ODI Staff

José A. Villalba is the Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion and Chief Diversity Officer. Prior to his current position, José served as Senior Associate Dean for Faculty, Evaluation, and Inclusivity in the Office of the Dean of the College. He also is a professor of Counseling. He has been affiliated with the Department of Counseling since arriving at Wake Forest in 2011. Prior to arriving at Wake Forest, he was an associate professor of counseling at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, as well as an assistant professor of counseling at Indiana State University.

He teaches courses in multicultural counseling, school counseling, and health and human services. His research interests include health disparities in Latina/o youth, as well as Latina/o access to and completion of higher education options.

Over the past 4 years, since arriving in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, he has facilitated diversity and inclusion efforts for staff, faculty, and students, in an effort to address issues of access and equity across campus.

Erin Adamson (she/her) is the Interim Director of the Women’s Center. Prior to this role, she served as Assistant Director of the center for two years. She oversees the operational, programmatic, and advocacy initiatives for the center as well as serves as a thought partner for the campus community on matters of gender equity.

Erin is a highly relational educator and project manager with over seven years of experience in teaching and facilitating programs for diverse audiences in both higher education and nonprofit organizations. She has a sincere passion for creating transformational experiences that can lead to systemic changes through educational co-curricular programming. Her work utilizes a Black feminist framework as a tool to create personal, professional, and leadership development opportunities for students, staff, and faculty.

Erin earned her M.A. in English-Linguistics from North Carolina State University and a B.A. in Spanish from Spelman College.

Shannon (she/her/hers) is an educator and facilitator whose work and expertise meet at the intersection of diversity and inclusion and leadership development. Her passion is to connect and develop individuals in order to create inclusive and equitable spaces. As the Senior Associate Director, she oversees the development and facilitation of workshops, trainings, and programming centered around cultural competence development and inclusive practices to students, faculty, and staff.

She brings a decade of experience in diversity and inclusion, campus activities, leadership development, college access, and nonprofit management. Her professional activities include holding volunteer leadership positions with the National Association for Campus Activities and has presented at conferences across the country. Additionally, she serves as a Co-Lead Facilitator for the LeaderShape Institute.

Shannon earned her Bachelor of Science in Journalism (Public Relations) from Ohio University and a Master of Education in Higher Education Administration & Student Personnel from Kent State University and holds a Certificate of Nonprofit Management from Case Western Reserve University.

Eliese (she/her) is the Administrative Assistant for the Office of Diversity and Inclusion. She is a graduate of East Carolina University where she earned her B.A. in English in 2019. Since graduating from ECU, she has worked in both primary and higher educational settings in various capacities.

Eliese was raised in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and has a passion for helping students have the best experience possible throughout their time in University.

Savannah serves as the Program Coordinator for the Intercultural Center. She is a proud graduate of Wake Forest and earned her B.A. in English and Politics & International Affairs.

Savannah is passionate about advocating for students of color and increasing cultural competency within institutions of higher education. A native North Carolinian, she is excited to explore Winston-Salem and be a member of the community.

TaShaun (she/her) began her career in secondary education in 2003 and has worked in higher education institutions since 2008 with positions in academic and student affairs.

She joined Wake Forest University in 2014 and worked in the Human Resources Department before joining the Office of Diversity and Inclusion in 2015. She is a part of the Diversity and Inclusion Leadership Team and serves as the business manager with financial reporting and budget oversight. She works closely with the Vice President to develop and enhance strategies to strengthen business practices and research while innovating successful projects to improve office support. She works closely with the Network for Inclusive Leadership and Engagement (formally CID) and the North Carolina Diversity & Inclusion Partners Council. Her work also includes extending communication efforts for the Office of Diversity and Inclusion through the management of the ODI website, newsletter, and social media channels.

Elliott received a master’s degree in Adult and Higher Education with a concentration in Student Personnel Services from North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University and her bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Management from Winston-Salem State University.

Kayla (they/them) serves as the Associate Director for the LGBTQ Center, where they promote the Center’s commitments to education, support, and advocacy around issues of sexual orientation and gender identity through developing programming, educational opportunities, and student engagement experiences.

Kayla received their Master’s degree in Higher Education and Student Affairs from the University of South Carolina in May 2013 and their Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from the University of Alabama in May 2011; they are currently a student in the Evening MBA program at Wake Forest University.

They joined the Wake Forest University community in the summer of 2015 as the Program Coordinator for the LGBTQ Center. Prior to working at WFU, Kayla served as the Coordinator for LGBT Programs in the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs at the University of South Carolina, where they worked with the Safe Zone education program, coordinated a peer leadership program, and maintained support and advocacy services for students across the institution. Kayla enjoys calling Winston-Salem home, though they will always be a Bama fan at heart, and loves spending time with their wife and dogs.

Dr. AJ Mazaris (they/them/theirs) is the founding director of the LGBTQ+ Center at Wake Forest University, where they also teach in the Department of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.

Dr. Mazaris serves as part of the university’s Diversity and Inclusion Leadership Team, and is committed to creating an institution that welcomes, supports, and engages everyone to their fullest potential.

Dr. Mazaris has a Ph.D. in American Studies from Brown University in Providence, R.I., where they were honored to hold a Jacob Javits Fellowship from the U.S. Department of Education. Their teaching and research focus on LGBTQ history, queer theory, public history, and gender studies. At Brown they served as the first Coordinator of the LGBTQ Resource Center, and as Graduate Proctor at the Sarah Doyle Women’s Center. They were also a member of Brown’s Diversity Advisory Board, where they worked specifically on issues related to first-generation students and social class. While in Providence, they served on the board of the Equity Action Fund, Rhode Island’s fund for LGBTQ initiatives. Before coming to Wake Forest, Dr. Mazaris served as a Presidential Management Fellow at the Internal Revenue Service and the National Park Service.

Dr. Jonathan A. McElderry (he/him/his) has served as the Assistant Dean of Students and the Executive Director of the Intercultural Center at Wake Forest University since June 2016. Additionally, he serves as an affiliate faculty member in the University’s Department of Counseling.

His research has sought to raise awareness of the experiences of underrepresented students at predominantly White institutions and provide strategies to increase their academic and social success. His professional activities include holding several leadership positions within the American College Personnel Association (ACPA); serving as a Co-Lead Facilitator for the LeaderShape Institute; interning with the Social Justice Training Institute (SJTI) and a standout scholar-practitioner, who has authored/co-authored research articles, book chapters, and mainstream resources. Most recently, Dr. McElderry was elected as the Director of Equity and Inclusion for the ACPA Governing Board and was named a 2020 Annuit Coeptis Emerging Professional by the association.

Dr. McElderry holds a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis from the University of Missouri, an M.Ed. in College Student Personnel from Ohio University, and a B.S. in Administration of Justice from George Mason University.

Malika is the inaugural Assistant Vice President of Inclusive Practice.

Prior to this role, she served as the inaugural Director of Wellbeing at Wake Forest University, leading the development, institutionalization and collective impact of Thrive – Wake’s comprehensive approach to wellbeing.

Malika has extensive experience integrating research and practice, creating behavior change interventions, developing strategic plans that guide culture change, and defining assessment tools to ensure research and practice effectiveness. Prior to returning to Wake Forest, she served on the faculty of the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Medicine, and as an administrator and faculty lead with the NC Translational and Clinical Sciences Institute (NC TraCS). In these capacities, Malika was on the investigative team for 10 federally and institutionally funded projects and centers in the areas of health equity and community engagement. With her training and outreach expertise, she provided consultation and technical assistance to collaborative efforts among students, community members, and faculty.

Malika is a Wake Forest alumna and holds a PhD in Public Health (Health Behavior and Health Education) from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In addition to her role as AVP of Inclusive Practice, she has an appointment in the Department of Health and Exercise Science.

Antayzha (she/her) serves as the Program Coordinator for the LGBTQ+ Center and the Women’s Center. She earned her B.A. in History from Wake Forest, where she served as a student assistant in the LGBTQ+ Center and a campus-wide advocate for inclusion.

Antayzha was raised in Lenoir, North Carolina, and has a passion for developing and supporting intersectional programming and equitable practices.