Syracuse University Representatives to the Board
Michael Speaks
Academic Dean Representative to the Board, 2023-25
Before joining Syracuse University, Speaks was dean of the College of Design and professor of architecture at the University of Kentucky from 2008-13. As former director of the graduate program at the Southern California Institute of Architecture in Los Angeles, Speaks has taught in the graphic design department at the Yale School of Art, and in the architecture schools at Harvard University, Columbia University, The University of Michigan, UCLA, Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, and the Berlage Institute and TU Delft, in the Netherlands.
Christine Ashby
Faculty Representative to the Board, 2023-25
Ashby is Professor of Inclusive Special Education and Disability Studies and Director of the Center on Disability and Inclusion (CDI), a research center that promotes the inclusion of people with disabilities in all aspects of school and society—both locally and globally. She has also served as coordinator of undergraduate and graduate programs leading to certification in childhood and special education. Since joining the School of Education faculty in 2007, her teaching and research has focused on inclusive education, communicative diversity, disability studies, and inclusive teacher preparation, with specific emphasis on the experiences of autistic and neurodivergent students. Her work seeks to disrupt dominant notions of disability as deficiency and underscores the importance of centering the voices of disabled people in research and practice.
Ava Breitbeck
Graduate Student Representative to the Board, 2024-25
Ava Breitbeck is a graduate student in the Science Teaching program in the College of Arts and Sciences. Specifically, she conducts research into how the public forms attitudes about science-- both inside and outside the classroom. She works as a teaching assistant in the Department of Physics and as a graduate intern in the Office of Admissions.
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Brett S. VanBuren
Law Student Representative to the Board, 2024-25
Brett S. VanBuren is a third-year law student in the Syracuse University College of Law and is receiving a Certificate of Advanced Study in National Security and Counterterrorism Law in addition to his Juris Doctor. At the College of Law, he is a member of the Travis H.D. Lewin Advocacy Honor Society and won the 2024 Entertainment and Sports Law Arbitration Competition held at SUCOL.
Read more about Brett S. VanBuren.
Luwam Ghebremicael
Undergraduate Student Representative to the Board, 2024–2025
Luwam Ghebremicael is a rising senior at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, majoring in Political Science and Policy Studies on a pre-law track. Alongside her studies, she has been actively involved in various roles, including President of the African Student Union, Peer Educator with Community Standards, Resident Advisor, Director of Multicultural Affairs, FYS Peer Leader, and a Dimensions Intern.
Read more about Luwam Ghebremicael.
German Alejandro Nolivos
Undergraduate Student Representative to the Board, 2024–2025
Born and raised in Venezuela, German Alejandro Nolivos, relocated to Florida to escape the socio-political turmoil in his homeland. Currently, in his junior year, he is pursuing a dual major in Political Science and Public Relations in the College of Arts and Sciences and the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.
Read more about German Alejandro Nolivos.
Kathleen (Kati) Foley
Staff Representative to the Board, 2023-25
As project director and administrative assistant to the dean, Foley is responsible for administering strategic projects for the College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) and directing the daily operations of the Office of the Dean and the college. She provides high-level analyses and recommendations on facility utilization, strategic budget and long-range planning, policies, programs and new and ongoing initiatives for the college.