinator and an Adjunct Faculty Member for the College Student Personnel Program. Outside the university, Katie has been involved with the ACPA (College Student Educators International) Coalition for Sexuality and Gender Identities (CSGI).
Email: kstygle@bgsu.edu

Toni Gordon (she/her/hers)

Position: Assistant Director for Diversity Education and Retention Initiatives
About: Tonisha “Toni” Gordon is the Assistant Director for Diversity Education and Retention Initiatives in the Office of Multicultural Affairs. In this role, Toni is a vessel to help educate others about diversity, social justice and inclusion on BG’s campus. Areas of this educational training that she has done are Power and Privilege, Intersectionality, and Equity and Inclusion in the setting of Higher Education. Toni is also the instructor and facilitator for the Multicultural Summer Link program which connects students of color to campus sooner in an enriched programmatic environment. Students in this program then move into a 16 week program called the UNIV 1510 that Toni is the instructor for as well. In connection to her daily tasks, Toni is an advisor for the Black Graduate Student Organization as well as a member of the Strong Start to Finish Committee which works to look at closing the achievement gaps between marginalized students and students of the majority. She received her BA in Psychology from Hope College and her MSEd in Higher Education Administration from the University of Pennsylvania.
Email: tgordo@bgsu.edu

Toni started in Student Affairs in Residential Education in 2010, ranging from Southern institutions and coming to Midwestern institutions. Understanding these varieties of student populations and also advocating for students in marginalized areas solidified her passion in social justice works. Toni has always looked at the world through a social justice lens and that has also influenced the community service work that she has done in the past with the YWCA and with her Sorority, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

Connie Weaver (she/her/hers)

Position: Coordinator for Cultural Programs
About: Connie Weaver provides leadership for cultural heritage programming, which is designed to enhance the social integration, persistence, retention, engagement and overall success of diverse students. Connie welcomes new students to campus during Student Orientation and Registration.
Email: conniew@bgsu.edu

More About Connie Weaver

Connie oversees events such as evening of Champions, which is held annually during Family Weekend to honor multicultural students' academic success. She coordinates our Summer Visit Days, Preview Days, President's Day, Falcon Fridays, Guidance Counselor Day, Honors College Day and Transfer & Community College Days.

Prior to joining our department, she worked in BGSU's Technology Resource Center and within the Office of Student Financial Aid. Latino Student Union awarded Connie the Magda Morales Award (2004). She received a community service award "for promoting positive relationships within the BGSU community" in 2011. As department representative for Family Campaign, Multicultural Affairs has reached 100% participation. She is a member of the University Academic Support Council, Student Affairs Advisory Board, State of the State Planning Committee and manages departmental scholarships. She serves as advisor for Exceptional Intellectual Ladies a campus organization that works with the Boys & Girls Club of Toledo and is the liaison to Latino Student Union. Connie holds a Bachelor of Science in Education and a Bachelor of Arts from Bowling Green State University.

Ana Brown (she/her/hers)

Position: Deputy Chief of Diversity, Belonging, and Multicultural Affairs
About: Ana Brown serves as the Deputy Chief of Diversity, Belonging, and Multicultural Affairs. Previous positions at the institution include Director of Multicultural Affairs, Coordinator for Diversity and Retention Initiatives for the Office of Residence Life (ten years) and the Assistant Director for the Sidney A. Ribeau President’s Leadership Academy (ten years). Ana has completed the Social Justice Training Institute and Federal Mediation Facilitator Training, is a facilitator for Safe Zone, True Colors™, and the National Coalition Building Institute, and has presented numerous workshops on a wide variety of leadership, diversity, and inclusion topics throughout the Northwest Ohio region. She is a Northwest Ohio native; she received her B.A. in Music and B.S. in Molecular Genetics from The Ohio State University and her M.Ed. in Learning Design from BGSU.
Email: acbrown@bgsu.edu

Jelani Perez (he/him/his)

Position: Assistant Director for Diversity Education and LGBTQ+ Programs
About: Jelani Rivera serves as Assistant Director for Diversity Education and LGBTQ+ Programs. His work focuses on major programming (e.g., Heritage and History Months, the Art of Diversity). He is a Puerto Rican man from the Bronx, New York. Jelani has a Bachelor of Science in Rehabilitation Psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and his Master of Education in Instructional Design and Technology from BGSU.
Email: perezje@bgsu.edu

The Office of Multicultural Affairs Ambassadors (OMAAs) are paraprofessional undergraduate student employees who support and facilitate the mission of the Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMA). These student leaders represent the OMA across campus in various capacities (e.g., workshops, programs, presentations, outreach) empowering their peers and the community to engage with topics of cultural awareness, diversity, and inclusion in a collective effort to create a welcoming, socially just, and inclusive campus community.

Shelby Bray (she/her/hers)

Position: OMA Ambassador
About: Shelby is an undergraduate student majoring in Education with minors in Japanese and TESOL and Applied Linguistics. She has studied abroad at Kanda University of International Studies in Chiba, Japan. After graduating in May of 2023, Shelby plans to move to Japan to teach English as a second language. On campus, she is involved in the Japanese Club and the World Language Educators Organization. She is an active member of the Epsilon Beta chapter of Phi Sigma Pi National Honors Fraternity. She looks forward to building connections and to growing, personally and professionally, this year.

Isabel Contreras (she/her/hers)

Position: OMA Ambassador
About: Isabel is a third-year student majoring in Theatre with a specialization in acting/directing. She is also a member of the Pan-African Theatre Ensemble and is a Thompson Family Scholar. Isabel is ecstatic about engaging with her peers through conversations, providing resources, and facilitating events to help create and maintain a more inclusive campus community.

Sunny (Alexis) Dicks (she/her/hers and they/them/theirs)

Position: OMA Ambassador
About: Sunny is a sophomore majoring in Criminal Justice and minoring in Sociology. They are passional about inclusivity, speaking out, and helping others, which led her to start the Campus Action Team at BGSU, linked with the ACLU. They are also a SMART mentor with the Office of Residence Life. She is excited to work and grow with this year's wonderful staff and to be diligent in proactively contributing to inclusion on campus.

Maria Duffy (she/her/hers)

Position: OMA Ambassador
About: Maria is concurrently working toward her Bachelor of Arts in Communication with a minor in Women's Studies and Master of Arts in Media and Communication. As a returning OMA Ambassador, Maria is aware in confident in the OMA's work of making BGSU's campus and community more inclusive. She has also been a SMART mentor, participated in Sister to Sister, and Generation Falcon - all of which have helped her grow in her passion for diversity and inclusion.

Lauren Frase (she/her/hers)

Position: OMA Ambassador
About: Lauren is an undergraduate student majoring in Communications and minoring in French and Women's Studies. As an ambassador, Lauren wants to provide an opportunity and strong platform for people to share their ideas, expressing themselves freely. She has had an active part in peer leadership through the Inclusive and Ethical Leadership Certificates with the Marvin Center. She is also an active member in Le Cercle Française, connecting with other French speakers and learning more about French culture. She is excited to be a part of the Office of Multicultural Affairs and hopes to create a space for everyone to understand themselves and the world better, and extend her readiness to learn, grow, and change with those around her.

Bry Miller (she/her/hers or they/them/theirs)

Position: Graduate Coordinator for Diversity Education and Resource Centers
About: Bry is in her second year of the Clinical Mental Health Counseling program with hopes to someday work with adolescents of diverse and underserved populations. A returning graduate assistant for the OMA, they are excited to supervise a wonderful new group of ambassadors, plan events, and educate on the importance of Equity and Inclusion.

Bry graduated from BGSU in 2020 with a B.A. in Psychology and a Bachelor of Musical Arts. During her time in undergrad, she was involved with the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and the Finding Your Voice in Social Justice Learning Community. During this time, they also found passions for voters’ rights and social justice work, which lead them to become involved with local politics, election work, and activism. Bry is currently a member of Chi Sigma Iota and a Precinct Election Official for Seneca County.
Email: bryanar@bgsu.edu

Joshua Moore (he/him/his)

Position: Graduate Coordinator for Diversity Education and Multicultural Student Retention
About: Joshua is currently pursuing his Master of Arts in College Student Personnel. He graduated from Bowling Green State University with a Bachelor's degree in Ethnic Studies (c/o '18). He was highly involved as an undergraduate student and largely supported the students around him, particularly his peer students of color. After graduating, he spent time working in youth development and community organizing around voter's rights/education, student academic success, and other social justice issues. In this role, he is very excited about connecting with and motivating students involved in the Multicultural Student Link and other programs as they prepare for their future endeavors.

Office of Multicultural Affairs
401 Bowen-Thompson Student Union
Phone: 419-372-2642
Fax: 419-372-2124
oma@bgsu.edu

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Updated: 03/28/2023 10:46AM