Commission on Diversity

Sen. Peter T Coleman is a professor of psychology and education at Columbia University and a renowned expert on constructive conflict resolution, intractable conflict and sustaining peace. Dr. Coleman directs the Morton Deutsch International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution (MD-ICCCR) at Teachers College, is founding director of the Institute for Psychological Science and Practice (IPSP), and is founding co-executive director of Columbia University’s Advanced Consortium on Cooperation, Conflict, and Complexity (AC4), currently at the Columbia Climate School. Dr. Coleman has authored or edited a dozen books, well over 100 scientific articles and chapters, is the recipient of various awards, and his work has been featured in media outlets such as The New York Times, The Guardian, Haaretz, Nature, Scientific American, PBS Newshour, and Harvard Business Review. His most recent book, The Way Out: How to Overcome Toxic Polarization (2021) was released by Columbia University Press. 

Sen. Ovita Williams is Executive Director of the Action Lab for Social Justice and Lecturer in Discipline at Columbia School of Social Work. Dr. Williams worked with survivors of intimate partner violence in the forensic social work arena with ten years of experience in the Counseling Services Unit at the Kings County District Attorney’s Office. Prior to this position, Dr. Williams was a child and family therapist at the Children’s Aid Society. She is currently involved in racial equity facilitation and committed to social justice and ending gender-based violence. Dr. Williams has developed and facilitated interactive workshops for social workers, managers, and practitioners on facilitating courageous dialogues around our intersecting identities. At Columbia, Dr. Williams collaborates with students, alumni, faculty and administrators on the development of the course Decolonizing Social Work through a power, race, oppression, privilege (PROP) framework. The course centers undoing anti-Black racism and dismantling white supremacy culture.

Sen. Nasser Odetallah is an MFA student in Film at the Columbia School of the Arts. Originally from Oklahoma, he holds a bachelor’s degree from Columbia School of General Studies (’25), studying English, film & media studies, and Mediterranean studies, and a bachelor’s degree from Yale University (’20), studying chemistry and molecular biophysics & biochemistry. 

While at Yale and General Studies, Nasser served in many leadership roles, supporting students and representing student interests to staff, administration, and faculty, most notably serving as Columbia General Studies Student Body President during the 2023-2024 academic year. Nasser is primarily interested in strengthening the voice of and engagement with students on central university issues including freedom of speech and academic freedom; financial support for students; campus access and space; expansion of key student services such as dining, health services, housing, and study spaces; and accountability from faculty and administrators in repairing institutional trust and integrity. Coming from Palestinian-American, Puerto Rican, LGBTQ+, and first-generation, low-income (FGLI) backgrounds, Nasser has experience working across student populations and interests to effect positive and long-lasting change at the university-level. Nasser looks forward to working with the other students on the University Senate to create positive change and continue to add the student voice on critical university-wide issues.

Sen. Melinda Aquino (she/hers) is the Associate Dean of Multicultural Affairs in Undergraduate Student Life, Columbia College and Columbia Engineering. Working at Columbia University since 2005, she brings a long history of advocacy and community building; deep understanding of campus culture and dynamics; collaborative relationships across the University; and dedication to equity, access, and inclusion. Her 25+ year career in higher education has centered educational access and equity, intergroup dialogue and facilitation training, climate assessment and advocacy, conflict resolution, and restorative justice. She holds a B.A. in English Literature from the University of Florida, M.A. in English Literature from the University of Miami (Florida), M.A. in Cinema Studies from New York University, and a M.S. in Negotiation and Conflict Resolution from Columbia University. She is the proud mother of four young children, who are often seen attending student cultural events around campus with her.

Sen. Helen Han Wei Luo is a Philosophy PhD student whose dissertation centers the relationship between ethics and etiquette, following the Confucian tradition. Her research is partly supported by the SSHRC doctoral fellowship. Raised in Vancouver, she holds a B.A. in French and Political Science from Simon Fraser University and a M.A. in Philosophy from the University of British Columbia. A creative writer in her spare time, some of her representative work is featured at the CBC Literary Prizes, in The Plentitudes Journal, and in the Best of Canadian Poetry 2023 anthology. On the University Senate, Helen is Vice Chair of the Student Affairs Committee, co-chairs the Commission on Diversity, and serves on the Executive Committee.

Sen. Ebonnie Goodfield ('24GS, '26SW) is a Navy Veteran, Columbia Center for Veteran Transition & Integration staff, Columbia Alumni Association Board member, Founder and President of Women Veterans of Columbia University and Campbell Award Recipient for GS 2024 graduating class. During her undergraduate she updated the university's antibullying policies, co-created intercollegiate fellowship programs for women students and served as Vice President for Columbia Milvets, assisting in coordinating the Dean's Women Roundtable series, sitting on Columbia University Military Ball committee, and introducing the university's first Women President at her inaugural event. She is now pursuing her Master's in Social Work with a policy focus aimed at informing and tailoring the transition of women veterans. Ebonnie has been the recipient of the American Red Cross Service to the Armed Forces Hero award (2018), the GS Service and Change Agent awards (2021-2023), the Columbia Alumni Association Campbell, Restorer of Broken Walls DV Ministry Purple Shoe and National Alliance on Mental Illness Max Gabriel Awards (2024) and most recently accepted the William Pearson Tolley Champion for Veterans in Higher Education Award with her colleagues at CVTI for visionary leadership, advocacy and transforming the landscape of higher education for veterans.

Sen. Bruce Fan is the University Senator representing the School of International and Public Affairs. Bruce is currently a first-year Master of International Affairs student at SIPA, concentrating in data science for policy. His academic and professional interests sit at the intersection of public policy, technology, and governance, with particular focus on AI governance, digital assets, and evidence-based policymaking. Prior to SIPA, he studied political science and has worked across government, policy research, and technology-oriented organizations. 

As University Senator, Bruce is focused on strengthening communication between SIPA students and the broader Columbia community, advocating for transparency in university governance, and advancing policies that support student well-being, academic flexibility, and cross-school collaboration. He is especially interested in ensuring that graduate student perspectives are meaningfully represented in institutional discussions that shape Columbia’s future. Bruce views student governance as both a responsibility and an opportunity to listen carefully, act thoughtfully, and serve with integrity on behalf of the SIPA community.

The Rev. Dr. Andrea C. White is Associate Professor of Theology and Culture at Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York. She has served as Executive Director of the Society for the Study of Black Religion and chair of the Black Theology Unit for the American Academy of Religion. Her research specializes in womanist theology and critical theory, philosophy of religion and phenomenology.

Her forthcoming volume is The Scandal of Flesh: Black Women’s Bodies, God, and Politics. She is also the author of The Back of God: A Theology of Otherness in Karl Barth and Paul Ricoeur, and editor of several future volumes including, Political Theology on Edge with Catherine Keller and Clayton Crocket, and The State of Black Theology.

She serves on the editorial boards for the Journal of the American Academy of Religion, the Wabash Center Journal on Teaching, the Black Theology Papers Project, and she is editor of the web forum Love, Struggle Resist, a critical, social and political forum for the progressive multireligious community.

Dr. White is a recipient of both the Lilly Theological Research Faculty Fellowship from The Association of Theological Schools and The Louisville Institute Book Grant for Minority Scholars.

She has delivered lectures in Brazil, Denmark, India, Scotland, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, and across the United States. She sits on the advisory boards for the Karl Barth Society of North America and Logia at the Logos Institute for Analytic and Exegetical Theology at the University of St. Andrews, Scotland. She has served as a member of the Committee on the Status of Racial and Ethnic Minorities in the Profession and with the Theology and Religious Reflection steering committee for the American Academy of Religion. She also serves on the Committee on Teaching about the United Nations and is a founding member of The Carter Center’s Scholars in Action created to address gender violence against women and girls.

Dr. White is a recipient of Emory University’s 2016 Martin Luther King Jr. Community Service Award.

Prior to her appointment at Union, she served on the faculty at Emory University’s Candler School of Theology and Department of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. She holds a Ph.D. in theology from The University of Chicago Divinity School, a Master of Divinity from Yale Divinity School with a concentration in philosophy of religion, and a Bachelor of Arts from Oberlin College with honors in philosophy. She is also an ordained American Baptist minister and served as a church pastor, hospice chaplain, and chaplain for children and adults with developmental disabilities.

Sen. Adela J. Gondek teaches modern practical ethics, including environmental, sustainability and public ethics, in the MA in Climate and Society program, the MS in Sustainability Management program and the Sustainable Development undergraduate program. She acquired her PhD in the Government Department at Harvard, with cross-disciplinary study in the law and divinity schools and the Kennedy School of Government. She has served as a legislative analyst in the Massachusetts State Senate, with investigative specialization in consumer product safety, prison reform and model judicial practice. At Columbia, she taught in the Political Science Department prior to teaching ethics. She has co-authored a book (2015) with the poets, Jingtian Guo and Rongxiang Jia, titled, Poems of Enlightenment, published in Beijing. Among other articles, she wrote, The Case of Antarctica (SAIS Review, Volume 39, Issue 1, 2019); and Ethics at the Intersection of Economic Development, High Finance, and Mortal Pandemic (SIPA, Picker Center Lecture Series, 2020). She also wrote a chapter titled, The City Meets Practical Ethics, published in the book, Urban Sustainable Development, coinciding with the Rio G20 (2024). Dr. Gondek has recently been made a member of the Women’s International Forum (WIF), which works in partnership with the United Nations.