MAVIN Foundation Board of Directors |
Directors |
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Michele
Peake Andrasik, PhD - MAVIN Board President Michele, a mixed heritage woman of African American and German/English ancestry, is a clinical health psychologist. She is currently a post doctoral research fellow in the department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Washington. Michele’s research focus is on health disparities in the African American community, particularly among HIV+ African American women. The majority of her work has focused on working to improve health care access and utilization among economically disadvantaged African American women. Michele and her husband reside in Seattle. |
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Monica Nixon, M.Ed. - MAVIN Board Secretary Monica directs the Office of Multicultural Affairs at Seattle University, building on a decade of experience in higher education at the University of Virginia, the University of Puget Sound, and Colgate University. She has been on the MAVIN listserv since she first advised students establishing a multiracial student organization at U.Va. (which she also did at UPS and Colgate), and she is thrilled to join the MAVIN Foundation board. She earned both her bachelor’s degree in English and her master’s degree in counseling from the University of Virginia; her master’s project focused on identity development and experiences of multiracial undergraduate students. She has also researched and presented on many other topics, including intersections of racial and sexual identity development, privilege and oppression, intergroup dialogue, and multicultural competency development. Monica and her partner live in Seattle. |
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Chris Robinson, MBA Chris is a senior marketing executive at Target Corporation. He is over 15 years experience in the service and technology industries and extensive experience in marketing, international product launches, strategy & planning, and program initiatives. A mixed heritage person with African, Hispanic, Scottish, Native American and East Indian roots, Chris has volunteered for several mentor and youth programs including the YMCA, Minneapolis Schools, and Sharing & Caring Hands and Big Brother. He is the co-founder and past board member of Rites Association and former board member of Theater in the Round. Chris lives in Minneapolis with his wife Margaret and 2 children. |
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Eric
W. Fredricks Bio statement is forthcoming. |
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Louie
Gong, M.Ed. Louie is a Nooksack tribal member who was raised by his multiracial grandmother, father, aunts and uncles within his tribal community. Since graduating from Western Washington University’s School Counseling program in 1999, he has worked primarily with communities of color as a teacher, child and family therapist, and counseling program coordinator. In all these roles, and in his current position as Education Resource Coordinator for the Muckleshoot Tribal College, Louie pushes for recognition of the mixed heritage experience in educational and social intervention programming. This value is also interwoven into his work as adjunct faculty for Northwest Indian College and Evergreen State College, where he teaches classes such as the “Native American Higher Education Experience.” In his spare time, Louie dabbles in Coast Salish art, competes in triathlons, and eats curry chicken. He is also proud to serve on the Executive Committee for the Washington State Native American Higher Education Consortium. |
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| Sara Miller, MPH Bio statement is forthcoming. |
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Joe Sakay, Esq. Joe is a partner at the Hillis Clark Martin & Peterson, P.S. law firm in Seattle. His practice focuses on the litigation and trial of complex civil matters in state and federal courts. He has participated in the successful litigation of antitrust cases with potential damages in excess of $1 billion. Joe is a member of state and federal bar associations and has volunteered for pro bono and mentorship projects. He is published on topics including Filipino Amerasians and the struggle for Black equality in post-war Seattle. A triracial person and the father of three young multiracial, multiethnic children, Joe became acquainted with MAVIN when he registered as a bone marrow donor at a 2001 MatchMaker drive. Joe lives with his wife Lisa and their children in Seattle's Greenlake neighborhood. |
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Kelly Jackson, PhD Kelly is an Assistant Professor in the School of Social Work at Arizona State University. She earned her PhD in Social Welfare from the University at Buffalo, State University of New York. Kelly’s research examines the cultural identity of multiracial people. She is also interested in developing and evaluating strength-based interventions for multiracial and multicultural youth who are at-risk of developing psychosocial and/or health-related problems. Kelly identifies as Biracial (Black/White), and resides with her dog Yuma in Phoenix, Arizona. |
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MAVIN Foundation Board of Advisors |
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Edwin
C. Dorn, PhD Ed is a Professor of Public Affairs at the University of Texas' Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs. He served as Dean of the LBJ School from 1997 to 2004. He previously served as Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness. In that capacity, he was the Defense Secretary's senior advisor on recruitment, training, pay, and benefits for the Defense Department's total force of more than three million people. Before joining the DOD, Dorn was a Senior Staff Member at the Brookings Institution, where he developed executive education programs for government and private sector managers. He also has been Director of Executive Operations for the U.S. Department of Education, and Special Assistant in the U.S. Department of Health, Education. Ed is the author of over fifty articles, reports, and op-ed pieces. He lives with his family in Austin. |
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Matt
Kelley Matt is MAVIN Foundation's founder. He founded MAVIN magazine in 1998 as a college freshman. He is also co-editor of the Multiracial Child Resource Book and producer of the film, Chasing Daybreak. Matt has been featured in over 400 media, including the New York Times, CNN and Newsweek, and is the recipient of many awards, including a "Points of Light" distinction by President George W. Bush. Matt has presented testimony to Congress about the health needs of mixed heritage people, served as vice president of the Association of MultiEthnic Americans (AMEA), and volunteers with the Korean American Coalition and the Pride Foundation. Born and raised in Washington, he enjoys fishing, horticulture and trying on different identities. |
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Maria
P. P. Root, PhD Maria is an independent scholar and clinical psychologist. She is a trainer, educator, and international public speaker on the topics of multiracial families, multiracial identity, cultural competence, trauma, work place harassment, and disordered eating. One of the leading authorities in the field of racial and ethnic identity, Maria published the first contemporary volume on mixed race people, Racially Mixed People in America (1992). Including this book, she has edited two award-winning books on multiracial people and produced the Bill of Rights for Racially Mixed People. The U.S. Census referred to these texts in their deliberations that resulted in an historic “check one or more races” format to the race question for the 2000 census. She is past-President of the Washington State Psychological Association and the recipient of national and international awards. |
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Gina
M. Samuels, PhD Gina is an Assistant Professor at the School of Social Service Administration at the University of Chicago. Her research interests are in child welfare and examine the long-term socio-cultural outcomes among transracial adoptees and foster youth, including racial/ethnic heritage and identity development. A biracial adoptee herself, Gina also serves as a Research Expert on the Illinois Adoption Advisory Council, and is a Faculty Affiliate of the Center for the Study of Race Polictics and Culture and a Faculty Associate at the Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago. Gina and her husband live in Chicago. |
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| Colleen
Delaney, PhD Bio statement is forthcoming. |
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