The Diversity and First-Gen Office reports to the associate vice provost for student affairs and dean of community engagement and diversity.
Dereca Blackmon, Associate Dean and Director
Dereca is an educator, facilitator and spiritual activist with over 25 years experience supporting communities in radical healing and strategic development. She has worked with a wide variety of corporate, government, nonprofit and community-based groups to facilitate “uncommon conversations” on issues of race, gender, class and social justice.
Dereca is also a Stanford alumni with a distinguished history of leadership and service in local and national organizing efforts on subjects as diverse as ethnic studies and police accountability, including serving as a lead architect in the movement for justice in the murder of Oscar Grant, III in Oakland, California. She is co-instructor for Psych 103 Intergroup Communication, an experiential course that examines and explores group identity. Additionally, Dereca is co-founder of Aya Unlimited, LLC, a social-justice consulting firm that specializes in research on the intersection of race, gender and class.
Email Dereca Blackmon.
Joseph Brown, Associate Director
Joseph is a first-gen college graduate and Army brat from San Antonio, Texas. He’s worked for over ten years as Graduate Diversity Recruitment Officer for Stanford's School of Humanities and Sciences. He’s a PhD alum of Stanford’s psychology program and his research focused on the impact of stereotypes and prejudice on the intellectual identities and performance of minorities and women. In his free time he enjoys practicing Chinese martial arts.
Email Joseph Brown.
Jennifer "Mindy" Rolen, Assistant Director
Jennifer is a proud first-generation college graduate. She grew up in the Bay Area and graduated from San Jose State University with a bachelor's and a master's in sociology. She isan advocate of humanity and supports the idea of creating a harmonious society through relationships and education.
She came to Stanford from the Educational Partnership Center at the University of California Santa Cruz, where she worked as a director of various programs. Her expertise is in facilitation, conflict management, program management and fund development. Jennifer supports all students in their endeavors in higher education and is committed to being a resource and advocate.
Email Jennifer Rolen.
Kathy Martinez, Associate Director, Diversity & Inclusion Training
Kathy is a Queer Afro-Latinx from Boston, MA. She has a M.A. in Higher Education Administration from Boston College and a B.A. in History and Journalism from Loyola University-New Orleans. She came to Stanford from Framingham State University where she was the Founding Director of the Multicultural Center and Center for Inclusive Excellence.
Email Kathy Martinez
