People
Interested in contacting Saint Louis University's Division for Diversity and Innovative Community Engagement? Learn about the DICE's leadership and staff.
Rochelle Smith, M.S.
Vice President of the Division for Diversity and Innovative Community Engagement
Rochelle D. Smith, M.S., (she/her) is the second vice president of DICE. She is an accomplished diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practitioner and senior-level administrator in higher education, with more than 24 years of experience. Smith earned her Master of Science degree in health behavior research from Washington University School of Medicine, a bachelor鈥檚 degree in psychology from Chicago State University, and certification in executive leadership from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.
Smith has devoted much of her career to tackling complex institutional challenges with a data-driven and research-based approach. Making campuses more welcoming for people from backgrounds historically underrepresented in higher education has been one of her priorities. Smith's previous position was the inaugural associate dean of diversity and inclusion and associate chief diversity officer at the Yale School of Medicine.
Prior to joining Yale, Rochelle worked for 20 years at Washington University here in St. Louis, where she had been assistant provost for diversity initiatives. Rochelle founded the Washington University Diversity Pipeline Consortium for STEM, and her experience also included co-designing two faculty-of-color retention programs at Washington University that resulted in a record number of these faculty receiving tenure. In addition, she led the M.D./Ph.D. diversity effort and founded three student affinity groups at the university.
At the Yale School of Medicine, Rochelle provided strategic direction to the Dean on diversity, equity and inclusion; equal opportunity; discrimination and harassment; and retaliation. She helped address inquiries and concerns on those same issues raised by Yale community members.
Areas of Expertise
- Faculty-of-color retention programs
- Founding affinity groups
- Visionary strategic leadership
- Diversity, equity, and inclusion in STEM
Fun Fact
Outside of her work, Rochelle enjoys submerging herself in the arts and spending time with her daughters.
Executive Assistant
janet.flach@health.slu.edu
314-977-7718
Dubourg Hall, 202
Janet Flach earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Saint Louis University in 1992 and has dedicated her career to higher education, working in various roles for over three decades. Since 2016, Janet has been with SLU鈥檚 Office of University Compliance and Ethics, where her role now expands to include responsibilities with the Division of Diversity and Innovative Community Engagement (DICE). Janet is excited to join the DICE team and contribute to the University鈥檚 commitment to an inclusive campus environment.
Janet has been married for nearly 40 years, has one adult daughter, and shares her home with a lab mix named Bob who affectionately runs the household.
Fun Fact
In her free time, Janet loves to quilt and read!
Assistant Vice President of Strategic Initiatives
allison.brewer@slu.edu
314-977-2690
Center for Global Citizenship, Suite 124
Allison Brewer, M.A.T., (they/them), is an advocate and expert in the field of special education, cross-categorical disabilities, and applied accessibility as a community-based practice. Brewer is an openly disabled administrator and identifies as autistic and has narcolepsy with cataplexy. It is the combined lived and professional expertise that led Allison to launch Voice(Is), a disability-led consulting business. As a public speaker and/or educational advocate, they鈥檝e led or attended ~1,500 IEPs and 504-related meetings, trained educators/support staff in 200 schools across 90 districts and 10 different states. Allison began their journey as a special educator across north St. Louis, where partnering with families to build education equity led to building a collective national network of self and community advocates. Gaining an M.A.T. in cross-categorical disabilities from Webster University helped ground them as an advocate when they needed it the most鈥攖hrough the protection of their own civil rights after facing disability discrimination in the workplace. As a leader in the field, Allison has served as an expert witness in a number of due process cases, working alongside families and civil rights attorneys holding our learning institutions accountable.
Brewer is new to higher education and is excited about applying their experience as a social innovator, advocate, and community organizer to the Jesuit mission of Saint Louis University. Their framework of operating is heavily influenced by the cross-racial disability-justice movement that developed under apartheid in South Africa after a student uprising in Soweto. Brewer hopes to bring the spirit of the disability-justice rally call to their work here at SLU: 鈥淣othing about us, without us.鈥�
Job Description
As AVP of DICE, Brewer is tasked with bringing an innovative spirit to the work of structural transformation by employing strategies that introduce new ideas, methods, and practices required to move forward with transformative change, specifically for internal and external stakeholders, in an effort to help the university achieve inclusive excellence.鈥� They will help the university develop innovative and transformational work that centers those who have historically been marginalized and ensures that instruction, research, and services advance justice and equity for people of all races, genders, abilities, countries of origin, incomes, and other identities and backgrounds. The assistant vice president will help create a coordinated, equitable system for the university鈥檚 community engagement efforts in the St. Louis region, prioritizing healing and repairing past harms perpetuated by its staff, faculty and students in the city鈥檚 most vulnerable neighborhood.鈥�
Areas of Expertise
- Applied Accessibility as a Community-Based Practice
- Cross Categorical Disabilities and Special Education
- Inclusive Instruction and Professional Development
- Institutional Innovation & Social Impact
Fun Fact
You might find Brewer somewhere whittling with headphones on, say hello! They nerd out about liberatory frameworks found in comic books, through magic, beyond the stars, and in the future (aka: superheroes, fantasy, sci-fi, and dystopian future genres). They are an amateur oboist and enjoy aerial silks classes with their teen in their very limited free time. Go visit their family business and local coffee spot right down Grand, MoKaBe鈥檚 Coffeehouse!
Assistant Vice President
katie.heidenrootes@health.slu.edu
314-977-2690
Morrissey Hall, 1133
Katie Heiden-Rootes, Ph.D., (she/her) is a family scientist and mental health professional specializing in the advancement of systemic theory, training and research on health and healing with the LGBTQIA+ community and their families. Her scholarship is funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Missouri Foundation for Health, and the Association of Schools Advancing Health Professions. Heiden-Rootes founded and supervises in the Queer & Trans Wellness Clinic @ SLU in the Center for Counseling and Family Therapy, a community-facing and accessible resource for mental health services. In 2022, she was awarded the Norm White Award for Engaged Scholarship and Service by the Faculty Senate of Saint Louis University.
In her academic home, the Medical Family Therapy program in the School of Medicine as an associate professor where she teaches courses and lectures on human sexuality and gender, cultural humility, and qualitative research. Her work today is marked by the celebration of difference, engaging in difficult dialogue, and becoming comfortable in discomfort.
Areas of Expertise
- Institutional Research
- Training & Consultation
- Equity as Wellness
- Advocacy
- Cultural Transformation
Job Description
The assistant vice president champions initiatives designed to cultivate a climate of equity, trust, well-being, honesty, transparency, and integrity where all are valued and differences are deemed as assets. The role focuses on leading strategic initiatives around institutional research, compliance, reporting, policy, communication, and advocacy. There is a focus on meeting and exceeding civil rights compliance standards at the local, state, and federal levels. Activities include providing training, leadership, and programming for cultivating equitable and sustainable structural and cultural transformation that is data-informed, community-driven, culturally responsive, and rooted in our Jesuit Mission.
The role is housed in the Division of Diversity and Innovative Community Engagement (DICE) and works closely with the vice president for DICE, the provost, the director of Institutional Equity and Diversity/Title IX coordinator, and collaborates with associate provosts, deans, faculty, staff, students, committees, and constituencies throughout the University to fulfill responsibilities.
Fun Fact
Katie is a mama obsessed with her two favorite humans (the JoBear and Emmettson). You will see them featured on her slide decks. She is a water enthusiast, spending vacation time on or near lakes and oceans. And, without prompting, she will show you her Peloton bike, quote her favorite trainer (Cody Rigsby), or talk about 90s music.
Special Assistant to the Vice President for Recruitment in STEM
michael.hankins@slu.edu
314-977-2808
CV
(he/him)
Michael Hankins, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry and a special assistant to the vice president for recruitment in STEM. Hankins鈥� work as a special assistant is focused on supporting, creating, and assessing scholarly efforts on campus to increase the diversity of students in STEM disciplines. To date, he co-founded DICE鈥檚 Black in STEM awards as a signature event highlighting the contributions of Black students, faculty, and regional community partners in STEM, which received the INSIGHT Into Diversity Magazine鈥檚 2023 Inspiring Programs in STEM award. His scholarship is focused on cultivating STEM academic career pathways for underrepresented students through cultural change and excellent mentoring opportunities in academic and STEM environments. In his academic home, he teaches undergraduate courses and mentors students to become excited and intrigued about STEM. He is also a SLU alumnus (B.S. Chemistry 2009, Ph.D. Integrated and Applied Sciences 2017).
Job Description
The special assistant to the vice president for recruitment in STEM creates, implements, supports, and assesses programming efforts to recruit STEM students to the university with emphasis on those students from marginalized and under-represented communities in the Division of Diversity and Innovative Community Engagement.
- Areas of Work and Expertise
- Chemistry faculty (Assistant Professor, NTT)
- Recruitment (first-time full-time freshmen, transfer students, non-traditional students)
- Community Engagement (creating partnerships to support recruiting pipelines)
- Assist student organizations that increase a sense of belonging and support for STEM students
Awards and Accomplishments
- SLU Student Development鈥檚 Campus Partner Award
- Hidden Figures Social Change Award in STEM 2023
- Panelist for American Chemical Society Spring National Meeting (2024)
Fun Fact
Michael is a former SLU student who enjoys playing video games, watching sports and anime.
Program Coordinator - Center for Social Action
aubra.ladd@slu.edu
314-977-5790
Center for Global Citizenship, Suite 134
(she/her)
Aubra Ladd joined Saint Louis University in December 2021, as the program coordinator for the Division of Diversity and Innovative Community Engagement. Born and raised in Chicago, Aubra moved to St. Louis to attend Saint Louis University for both her bachelor鈥檚 degree and master's degree in communication (2021, 2023). While a student at SLU, Aubra served as a leader in several positions such as a resident advisor and the president of Lambda Pi Eta Honor Society. She hopes to draw from her experience as a student and working with others to coordinate programming for DICE. As a student on SLU鈥檚 campus, Aubra hopes to use her experience to identify undergraduate and graduate needs and work within the Jesuit Mission of creating a sense of community that facilitates the development of all.
Job Description
The program coordinator in the Division of Diversity and Innovative Community Engagement works to coordinate volunteers for community events and community organizations. On the DICE team, Aubra specializes in helping to coordinate university-wide programming, workshops and training.
Areas of Work and Expertise
- Programming (#OccupySLU Programming, DICE Open House, 1818 Grant, Graduate Wellness Series)
- Community building
- Intercultural communication, copywriting and editing
Fun Fact
Aubra is obsessed with pop-culture vampires (she's looking at you, David!) and is a Scooby-Doo mega fan. And yes, she thinks Scooby-Doo Mystery Incorporated! is the best.
Assistant Vice President
Director of the Cross-Cultural Center for Global Citizenship
richard.marks@slu.edu
314-977-2567
Center for Global Citizenship, Suite 124M
Richard B. Marks, Jr., Ed.D, (he/him) is the executive director of the Cross-Cultural Center for Global Citizenship at Saint Louis University. He is a graduate of Indiana University, Bloomington, with both a bachelor's in African American Studies/sociology and a master's in higher education administration in student affairs. He earned his doctorate in educational leadership from Rossier School of Education at the University of Southern California. Richard's dissertation "As the World Turns: Being Black and Gay on Campus in the 21st Century" explores factors contributing to the Black gay men at a predominately White institution (PWI) in southern California using the intersection of race, sexual identity and social capital-institutional agents. The themes emerged: self-identity, coming-out, racial & cultural dissonance, (toxic) masculinity, religion/spirituality, institutional support, and family affairs.
Marks has worked in higher education for over 20 years. He has worked in housing and residence life, student activities, Greek life, student conduct, and diversity education. He has facilitated and presented several topics, including race in higher education, LGBTQ, toxic masculinity, gender roles and expressions, Greek life, various diversity training, team building, leadership, intersectionality, and identity. In addition, he has been the keynote speaker for numerous events. More recently, that includes Chapman University's Black Graduation (2015), Youngstown State University Men of Color Conference (2020), and Midwest Association of Colleges and Universities Residence Halls (2019).
Marks is a past chair of the Pan African Network in Association of College Personnel Association [ACPA], an active member of 100 Black Men of Metropolitan of St. Louis, board member of YMCA 鈥� Monsanto in Saint Louis, past vice president/charter member of National Panhellenic Council of Orange County, and a lifetime member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. He is also the president of a diversity consulting company called RBM Diversity Consulting, LLC.
Job Description
As the executive director of the Cross-Cultural Center for Global Citizenship, Richard works closely in a highly collaborative and creative environment. He facilitates training and workshops throughout the institution among faculty, staff, students and the community at large around diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Areas of Work and Expertise
- DEI trainings and workshops
- Black male persistence
- LGBTQAI+
- Black male college students and mental health
Fun Fact
Richard is a reality TV junkie, loves to cook, enjoys traveling, and is vocally talented. Family is very important to him. He enjoys spending time with his family and friends.
Assistant Director for Diversity and Inclusion, Cross Cultural Center for Global Citizenship
She | Her
luella.loseille@slu.edu
314-977-3576
Center for Global Citizenship, Suite 124G
Luella Loseille is the assistant director for diversity and inclusion in the Cross Cultural Center for Global Citizenship and the Atlas program coordinator. Born and raised in St. Louis from a Haitian family background, Luella attended Saint Louis University for both her undergraduate degree (anthropology, 2017) and graduate degree (student personnel administration, 2019). While a student at SLU, Luella was engaged in a myriad of leadership positions (including being inducted into the SLU Student Hall of Fame Class of 2017) and draws from these experiences to better enrich the student experience at Saint Louis University within her role as assistant director for diversity and inclusion.
After graduating with her bachelor's in 2017, Luella served as an AmeriCorp VISTA for one year where she strengthened community partnerships between SLU and community organizations with a social-justice focus on race equity. She also assisted in the creation and implementation of programming relating to anti-bias and anti-racism initiatives including the Stand Against Racism campaign in partnership with YWCA Metro St. Louis. After completing her service year with AmeriCorps, Luella worked as the Atlas program coordinator within the Cross Cultural Center until she became assistant director in 2020. With a strong passion in equity and social-justice work, Luella fervently works to cultivate and maintain an environment in which every member of the SLU community may be their truest and most authentic self. Luella is also an instructor for Cura Personalis 1 and the adviser to student organization OASIS.
Job Description
The assistant director for diversity and inclusion plans and leads diversity, equity and inclusion programs for students, faculty, and staff, and assists in the development and implementation of programming initiatives for the campus community that contributes to the recruitment and retention of underrepresented, minoritized, and/or marginalized populations. Additionally, the assistant director for diversity and inclusion actively participates in the coordination of related awareness, training, and educational programs in conjunction with student organizations, other university departments, and community partners while assisting in the overall daily operations of the Cross Cultural Center for Global Citizenship.
Areas of Work
- Atlas Week
- International Education Week
- Diversity Movie Series
- Cultural Heritage/Awareness Months
- Multiple Cultural Fluency
- Audre Lorde Scholars
- Safe Zone
Area of Expertise
- Multiple Cultural Fluency
- Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice
- Intergroup Dialogue
- Global Diversity Education
- Student Personnel Administration and Support
Fun Fact
Luella is an avid anime, manga, video game, and K-Pop fan and enjoys reading fantasy books. She also loves a good K-Drama!
Director - Center for Social Action
bobby.wassel@slu.edu
314-977-2041
Center for Global Citizenship, Suite 134
(he/him)
Bobby Wassel, Ph.D., serves as the director for the Saint Louis University Center for Social Action. He has over 17 years of experience connecting students to service and community engagement opportunities, and helping students reflect on how these experiences shape their values and purpose in life. Before joining SLU in 2006, Bobby spent a few years as a campus minister at the Catholic Newman Center at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, and also spent a year volunteering in Appalachia, working with the rural poor, at an intentional living community based upon Catholic social teaching.
He holds a bachelor's degree in psychology and sociology from Indiana University, and both master's and doctoral degrees in higher education administration from Saint Louis University. Bobby has presented at numerous regional, national and international conferences on such topics as social change and action methods, assessment of faith and service engagement, and organizing high-quality service experiences for college students. He currently resides in Kirkwood, Missouri, with his wife Kelly and two children (Daphne and Keenan).
Job Description
Bobby works to connect SLU students, faculty and staff to community engagement opportunities, as well as maintaining relationships with the over 500 community organizations that partner with the University. He also oversees such programming as the 1818 Community Engagement Grant Program, Community Service Federal Work Study Program, and Year of Service initiatives. Bobby facilitates the operations of the Center for Social Action, including finance and budget, database management, and assessment.
Areas of Work and Expertise
Bobby鈥檚 areas of interest and expertise include the following:
- Organizing high quality community engagement opportunities for students
- Assessing motivations, personal development and impact of community engagement experiences on college students
- Vocational discernment processes for college students
- Social-change methods; equipping students with the knowledge and skills to engage in advocacy
- Historical analyses of social-change movements
- Catholic Social Teaching as a foundational platform for social change
Fun Fact
Bobby is an avid runner and hiker 鈥� he got engaged to his wife Kelly towards the end of the New York City Marathon. Bobby enjoys science fiction/fantasy books and movies.
Director of Community Engaged Learning - Center for Social Action
leah.sweetman@slu.edu
314-977-4214
Center for Global Citizenship, Suite 134
(she/her)
Leah Sweetman, Ph.D., serves as the director of community-engaged learning for the
Saint Louis University Center for Social Action. She has more than 20 years of experience
in community engagement and higher education.
Leah has a research interest in how universities prepare students to serve in new
and diverse settings and is working on ways to integrate those best practices into
SLU鈥檚 community-engagement programs. She has presented at numerous community-engagement
conferences and has co-authored articles on service learning, voter engagement, and
social justice education. Leah regularly teaches courses in public-policy analysis
and the policymaking process. She is the co-chair of the Association of Jesuit Colleges
and Universities (AJCU) Community Engaged Learning Professionals Conference and has
served on a number of community-development boards and committees in St. Louis.
She holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Marquette University, a Master of Science in Urban Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and a Ph.D. in public policy analysis and administration from Saint Louis University.
Job Description
Through her work, Leah assists faculty with creating new community-engaged learning courses or redesigning existing courses to integrate meaningful community service and reflection experiences into the curriculum. She also chairs the voter-engagement committee at Saint Louis University and is passionate about helping students make connections between their service commitments and their civic lives.
Areas of Work and Expertise
- Community-engaged scholarship
- Student-voter engagement
- Public Policy and Social Change
Fun Fact
Leah is a big fan of snow cones. To date, the best ones are sold in California on
the Santa Monica Pier. She also enjoys spending time with her family exploring the
great neighborhoods, parks and art spaces in St. Louis.
Assistant Director for Advocacy and Civic Engagement - Center for Social Action
jessica.trout@slu.edu
314-977-4587
Center for Global Citizenship, Suite 134
(she/her)
Jessica began working in higher education in 2014 at McKendree University as the inaugural staff member in the Center for Community Service. She moved to Saint Louis University in 2017 into a new position in the Center for Social Action focused on advocacy and social change. Prior to her work in higher education, Jessica graduated from Saint Louis University as a first-generation college student with a bachelor's degree in social work and international studies. After graduating, she moved to the Federated States of Micronesia to teach high school for two years. In 2013, she completed her Master of Social Work degree at Columbia University in New York City, with an emphasis in social policy. During her studies in New York, she worked with Voices of Women Organizing Project, a community-organizing nonprofit working with survivors of domestic violence. After six months in Central America during college, and various trips back to the region, as well as time along the US-Mexico border, Jessica has a passion for immigration policy.
Job Description
The advocacy program coordinator maintains relationships with regional and national advocacy groups, as well as advises student organizations focused on community service and social-justice activities. The program coordinator leads and supports integrative educational opportunities that promote leadership and spiritual formation, advocacy skills, and political engagement among students and the broader campus community. Examples of programming include Policy Pods, social justice and advocacy training, and the Kino Border Initiative Spring Break Immersion.
Areas of Work
- Policy Pods
- Social justice and advocacy training
- Student advising and support
- Coalitions
- Neighborhood associations
- Immigration and border immersion
Areas of Expertise
- Immigration
- Student-leadership training
- Coalition building
- Social-justice education
- Community partnerships
Fun Fact
Jessica's dog's name, Tiko, comes from a Micronesian word, Fitikoco, meaning chaos, and he lives up to it, especially in his greetings!