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DEI Leadership

The department’s DEI committees are charged with overseeing and assessing the department’s strategic plan in DEI. Learn more about our committees below and how you can get involved with ME’s DEI initiatives. Want to start a new affinity group focused on DEI issues in mechanical engineering? Contact Susan Cheng (chengs[at]umich.edu), the Manager of Diversity and Inclusion, to learn how the department can support your group!

Faculty/Staff DEI Committee & Strategic Direction Working Group

Wei Lu
Wei Lu (Chair, Professor)

Susan Cheng
Susan Cheng (Co-chair, Manager of Diversity and Inclusion)

Angela Wegrecki
Angela Wegrecki (Director of Strategic Initiatives)

Serife Tol
Serife Tol (DEI Committee, Assistant Professor)

Margaret Wooldridge
Margaret Wooldridge (DEI Committee, Professor)

Solomon Adera
Solomon Adera (Assistant Professor)

Kira Barton
Kira Barton (Associate Professor)

Neil Dasgupta
Neil Dasgupta (Associate Professor)

Yue Fan
Yue Fan (Assistant Professor)

Miguel Funes Lora
Miguel Funes Lora (Research Investigator)

Hugo Villasanti
Hugo Gonzalez Villasanti (Assistant Professor)

Matthew Jastrzembowski
Matthew Jastrzembowski (Facilities Manager)

 Kristi Kattapong
Kristi Kattapong (Global CO2 Communications Specialist)

Lauro Ojeda
Lauro Ojeda (Associate Research Scientist)

Ulrich Scheven
Ulrich Scheven (Associate Research Scientist)

Wenda Tan
Wenda Tan (Assistant Professor)

Aaron Towne
Aaron Towne (Assistant Professor)

Faculty Ally for Diversity in Graduate Education

Serife Tol
Serife Tol (Assistant Professor)

CoE Office of Culture, Community and Equity Staff Network Liaison

Aaron Berry
Aaron Berry (Marketing Assistant Associate)

U-M Council for Disability Concerns Representative

Colin Jones
Colin Jones (Facilities Assistant)

Student & Postdoc ME DEI Alliance

Panagiota (Penny) Kitsopoulos
Panagiota (Penny) Kitsopoulos: co-President (she/her)

Alondra Ortiz-Ortiz
Alondra Ortiz-Ortiz: co-President (she/her)


Joy Aun: Media and Recruitment Officer

Marisa de Souza
Marisa De Souza: Event Officer (she/her)

Hannah Faustyn
Hannah Faustyn (she/her)

Seyed Mohammadreza Heidari
Seyed Mohammadreza Heidari: Event Officer (he/him)

Allison King
Allison King: Recruitment Officer via Mechanical Engineering Graduate Council (she/her)

Dylan Kovacevich
Dylan Kovacevich: Media Officer (he/him)


Kyle Krippner

Chen Li
Chen Li (he/him)


Dylan Lyon: Event Officer

Jesús García Pérez
Jesús García Pérez: Media Officer (he/him)

Richard Rodriguez-Feliciano
Richard Rodriguez-Feliciano (he/him)

Vansh Sharma
Vansh Sharma: Event Officer (he/him)

Yashasvi S Sharma
Yashasvi S Sharma: Media Officer (he/him)

Makenzie Schlessman
Makenzie Schlessman (Advisory Staff)

Aaron Berry
Aaron Berry (Advisory Staff)

Interested in joining or supporting the ME DEI Alliance? Fill out this short interest form to receive more information about contributing to this group.

Women and Gender Minorities in Mechanical Engineering (WaGMiME)

Charlotte Andreasen
Charlotte Andreasen (she/her): Co-President

Codie Fiedler Kawaguchi
Codie Fiedler Kawaguchi (they/them): Co-President

Safa Jabri
Safa Jabri (she/her): Communications Chair

Karina Heye-Smith
Karina Heye-Smith: Treasurer

Lucy Spicher
Lucy Spicher: Student Engagement Chair

Have questions or new ideas about DEI in the department? Sign up for DEI Office Hours to share.