Jen Dawrs is the Program Manager for the Faculty Success program at CSU. She manages Faculty Success’ initiatives and collaborates with partners across CSU to build a coordinated and sustainable approach to faculty equity.

Before joining the Provost’s Office at CSU, she spent more than 10 years in housing and student affairs, working with community development and equity programs at Northern Arizona University, University of Montana, and CSU. She is a sociocultural anthropologist by training, with an academic and research background in community-based assessment of public policy and programs. She was born and raised in Hilo on the Big Island of Hawai’i.

Gregg Dean is a Professor in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology where he served as department head from 2011-22. Gregg earned his B.S., D.V.M., Ph.D., and completed a residency in veterinary clinical pathology at CSU. He spent five years at the University of California at Davis and 15 years at North Carolina State University before returning to CSU in 2011. He is the director or co-director of three NIH-funded training programs for under-represented undergraduate students, pre-doctoral students, and post-doctoral DVM specialists. He serves as co-PI of the CSU NSF Advance grant and is a member of the Faculty Success team. Gregg’s research focuses on development of vaccines to address health disparities in low- and middle-income countries. He also works to develop diagnostic and preventative solutions for fatal coronavirus infections in cats.

Sonali Diddi is an Associate Professor in the Department of Design and Merchandising, College of Health and Human Sciences and also has a joint appointment with the Office of Engagement and Extension as an Engaged Faculty Lead at CSU. She was one of the CSU Presidential Leadership Fellows in the inaugural cohort. She is passionate about enhancing campus climate, culture, and belonging for all students, faculty, and staff. Diddi also serves as Diversity, Equity, Inclusive and Justice Chair for the College of Health and Human Sciences and executive member of the Provost’s Council for Engagement.

Diddi’s research focuses on Sustainable Clothing Production and Consumption. She takes a research-based, interdisciplinary and systems thinking-informed approach to address sustainability-related innovations, issues, and problems in the textiles and apparel industry. She constantly seeks ways to engage with the local community to gain a sense of the broader relevance of her research in society. She was an expert consultant for BBC Radio (UK), New York Academy of Sciences and invited international speaker for numerous events to share her research. Outside work, Sonali enjoys gardening and cooking and sharing it with family and friends.

Dr. Laurie Goodrich is the Director of the Orthopaedic Research Center at Colorado State University’s C. Wayne McIlwraith Translational Medicine Institute and an equine surgeon specializing in orthopedic surgery and lameness with a focus on musculoskeletal injuries and trauma. She holds the Barbara Cox Anthony University Chair in Orthopaedics and is an American College of Veterinary Surgeons (ACVS) Founding Fellow in Minimally Invasive Surgery, Large Animal Orthopedics. She received her DVM from the University of Illinois, completed an internship at Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine and an equine surgical residency at the Marion duPont Scott Equine Medical Center in Northern Virginia.  During that time, she also completed a Master of Science in Pharmacology.

She became faculty at Cornell University as an Equine Surgeon in 1996 and also completed a Ph.D. in cartilage repair in 2005 while at Cornell. She then began at CSU in 2005 as an Assistant Professor of Equine Surgery and is currently a Professor of Surgery and a principal investigator in the Orthopaedic Research Center. She is a clinician scientist whose research focuses on regenerative medicine, gene therapies and biologics to improve joint and bone repair in both animals and people.

She is an active faculty member for AOVET, on the Board of Directors for North American Veterinary Regenerative Medicine Association, the immediate past Chair of the Preclinical Models Section of the Orthopedic Research Society and a past Chair of the Board of Regents for the American College of Veterinary Surgeons. In her spare time she rides horses and is an avid backcountry skier, mountain biker, and whitewater kayaker.

Dan Graham is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology (College of Natural Sciences), and the Faculty Lead for the Physical Activity and Healthy Lifestyles concentration in the Colorado School of Public Health at CSU. He is the director of CSU’s Behavioral Medicine Lab, which promotes better health through modifying social and physical environments to facilitate active living and healthy eating. His work uses technologies including virtual reality and eye tracking to understand how people consider environmental factors, such as nutrition labeling and signage, when making health-relevant decisions like where/whether to walk and what foods and beverages to consume. Dan’s other interests include spending time outdoors with his family and writing books for kids.

Marcela Henao-Tamayo is an Associate Professor of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, currently serving as the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at the CU School of Medicine at CSU and Director of CSU’s Flow Cytometry Core Facility. Her research focuses on the pathogenesis and immune response to mycobacterial species, especially M. tuberculosis, with the main interest in the immune responses induced by vaccines and protection of disease.

She arrived at CSU almost 20 years as a graduate student, so she has “lived” CSU’s environment in different capacities. As a Latin American woman, she struggled to feel a sense of belonging at CSU. The road to feeling part of the university was long. It took her a while to feel entitled and safe to ask and give her opinion, and she would like to help others, if possible.

Since she became a tenure track faculty member, she has worked to support new faculty members and scientists — underrepresented faculty members have a particular corner in her heart, as she relates to their struggles. As a group, she believes the Advocates have a unique opportunity to help redirect the course of current and new faculty members toward a more prosperous and rewarding experience.

Chris Henle is a professor in the Department of Management in the College of Business. She received her Ph.D. in industrial/organizational psychology from Colorado State University and has taught at the University of Colorado Denver, University of North Carolina Charlotte and University of Rhode Island. Her main research focus is counterproductive work behaviors including abusive supervision, workplace ostracism, resume fraud, and cyberloafing. She also conducts research on employment discrimination against job applicants who are caregivers for young children or older family members, have body art, or have criminal records.

She teaches human resource management courses and is an advisor of the student SHRM chapter. She also has her Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and SHRM-CP certification and has worked as a recruiter and job analyst and does HR consulting for small businesses. She has served on the President’s Commission on Women and Gender Equity (2012-15) and the Standing Committee on the Status of Women Faculty (2015-18). Through these committees, she helped develop a bullying policy and strengthen parental leave policies.

Ann Hess is a CCA professor in the Department of Statistics in the College of Natural Sciences. As a faculty consultant with the Graybill Statistics and Data Science Laboratory (Stat Lab), she collaborates with campus researchers focusing on applied statistical analysis. She assists with study design, analysis, and interpretation of results across a wide variety of disciplines. She has served on the Committee on Non-Tenure Track Faculty (CoNTTF) since 2022.

Dr. Andrew Knight holds a bachelor’s degree in Percussion Performance with Jazz emphasis from UW-La Crosse, a music therapy equivalency and master’s degree from the University of Minnesota, and a Ph.D. in Educational Foundations and Research from the University of North Dakota (UND).

Dr. Knight has research interests in substance use disorders in adults and early childhood social/emotional developmental issues. He directs the Parkinson’s Disease vocal exercise group in collaboration with the Parkinson’s Support Group in Larimer County and is a Music Together Within Therapy^TM provider. His research has been published in the Journal of Music Therapy and Music Therapy Perspectives, among other journals, and he serves as Associate Editor for Book Reviews for JMT. He is the 2017-19 president of the Midwestern Region (MWR) of the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA), is on the AMTA Assembly of Delegates, and has won the MWR and AMTA Service Awards. Along with Drs. Blythe LaGasse and Alicia Clair, he is a co-editor of the 2018 Introduction to Music Therapy textbook published by AMTA.

Rachel Lucas-Thompson is an Associate Professor in the Department of Human Development & Family Studies (College of Health and Human Sciences), and the Faculty Lead for the Global Health and Health Disparities concentration in the Colorado School of Public Health at CSU. She is the director of CSU’s Moving 2 Mindful/Family Relationships and Development Lab, which focuses on understanding how the qualities of family relationships are related to adolescent biological and mental health, and promoting adolescent and family health through interventions, particularly those that promote stress and emotional regulation.

Khursheed Mama, D.V.M., D.A.C.V.A.A., is a professor of anesthesiology at Colorado State University. She completed an internship in large animal medicine and surgery at University of Guelph, Ontario, and a residency in anesthesiology and critical patient care at University of California, Davis. She earned her D.V.M. from Washington State University.

Her broad interest is in improving anesthetic safety and providing appropriate treatment of perioperative pain in veterinary patients. Her clinical teaching, research efforts, and CE seminars/laboratories are designed with these goals in mind. Since early in her career she has also advocated for equitable treatment of faculty and recognition of their efforts. This has led to her serving on the departmental Faculty Evaluation committee and subsequently as Assistant, then Associate department head for Faculty Advocacy and Advancement. She is currently serving as Acting Department Head.

Jessica Metcalf is an associate professor in the Department of Animal Sciences and Co-chair for the Council for Gender Equity on the Faculty. She is a microbiome scientist, widow, and mom of two littles. She is passionate about advocating for women (usually women scientists), and especially those who are parents.

Dr. Joe Scalia is a geoenvironmental engineer and associate professor in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering. His research and teaching focus on environmental stewardship of residues from mining, groundwater, and soil-water interactions.

He is the CSU Site Director for the Tailings Center, an industry-university consortium focused on tailings and mine waste management, and a Principal Investigator of the University Consortium for Field Focused Groundwater Research. He is also the CSU student chapter advisor for the Society of Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration.

Dr. Jennifer Solomon is a conservation social scientist and associate professor in the Department of Human Dimensions of Natural Resources. Her research interests revolve around biodiversity conservation, behavior, livelihoods, and women in conservation leadership. She teaches in the undergraduate program and the Conservation Leadership graduate program.

Michelle Wilde’s bio will be updated soon.