Cones, Rods, and Other Obstacles: A Visual Person with a Visual Impairment 

Title: Graphic Designer, The Media School 

Email: ceparkin@iu.edu  

Bio: Chad Parkinson is a graphic designer who has a passion for creating a more accessible world. Despite having a career that is completely visual, Chad was born with a rare visual impairment known as Cone Rod Dystrophy. His love for design started in high school nearly 13 years ago, in the form of creating skateboard graphics, editing videos, and studying the fundamentals of design. As someone whose vision depends on clear messages to get by, he’s learned that the world is full of dysfunctional design that often challenges the user. One of Chad’s mottos is to “enjoy the process”. He takes pride in all the many unique purposes that design offers us and wants to use it for the greater good.  

Who Are We at Work? Contemplating Our Role in Sustaining an Inclusive Work Environment 

Title: Director of Diversity and Inclusion, School of Public Health 
Email: rorjames@indiana.edu  

Bio: Rory G. James is the current director of the Office of Student Diversity & Inclusion at IU School of Public Health-Bloomington—a role he has held for the last seven years. Mr. James has 15 years of experience as a higher education professional. His background encompasses undergraduate and graduate student engagement and professional staff development in cross-cultural competency. Mr. James has presented at dozens of local, regional, and national conferences on diversity, equity, and access; bias awareness; masculinity and outreach to Black and Latino/x men; sexual health education; student retention programs; and health promotion. 

Beyond Binaries: Sex, Gender, and Sexual Orientation 

Title: Assistant Director for Education, The Kinsey Institute 
Email: jhille@iu.edu  

Description: Dr. Hille is a gender and sexuality scholar and the Assistant Director for Education at the Kinsey Institute. In this role, she has overseen the development of an online continuing education program, serves as a co-director for the Scholarly Concentration in Human Sexuality and Health with the Indiana University-Bloomington School of Medicine, and relaunched the Kinsey Institute Lecture Series, among other initiatives. Dr. Hille earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Chicago, a J.D. from Washington University in St. Louis, an L.L.M. in Health Law and Policy from the University of Washington – Seattle, and a Ph.D. from Indiana University. 

Including and Supporting People with Disabilities in the Workplace 

Title: Case Management Senior Specialist, Employee Relations, University Human  Resources 
Email: fepperso@iu.edu   

Bio: Frank Epperson serves on many different advisory boards, committees, and working groups both within and outside of Indiana University. He strives to increase opportunities for people with disabilities ranging from emergency preparedness, the arts, and the physical accessibility of buildings and program – specifically relating to employment and people with disabilities. Frank also enjoys being a public speaker, discussing subjects such as Title 1 of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). He also provides customer training, including disabilities etiquette, for front-line employees who will be interacting with people with disabilities. Frank has a B.S. in Physical Education, has been an IU employee for over 20 years, and in addition to being a lifetime advocate for people with disabilities, is a ballroom dancer, two-time Paralympic, and a two-time world championship team wheelchair racer.

Including and Supporting People with Disabilities in the Workplace 

Title: Associate Director of Compliance, Training, and ADA Coordination, Office of Institutional Equity 
Email: ldconway@iu.edu  

Bio:   Lesle is the Associate University Director of Compliance, Training, & ADA Coordination in the Office of Institutional Equity. Lesle began working at IU in 2014 as a Legal Fellow in the Office of the Vice President & General Counsel before moving to the Office of Student Welfare & Title IX. As part of the newly created Office of Institutional Equity in 2018, Lesle served as the Associate Director of Compliance & Education Programs, before adding ADA Coordination to her primary areas of responsibility. Lesle earned her undergraduate degrees from Indiana University Bloomington in History and Classical Studies in 2010, and completed her J.D. from the IU Maurer School of Law in 2013.  

DEI Initiatives: The Walter Center’s Approach 

Title: Career Coach, Walter Center for Career Achievement 
Email: alladkin@iu.edu  

Bio: Allison is an inquisitive and thoughtful student affairs professional currently serving as a Career Coach in the Walter Center for Career Achievement. Teaching and coaching students towards success (defined in many different ways) fills her up and she is excited to continue her engagement as a member of the College Diversity and Inclusion Advisory and Action Committee (DIAAC).  

DEI Initiatives: The Walter Center’s Approach 

Title: Director, Immersive Experience, Walter Center for Career Achievement  
Email: acornell@indiana.edu  

Bio:  Amy Cornell is the Director of Immersive Experiences at the Walter Center for Career Achievement. She has spent mot of her 30-year career in student affairs here at Indiana University Bloomington, where she has worked in housing, academic advising, alumni engagement, and career services. She wants to make career services and career readiness open and accessible to all students.  

Embracing a True Commitment to Allyship 
 
Title: Director, First Nations Educational and Cultural Center 
Email: nbelle@indiana.edu  

Bio: Nicky Belle is director of the First Nations Educational and Cultural Center at Indiana University and is also affiliated with both the Native American and Indigenous Studies Program and the Department of Anthropology. Belle received his Ph.D. in cultural anthropology from IU in 2016 and has served as the center’s director since that time. Belle’s research concerns aspects of Native American performative and expressive culture on the Northern Plains–particularly among the Lakota people of South Dakota. His work looks at Native American dance and song performance as actively anti-colonial processes, and engages men’s warrior societies, material culture, and ideas of masculinity.   

Embracing a True Commitment to Allyship 

Title: Director, Asian Culture Center 
Email: mcullath@indiana.edu  

Bio:  Melanie Castillo-Cullather is the founding director of IU’s Asian Culture Center on the Bloomington campus. She has over 20 years of experience in community organizing. She has served on many boards and local commissions including Bloomington Human Rights Commission, Commission on the Status of Women, Middle Way House, Catholic Charities of Bloomington, and was a member of the City of Bloomington Board of Public Works. Her extensive experience and interests include working in diverse organizations building initiatives from the ground up, leading educational and culturally enriching programs, and spearheading philanthropic efforts. Recently, she taught a course on Asian American and Pacific Islander Communities and Social Change in the Asian American Studies Program in the College.  

Embracing a True Commitment to Allyship 

Title: Director, Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center 
Email: glhowell@indiana.edu  

Description: Gloria Howell is the director of the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center at Indiana University Bloomington. She is also a faculty coordinator for a first-year experience and introductory research course for freshman Hudson and Holland Scholars. Her research focuses on Black students broadly, specifically regarding identity development and affirmation, culturally relevant pedagogy and curricular practices, and the effects of student activism on institutional change. Her Ph.D. dissertation research was on the African American Arts Institute at IU Bloomington. She is active in the Bloomington community, serving as the vice-chair of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Commission, a member of the City of Bloomington Black History Month Planning Committee, co-coordinator of the Free Homework Help Program at Beth AME Church, and a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. Kappa Tau Omega chapter.  

Embracing a True Commitment to Allyship 

Title: Executive Director, IU Hillel and Jewish Culture Center 
Email: sshifron@iupui.edu  

Description: Rabbi Sue grew up in Indianapolis. She attended Indiana University as an undergraduate, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Social Work. Rabbi Sue attended the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College and was ordained in 1988. During Rabbinical school, Sue served as the Hillel Director at the University of Delaware. In August of 1989, following a year in Israel, Rabbi Sue returned to the United States to become the Executive Director of the Helene G. Simon Hillel Center at Indiana University. She loves IU Hillel and the students there. Rabbi Sue is also committed to promoting diversity on campus. She helped to found Bloomington United, a grassroots community organization dedicated to building diversity and responding to incidents of hate in Bloomington, IN.  

Courageous Conversations: Communicating for Change 

Title: Assistant Dean for Diversity and Inclusion, College of Arts and Sciences 
Email: ochoac@iu.edu  

Bio: Dr. Carmen Henne-Ochoa earned her Ph.D. in sociology at the University of Chicago. Her research and teaching have focused on questions of social stratification, inequality, and identity formation processes. At the core of her work and practice is interrogating disparities in the context of embodied difference and their connection to larger systems of privilege, power, and oppression. She launched the College’s Diversity and Inclusion Advisory and Action Committee (DIAAC) and has served as its chair and now co-chair. She advocates for underserved and historically excluded groups also through her board membership on the IUB Latinx Faculty and Staff Council, ACE Women’s Network of Indiana, and PACE Faculty Advisory Board.  

Courageous Conversations: Communicating for Change 

Title: Program Management Assistant, Office of Diversity and Inclusion 
Inbound Exchange Coordinator, College International Office 
Email: lgturpen@indiana.edu  

Bio: Lindsay is a proud Indiana University College of Arts and Sciences alumna, having graduated with a B.L.S. with minors in Sociology and Anthropology. She is a Masters candidate at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, where she is currently working on a degree in Social Justice and Community Action. A passionate advocate for neurodiversity and invisible disabilities, Lindsay enjoys working to develop programming, education, and understanding at the intersections of identities.  

Five Generations at Work: Bridging the Gaps 

Title: Clinical Associate Professor, School of Public Health and School of Education 
Advisor, Gerontology Programs, Applied Health Science Department 
Director, Office of Online Education, School of Public Health 
Email: lehuber@indiana.edu  

Bio: Dr. Lesa Huber is a Clinical Associate Professor in the School of Public Health and the School of Education. She is Director of the Office of Online Education in the School of Public Health. She has twice received the Teaching Excellence Recognition Award (TERA), twice received the Trustees Teaching Award, is a member of IU FACET, Delta Gamma, and is a Fellow in the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education. She is the 2013 recipient of the Hiram S. Friedman Award for mentorship. She created and is the director of two minors and a graduate certificate in gerontology. At IU she developed seven online courses designed to educate the aging services workforce as well as current students. Her service work includes chair and elected positions at local, state, and national levels. Her primary interest is in the biological, psychological, and social determinants of aging well. As she works with students, she is exploring the potential of new technologies to support independent living in later life. She has been a PI or Co-PI on grants totaling over 1.9 million in research funding and given over 135 presentations nationally and internationally. 

Cultivating Cultural Intelligence 

Title: Career Coach, Walter Center for Career Achievement 
Email: rboveja@indiana.edu  

Bio: Rachel is the Global and International Studies Career Coach for the Walter Center for Career Achievement. Her passion for blending education, cultural understanding, diplomacy, and wellness demonstrates her love for holistic and interdisciplinary work. Rachel is also an Adjunct Professor in the IU School of Public Health, the Southwest Asia and North Africa (SWANA) Co-Chair for Women of Color Advancing Peace and Security (WCAPS) in Washington, D.C., and a board member for the FBI Citizen’s Academy with the Indianapolis Field Office.