The Women's Center is run by a talented and diverse group of dedicated faculty and staff members.

Faculty & Staff

• Counseling
• Body Positive (Eating Disorders)
• Diversity & Advocacy
• International
• Iris Magazine
• Publishing
• Sexual & Domestic Violence
• Men's Leadership
• Young Women Leaders

Faculty Profiles

Sharon Davie, Director of the Women’s Center, graduated with a B.A. from Dickinson College and a Ph.D. in English from the University of Virginia. She has taught and been part of U.Va. administration for over twenty-five years. Sharon began the Women’s Studies program in 1981 and the Women’s Center in 1989. Her most recent publication is a book titled University and College Women's Centers: A Journey toward Equity.
Contact: sdd8s@virginia.edu, 434-982-2934

Virginia Moran, Associate Director and Iris Editor, is a native of Charlottesville and a U.Va. alumna (B.A. ’77 and M.A. ’81) with a Ph.D. in Literature and Creative Writing from the University of Houston. After teaching at Spring Hill College and Fisk University, she returned to work at the Center, where she oversees communications, development, and internal matters at the Center. She has published stories and essays in the Virginia Quarterly Review, Salon, and Feminist Studies, and has an upcoming publication in Oxford American.
Contact: vmoran@virginia.edu, 434-924-3946

Jennifer Merritt, Director of Diversity and Advocacy, teaches the Women’s Center intern class "Global Justice and Women," directs the Center’s educational events programming, and serves as Associate Director of the Young Women Leaders Program. She earned her B.A. from Vanderbilt University, her M.B.A. from Northwestern University's J. L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management, and her Ph.D. in Social Foundations of Education from U.Va. She has worked in industry management with Johnson & Johnson and served on the faculty of John Carroll University, where she founded a school and an intervention program for teens. Among her other accomplishments, she most recently presented and published research findings on the Philosophers’ Program at the Paris Philosophy in Education conference of the United Nations Education Science and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Contact: jac8b@virginia.edu, 434-982-2648

Claire Kaplan, Director of Sexual and Domestic Violence Services, has been a feminist social justice activist for longer than she'd like to admit. A native Californian, she earned her B.S. from UC Davis, her Master's from the University of Southern California, and her Ph.D. from U.Va. She has been the Director of SDVS since 1991. In addition to teaching courses with colleague Cartie Lominack, Executive Director of the Shelter for Help in Emergency, and Sharon Davie, Claire is active on Grounds in working to ensure that the University is a fair and safe place for all students, staff, and faculty. In her limited free time, she attempts to write, garden, and play Farmville. She lives outside Charlottesville with her partner, their teenaged daughter, two big dogs and a frisky kitten.
Contact: cnk2r@virginia.edu, 434-982-2774

Charlotte Chapman, Director of Counseling Services at the Women’s Center, is a licensed professional counselor and a licensed substance abuse treatment provider. She earned her Master’s Degree in Counseling from Virginia Commonwealth University, where she is adjunct faculty in the Rehabilitation Counseling program. Before moving to the Charlottesville area, she was in private practice in Richmond, specializing in treating women and adolescents in addiction, trauma, and other mental health concerns.
Contact: cmc5nq@virginia.edu, 434-982-2903

Staff Profiles

Amy Chestnutt, Eating Disorders Education Coordinator, provides education and outreach to students about eating and body image concerns, disordered eating, and eating disorders. She is a member of U.Va.’s Coalition on Eating Disorders and Exercise Concerns and helps organize Perfect Illusions and Celebrate Every Body Week. She earned her B.A. from the University in 1997 and her Masters of Public Health (M.P.H.) from Emory University in 2004.
Contact: aek4k@virginia.edu, 434-243-2463

Margaret Edwards, the trauma services counselor (in residency), provides individual and group counseling to U.Va. students, staff, faculty, and area community residents. She earned her M.A. and Ed.S. in clinical mental health counseling from the University of Virginia, an M.A. in international relations from the John Hopkins University of Advanced International Studies, and a B.A. from the College of William and Mary. She earned her nationally certified counselor (NCC) credential in 2009, and is working toward Virginia state licensure. Her work focuses on helping clients who have experienced interpersonal violence, sexual assault, and stalking. She also works with clients on issues such as grief and loss, depression, anxiety, eating disorders, career development, and relationship concerns. Due to a generous contribution from U.Va. alumni, the Counseling Services program has been able to continue to fund this position.
Contact: me8n@virginia.edu, 434-982-2252

Zvezdana Kish, Business Manager, is responsible for managing all of the budget, finance, and procurement processes, as well as human resource activities of the Center. Zvezdana received her B.A. in 1994 from the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Osijek, Croatia. She first came to the University in 2001 as a member of the Acquisitions Department in Alderman Library and accepted her current position with the Women’s Center in the fall of 2003. Zvezdana lives at Lake Monticello with her husband Alex, and their two daughters, Natasha and Aniko.
Contact: zk4g@virginia.edu, 434-982-2250

Carol Gilbert, Development Assistant at the Women’s Center, is a Virginia native and a U.Va. alumnae (B.A. '91). She coordinates development events, processes donations, sends acknowledgments, and oversees major mailings. Carol lives in Crozet with her husband Michael and their two children Robert and Elizabeth.
Contact: ceg6a@virginiaedu, 434-982-2902

Melissa Levy, Young Women Leaders Program Assistant Director, has served as a middle school band director, the American University Hillel Program Director and Assistant Director, and a researcher with the Darden/Curry Partnership for Leaders in Education before coming to the Center. She earned her B.M.E. from Indiana University and her M.Ed. and Ph.D. in Social Foundations of Education from U.Va. When not working as part of the team managing YWLP, she enjoys frequent visits to local farmers' markets, hiking, and curling up with a good book.
Contact: mkl7j@virginia.edu, 434-924-9732

Lauren Russo, Assistant Editor of Iris Magazine, has lived in Charlottesville since 2001 and now considers herself a townie. She has worked at the center since 2002, holding a variety of positions throughout the years. Her most recent incarnation as Iris Assistant Editor combines her Master’s in English Literature with her love of community building through reading.
Contact: ldr6r@virginia.edu, 434-924-4500

Lisa Speidel, Sexual and Domestic Violence Services Outreach Coordinator, advises and helps support the SDVS interns, conducts trainings on sexual and domestic violence issues, and teaches Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) self-defense classes. Lisa grew up in Charlottesville after spending her first ten years of life in Taiwan. She has taught RAD classes for women and girls in the Charlottesville community for seventeen years and previously worked as the training coordinator at the Sexual Assault Resource Agency (SARA) for nine years. She recently received a Ph.D. in Education from the Curry School of Education at U.Va., where she developed a passion for social justice issues and helped coordinate the Multicultural Education program.
Contact: las7p@virginia.edu, 434-982-2910

 

Copyright 2011 - The Rector and Visitors University of Virginia   |   Webmaster   |