Prof. Hakim Weatherspoon (He/Him)
Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging
Email Address: hw228@cornell.edu
Office Location: Gates 427
Responsibilities: Ensures the college’s commitment to building an inclusive environment where faculty, staff, and students feel a sense of belonging for their unique contributions to excellence.
Professional Interests: Information systems, distributed systems, network systems, and peer-to-peer systems.
Favorite Quote: “If you sit on the porch with the big dogs and occasionally bark like a big dog, the world will view you as a big dog.” – Richard Tapia
Fun Fact: He is a Pac-10 All-Conference Academic Team for Football at the University of Washington
Dr. LeeAnn Roberts (She/Her)
Director for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging
Email Address: leeann.roberts@cornell.edu
Office Location: Rhodes 526 (W – F on campus, M &T remote)
Responsibilities: Collaborate with collegiate, corporate, and community partners to broaden participation in tech and promote a cultural climate that celebrates diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.
Professional Interests: Diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, justice, cultural competence, intersectionality, religious and spiritual beliefs, mindfulness and meditation practices, developmental psychology, academic success, career development, and personal branding.
Favorite Quote: “The future belongs to those who prepare for it today.” – Malcolm X
Fun Fact: Enjoys reading books, watching Golden Girls, discovering great deals, praying for others, and spending time with family.
Yadi Wang (She, Her)
Research Assistant
Email Address: yw2547@cornell.edu
Responsibilities include conducting literature reviews, collecting and analyzing survey data, assisting with qualitative and quantitative data analysis, and contributing to the dissemination of findings through reports and presentations.
Degree Program: PhD in Information Science
Areas of Interest: Technology for Women in the Global South, Cross-Cultural and Multilingual Use of Technology
Favorite Quote: “One’s life has value so long as one attributes value to the life of others, by means of love, friendship, indignation, and compassion” – Simone de Beauvoir
Fun Fact: Her name, Yadi, means “elegance” and “inspiration” in Chinese.
Hannah Gurholt (She, Her)
Data Analyst & Strategy Assistant
Email Address: hg459@cornell.edu
Responsibilities: Contributes to the research, data collection, analysis, and reporting for Cornell
Bowers CIS DEIB’s programs, events, and services.
Degree Program: PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Areas of Interest: Environmental Justice, Diversity and Inclusion in STEM, and Fostering Spaces for Intergenerational Collaboration
Favorite Quote: “In nature, nothing is perfect and everything is perfect. Trees can be contorted, bent in weird ways, and they’re still beautiful.” – Alice Walker
Fun Fact: Love to paddleboard around Cayuga Lake during the summer.
Dhruv Patel (He, Him)
Data Analyst & Strategy Assistant
Email Address: dp668@cornell.edu
Responsibilities: Contributes to the research, data collection, analysis, and reporting for Cornell
Bowers CIS DEIB’s programs, events, and services.
Degree Program: Master of Professional Studies in Management
Areas of Interest: Gender Equity and Anti-Asian Discrimination
Favorite Quote: “The best way to predict the future is to create it.” – Peter Drucker
Fun Fact: Wakes up 3 hours before his class to feel fresh and ready to take on the day. Plus, he doesn’t drink tea, coffee, or alcohol.
Jamal Matthew (He, Him)
Program & Finance Assistant
Email Address: jm2496@cornell.edu
Responsibilities: Assists in the design and coordination of annual events to enhance the undergraduate experience in Cornell Bowers CIS. Maintains collaborative partnerships with student organizations to facilitate DEIB presentations and events. Supports the office’s budget and reconciliation process.
Degree Program: Information Science, BA
Areas of Interest: Education, Access and Low-Income Communities
Favorite Quote: “It always seems impossible until it is done.” – Nelson Mandela
Fun Fact: Lived in the Caribbean for 13 years.
Himma Aklilu (She, Her)
Program Assistant
Email Address: ha292@cornell.edu
Responsibilities: Assists in the design and coordination of annual events to enhance the undergraduate experience in Cornell Bowers CIS. Maintains collaborative partnerships with student organizations to facilitate DEIB presentations and events.
Degree Program: Computer Science, BS
Areas of Interest: Financial Literacy & Gender Equity
Favorite Quote: “Only rainbows after rain. The sun will always come again.” -Andy Grammer, Keep Your Head Up
Fun Fact: Her name means “to tell a story” in Afaan Oromo
Nahiely Urbaez Cruz (She, Her)
Program Assistant
Email Address: ndu2@cornell.edu
Responsibilities: Assists in the design and coordination of annual events to enhance the undergraduate experience in Cornell Bowers CIS. Maintains collaborative partnerships with student organizations to facilitate DEIB presentations and events.
Degree Program: Sociology, BA
Areas of Interest: Policy Ethics in Technology, Social Identity, and Policy Evolution/Reform
Favorite Quote: “Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light” — Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter
Fun Fact: Born and raised in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
Anna Cecilia Fierro (She, Her)
Communication Assistant
Email Address: af632@cornell.edu
Responsibilities: Assists in bringing energy and creativity to crafting, distributing, and managing impactful communication materials that spotlight the office’s programs, events, and services; drives student engagement; and amplifies our mission.
Degree Program: Public Policy, BS
Areas of Interest: Low-Income Resource Accessibility, Gender Equity, and First-Gen Student Adjustment
Favorite Quote: “I don’t study to know more, but to ignore less” – Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz
Fun Fact: Love baking and decorating cakes.