2018 Fellows

About the Fellows

 

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Linda Angela

Linda is the Academic Program Coordinator for the Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences in the School of Public Health and has been at Brown for over seven years. Having a wide range of responsibilities in this role (from faculty actions, to student services, to admissions), Linda finds herself humbled to provide support to faculty and students who are working to end health disparities and inequities. She has herself been an avid volunteer for health and culturally relevant charity organizations. Raised in an ethnically diverse community of RI, Linda was exposed to a multitude of languages, perspectives, and cultures. Being also a first-generation college student and daughter of immigrants, she can sympathize with some of the challenges students can face. Linda deeply values and invokes these experiences in both her personal and professional life, especially in her work here at Brown.

 

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Natalia Ignatyeva

Natalia currently serves as the Faculty Affairs Coordinator at the School of Engineering. Her responsibilities include processing all regular and non-regular faculty appointments, as well as visiting appointments. She started working at Brown University in 2004, and has been with the School of Engineering since 2016. Natalia was the 2016 recipient of the Dean’s Service Award for being a positive instrument of change and providing outstanding service to both internal and external constituents. Natalia builds and supports a diverse and inclusive community by breaking down barriers between groups of difference and creates an inclusive climate that accepts and welcomes diversity.

 

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Leora Johnson

Leora Johnson (she/her/hers) works in the Office of College Admission, directing the Alumni Interviewing Program, and recruiting, evaluating, and matriculating prospective students. Collaborating with Alumni Relations, she enjoys working with Brown across generations, from applicants to some of our oldest alumni. She approaches this work with an eye towards inclusive and culturally relevant engagement and training for external constituencies and internally among colleagues; she is always looking to improve this aspect. She is on the Diversity Outreach Team, leading Alumni of Color engagement with admitted students and helping to shape outreach to historically excluded and underrepresented applicants. Leora is the daughter of Jewish Mexican immigrants, an identity which shapes her life and work. She holds a BA from Brown in Comparative Literature and Foreign Languages and is a member of the Latinx Alumni Council.

 

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Melanie Neves

Melanie is entering her 7th year at Brown and works as an Assistant Director in the Office of Financial Aid. She graduated from Rhode Island College in 2008 with a B.A. in both Psychology and Sociology. Her desire to pursue higher education as a profession began when she worked on campus while completing her undergraduate studies. Melanie is of Cape Verdean descent and immigrated to the United States from Portugal when she was 2 years old. She was undocumented until the age of 19, a life experience which she credits as having a major influence on her desire to help students and families navigate the intricacies of life at a university. She looks forward to the opportunity to learn more about diversity and inclusion at Brown through the Administrative Fellows program.

 

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Mary Oliver

Mary Oliver, Academic Department Manager in Hispanic Studies, oversees the Department's finances, timetabling of courses, events (guest speakers, Commencement, campus interviews for Faculty positions and Graduate Student visits), all publicity materials, and the smooth running of day-to-day operations.  She has been at Brown University since August 2013. In December 2016 she received a Brown University excellence award (category Efficiency), a team award shared with her two colleagues.  Before coming to Brown she worked in University Administration at the University of Liverpool, England.  She has a BA and MA in Hispanic Studies (University of Liverpool, 1996 and 2008).