Photo of AFC professional staff on a boat on Lake Champlain

Director

Derisa Collymore

Director, AFC

Office:
Carr Hall 102

Derisa Collymore (she/her) is the Director of the Anderson Freeman Resource Center. She provides strategic vision, supports campus equity and inclusion initiatives, serves as an advocate for underrepresented students, and organizes opportunities for students, faculty, and staff to form a community over shared identities. Derisa is a first-generation Caribbean American from New York City whose experiences in that diverse space first started her dedication to creating inclusive communities. Promoting community spirit, personal connections, mentorship, mutual learning, and collective support are at the core of her leadership style.

Derisa is also a first-generation student who earned her Bachelor of Arts in English Language and Literature from Brenau University, a Master of Science in Administrative Leadership for Higher Education from the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee, and is currently working on a Doctor of Philosophy in Education with an emphasis on institutional effectiveness from North Dakota State University. Her work and research centers on enhancing higher education environments to foster a better sense of belonging for individuals from historically marginalized groups, and transforming practical approaches to BIPOC student support. Derisa’s other professional interests include bridging the K-12 to college gap for first-generation and low-income students, first-generation parent education and support, curriculum-based intercultural learning models, and immersive programming experiences. 

Outside of work, Derisa enjoys cooking and creating new recipes, creative writing, biking around her neighborhood, and finding new simple trails to walk and be in the outdoors. Derisa also serves as treasurer on the board of The Teen Center located here in Middlebury. 

Prism Director

Janae Due

They/Them

Director for the Prism Center for Queer and Trans Life

Office:
Prism Center 101

Janae Due (They/Them) is the inaugural Director of the Prism Center for Queer and Trans Life, and formerly the Assistant Director of the AFC focusing on LGBTQIA+ student support. Their work at the AFC is in transition this year as they prepare for the much-anticipated opening of the college’s LGBTQIA+ student center in the spring. They support and create programming for queer and/or transgender students, along with advocating for other students and programs that are a part of the AFC community. Janae values storytelling and personal connection and uses their lived experiences as a fat, queer, disabled, Black person to help others explore topics around privilege, identity, oppression, and marginalization. They believe that people should strive to be their best selves on their own terms, and help students work towards reaching their full potential by dismantling toxic perfectionism and promoting radical approaches to wellbeing.

Janae grew up in a rural town in Wisconsin much smaller than Middlebury, where they were raised by their single mother. As a low-income, first-generation student, they earned their Master of Education in Student Affairs from Iowa State University and her Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing and Women’s and Gender Studies from the University of Wisconsin - Green Bay. Janae is involved in the local community as a member of IDEAL Middlebury. They dedicate their time outside of work to providing social justice education to community members and advocating for the creation of community care structures. Janae cares deeply about inclusive and intentional language, media representation and popular culture, intersectional feminism, and fat liberation. 

AFC Student Staff

Bakari Moitt (he/they) is the Fellow for LGBTQIA Students

Bruno Coelho (he/him) is the Middlebury Intercultural Leaders Coalition (MILC) Coordinator 

Diana Lobo (she/her) is the Fellow for Social Media and Communications

Julissa Rojas (she/her) is the Fellow for Women of Color Initiatives

Liliana Lopez-Velazquez (she/her) is an Office Assistant

Maria Romero (she/her) is an Office Assistant

Roy Urbina (he/him) is Junior Fellow for First Generation Students

Samuel Eshetu (he/him) is the Fellow for BIPOC Students 

Tanya Chen (she/her) is Senior Fellow for First Generation Students

 

Anderson Freeman Resource Center
Carr Hall
452 College Street
Middlebury, VT 05753