Interim Director

DL MCKINNEY (THEY/THEM/THEIRS) works as the Interim Director of the Center for Women and Gender Equity and the Director Milton E. Ford LGBT Resource Center.  They are a Detroit native turned GVSU “Laker for a Lifetime” Grand Rapids resident. With a work history that is everything but orthordox. D.L. boasts a hefty career in laboratory science, leadership, and social justice change. They have earned degrees in Business Administration Economics and a Masters in Public Administration and Health. They serve as support to QTPOC folks as a member of various West Michigan community committees focusing on wellness, homelessness, equity, and social change. D.L. continues to work from a lens of racial and social justice to support individuals and communities in building their capacity to challenge internal and external systems of oppression to create sustainable change. DL loves spending time with their semi-large family, and their favorite thing to do is ride their recumbent trike. Feel free to wave if you see them slowly stroll by!

Full-Time Position: Interim Director of the Center for Women and Gender Equity and the Director Milton E. Ford LGBT Resource Center
Office Address: 1161 Kirkhof Center 
Phone: (616) 331-8991
Email: [email protected]

Assistant Director

Lariesha Lee (she/her/hers) is the Assistant Director educating, supporting, and empowering students to lead their authentic lives, helping the campus and community with gender justice and intersectionality. Lariesha coordinates programs in the Center such as NIARA,  GVSU's student-parent advocacy, the annual Girls of Color Summit, and Replenish Basic Need Centers, and on campus food justice and basic needs initiatives.  

Lariesha received her Associate of Arts degree from Grand Rapids Community College, transferred to Grand Valley State University, and completed both Bachelor of Social Work and Master of Social Work from Grand Valley State University. She has received extensive leadership, advocacy, and community organizational training from the Urban Core Collective's Transformational Leaders Program. She is a volunteer mentor at the Women's Resource Center. As a Mentor, she provides one-on-one counseling and encouragement while helping mentees reach their goals and overcome barriers using community resources. 

Lariesha is passionate about impacting the 49507 community, uplifting and alleviating oppression with purposeful work and thorough research to tell the authentic narratives of ALL identities. Her goal is to allow those she serves to lead her practice allowing them autonomy, empowerment,  and reclaiming their lives. She uses multicultural inclusive techniques outside Western mental health and healing norms. Lariesha's personal and professional interests are disparities in minority women and LGBTQ+ health and infant mortality,  gender justice, decolonization of systems, criminal justice reform, promotion of mental health in communities of color, and racial equity in all areas of daily life. 

Make an appointment with Lariesha HERE

Full-Time Position: Assistant Director 
Office Address: 1201 Kirkhof Center 
Phone: (616) 331-2748 
Email: [email protected]

Victim Advocate

Kaylee Wolff has worked in advocacy-based roles for the majority of her career. She began this journey when she volunteered as a victim advocate at the YWCA during her graduate program at Grand Valley State University. She then worked in housing and residential life at Michigan Tech University, where she later became a prevention educator to prevent intimate partner violence and teach bystander intervention. Later when she moved to New York, she served as a Child Victim Advocate. After moving back to Michigan, Kaylee worked at Muskegon Community College serving Michigan Reconnect students, and Veterans. Now Kaylee is the Victim Advocate at GVSU, where she works with GVSU students who are survivors of sexual and intimate partner violence, stalking and human trafficking. Outside of work, she is a mom of one and she enjoys spending time with family, friends and Sophia, her Boston Terrier.

Make an appointment with Kaylee HERE

Full-Time Position: Victim Advocate
Office Address: 1201 Kirkhof Center 
Phone: (616) 331-2742
Email: [email protected] 

Administrative Assistant

Darrhonda received her B.S. in Business Administration from Ferris State University and has worked in the Center for Women and Gender Equity since 2004. In her role as the Administrative Assistant, she oversees all the daily functions of the Center for Women and Gender Equity and supervises the student staff. She also serves as the assistant to the director of the Center for Women and Gender Equity and works closely with the CWGE staff on various programs and projects. One of the things that Darrhonda loves most about her job is working with such an amazing staff and experiencing the compassion that they have for the work they all do for the students.

Make an appointment with Darrhonda HERE

Full-Time Position: Administrative Assistant
Office Address: 1201 Kirkhof Center 
Phone: (616) 331-2748
Email: [email protected]

Center for Women & Gender Equity Graduate Assistant

Alyssa Beil (she/her/hers) is a graduate student in the school of social work, passionate about social justice, advocacy, and community. Alyssa coordinates Replenish, the on-campus basic needs resource center, and assists with programming at the Center for Women and Gender Equity. 

Alyssa received her bachelor's degree in Communication and Public Advocacy from Ferris State University. She has a professional background in community organizing and food justice efforts at the food bank level. In her four years working in the food assistance sector, she supported food pantries throughout West Michigan, providing resources and training with a focus on an equitable, client-centered approach. 

As a social work student and graduate assistant, Alyssa strives to make a long-term impact by supporting clients from the beginning to end of their journey. She hopes to create a space that provides a welcoming, dignified approach to basic needs services and empowers students to be their best selves.