DEI Committee

DEI Committee Chair (To be announce soon)

We are currently looking for a faculty member or staff member to fulfill the role of DEI Committee Coordinator. If you are interested in this opportunity, please contact Eva Martinez Powless, Chief DEI Officer, directly and attach your resume. 

Amarilis Martinez

Amarilis Martinez M.A., M. Ed. is a full time instructor and the College Transfer Level Instructional Chair for the English department. She also teaches professional development courses for the Center for Teaching Excellence. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Writing Intensive English and History from Marquette University, a Master of Arts degree in English from Mount Mary University, and a Master of Arts degree in Education from Alverno College. 

Amarilis has worked in several diversity initiatives at the College. She is a member of MATC's Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) Steering Committee. Most recently, she was involved in planning "Students Speak: Crucial Conversation with Latino/a Students," a DEI-sponsored student panel. 

Bohdan Zachary

Bohdan Zachary serves as Vice President and General Manager of Milwaukee PBS and is also a member of the President’s Cabinet at the College. As a member of the DEI Committee, he helped organize the "Conversation with Ibram Kendi" event which reached over 600 guests.

Bohdan joined Milwaukee PBS in the fall of 2015 after working the previous eighteen years as a senior executive at KCET in Los Angeles. Milwaukee PBS (WMVS and WMVT, a duopoly licensed to the Milwaukee Area Technical College), is one of the most-watched public television stations in the country.    Most recently, Milwaukee PBS embarked on an ambitious online/onair/community effort reflecting the impact of the coronavirus epidemic, racial injustice and economic disparity.

Before he joined public broadcasting, Bohdan enjoyed a robust career as a producer and an executive in commercial television and the movie industry.  In Hollywood he produced Fox Network’s highly-rated docudrama “The Haunted”.  Oscar-winning actress Cher hired Bohdan as executive vice president of her film development company.   During his years in Hollywood in the late 1980s, Bohdan was one of the founding Board members of the Los Angeles chapter of GLAAD, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.

As a journalist, Bohdan has earned several awards for his investigative articles, including one on the meth epidemic in Hollywood. In 2019, APTS honored Bohdan with the National Advocacy Award for his leadership of Milwaukee PBS’ post-spectrum auction consumer initiative. He has presented testimony on public television post-spectrum changes before the House and Energy Committee and also the FCC.  Last year, he began a two-year term as the sole public television representative on the FCC’s Consumer Advisory Board.  In April, 2020, the Milwaukee business publication BizTimes recognized Bohdan as one of the City’s Notable LGBTQ executives.

Carlos Aranda

Carlos is a Licensed Professional Counselor with a specialty in substance abuse counseling. He holds an an M.S. in Counseling from the University of Wisconsin Platteville. Carlos is nationally certified by NBCC, and he also holds a School Counseling license.  In addition to his role as Counselor, Carlos teaches psychology courses as a part-time faculty member in the General Education Pathway at MATC.  I am fully bilingual in English and Spanish.

His counseling approach centers  on establishing a trusting, non-judgmental, secure, and genuine environment to explore feelings and emotions that impact his clients’ daily lives. His role in the counseling session is to help clients by facilitating the therapeutic process through which they realize the changes they seek. The counseling modalities that Carlos frequently uses are Solution-Focused and Person-Centered.  He works with clients experiencing a multitude of  challenges, including anxiety, depression, relationship issues, anger management, conflict resolution, substance abuse, and day-to-day life challenges. 

On the DEI Committee, Carlos helps facilitate the Students Speak workshops.

Cynthia Galvan

Cynthia Galvan has been employed at MATC since 1998, working in Student Services and Migrant & Bilingual Education before becoming a full-time English instructor in 2009.  Cynthia holds a bachelor's degree from UW-Parkside in Spanish, an M.S. degree in Education from UW-Platteville, and an M.A. degree in English with a creative writing emphasis from Mount Mary University. Most recently, she completed her 3rd-year in a Doctorate of Community College Leadership Program.

In addition to her service in higher education, Cynthia is actively involved in her community. She has served in Racine’s Unified School District Superintendent’s Council, the Kenosha Unified School District Diversity and  Equity Council, and as a Board Member with UMOS-United Migrant Opportunity Services Corporation, a non-profit advocacy organization that provides programs and services for under-served populations in Wisconsin, Texas, Florida, Minnesota, and Missouri. 

On the DEI Committee, Cynthia has used her desire to bring awareness of Autism to lead book discussions and suggest training opportunities. Galvan aims to move the college forward in equity for neurodiverse students and seeks to better serve those on the Autism spectrum. Additionally, she leads the Membership subcommittee and helps support the Students Speak series.

Eric Gass

Eric has spent 18 years working in public and community health and higher education.  He has worked on many community-based projects focused on community-building, health education, and upstream factors that influence people's health and well being.  

Jerry Key

My name is Jerry Key.  I have been employed with MATC for more than 18 yrs. My experience in the issues of race and equity goes back 50 years.

At 13 years old, Jerry was researching the effects of divesting in South Africa. At 15, he was working with juniors and seniors to reduce violence and racial tensions as his high school was changing from predominantly white to black.

Yet, Jerry's equity work has not been limited to schools. For the past 30 years, he has worked with (and helped create) an anti- racism team that is associated with The Greater Milwaukee Synod of  America.  Jerry states, "I truly believe that our work helped to pave the way for our white colleges to embrace and participate in the movements - we're seeing on the news, today.  I would suggest the past thirty years of training, discussions, movie reviews we offered help prepare our white brethren to continue to show up as the protest began." Jerry recognizes that equity transformation requires major commitment. "Real change can only  happen when  we are vigilant - we must be in  it for the long haul!!!  No shortcuts allowed!!"

Kamela Goodwyn

Dr. Kamela Goodwyn is the Dean of the STEM programs at MATC. As the visionary of the Pathway, she collaborates with external partners advancing STEM initiatives for K12 students and underrepresented populations. In partnership with STEM faculty, her department premiered a STEM Mobile learning lab providing exploratory activities for middle schoolers in the Milwaukee area. Dr. Goodwyn is an active member of STEMforward and an advocate of STEM enterpreneurship education.

For the DEI Committee, Dr. Goodwyn serves as the coordinator of the Pathways Liaison program, an initiative of the MATC strategic plan. In this work, she recruited a representative from each Pathway to coordinate communication and lead Pathway action plans regarding equity work.

Kate Erickson

Member of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin and History Faculty at the Milwaukee Area Technical College, Kate teaches Native American, Wisconsin Indian, State of Wisconsin, and Early American History.  She has been on the faculty at MATC for over a decade, after starting her teaching career at The University of Wisconsin Milwaukee.

Kate earned her bachelor's degree in American Indian Studies with a focus on History and Sociology and earned her Master's degree in Public History and Museum Studies from The University of Wisconsin Milwaukee and the Milwaukee Public Museum.

Kate is a member of the MATC Diversity Equity and Inclusion Committee, the Wisconsin Indian Education Association (where she serves as an Alternate Board Member), the Wisconsin Archaeological Society, Bridge the Divide, NAACP Ozaukee County, and the Milwaukee FBI Community Roundtable among others.  

On the DEI Committee, Kate raises awareness about equity for Native Americans, including leading several workshops.

Michelle Vangay

Michelle is an Academic Pathway Advisor who has been with MATC for over 18 years. She has a background in student services and academic advising.

Michelle notes, "I trust that in addition to my passion to contribute value to my organization; provide excellence in education to enrich, empower, develop, and transform students' academic experience, being part of this impactful committee will equip me to work with an abundant number of leaders in bringing transformative change to the professional and higher educational environment that we need so much."

Michelle is committed to diversity and inclusion. She continues, "I want to be part of an organization that champions student learning and success, but most importantly strives to grow and sustain a culture where all individuals are valued for who they are and who they will become. Each person is treated with respect, and all students are given access to resources that will encourage their success."

Nick Brayton

Nick Brayton currently serves as the Training & Talent Specialist at Milwaukee Area Technical College. Additionally, he is the co-chair of the statewide WTCS Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee for the 2020/2021 year. 

As a DEI Committee member, Nick coordinated the Cost of Poverty Experience, and he created the Participation Certificates for the first year of the DEI initiative. He also designed the digital badges used in year 2.

Nick has a history of volunteering as a music and academic tutor for underserved youth, and he continues to volunteer with organizations that serve the HIV/AIDS community. 

Nick values collaboration and believes in fostering opportunities to learn from one another.

Will Smith

Will Smith III is currently a Retention Coach at MATC. He is also an editor and writer for the blog Daily Kos where he has focused on racial and equity barriers for African Americans. Will is inspired by the many cultures of his multi-ethnic background and has worked to decrease the disparity and equity gaps among people of color in Milwaukee.

Will holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Community Engagement and Education and an M.S. degree in Cultural Foundations of Education, both from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.