Director

Holly Jasinski, MS (she/her/hers) works as the Director of the Center for Women & Gender Equity. With a background in over twenty years of experience in nonprofit leadership and community advocacy, she has been at the forefront of social justice work throughout her career. Holly's journey includes serving in leadership positions at Resilience: Advocates for Ending Violence for more than a decade, along with various roles in national and local organizations in Lansing and Chicago.

With a master's degree in Human Development and Family Studies and a strong background in talent management, Holly's tireless efforts reflect her dedication to creating inclusive spaces, building strong teams, and inspiring others to work together to address complex social issues. Her unwavering commitment to lifelong learning and creating positive change sets her apart as a compassionate leader.

Beyond her professional accomplishments, Holly is a registered yoga teacher specializing in addressing compassion fatigue. She has a passion for raising awareness about the intersection of secondary trauma, social justice, and radical self-care.

Make an appointment with Holly HERE. 

Full-Time Position: Director of the Center for Women and Gender Equity 
Office Address: 1201 Kirkhof Center 
Phone: (616) 331-2748
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]

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

Benjamin Ohene (He/Him/His) is a graduate student in the school of community leadership and development pursuing a Master program in Public Administration. He is passionate about social justice and advocacy. Ohene coordinates Replenish, the on- campus basic needs resource center, and assists with programming at the Center for Women and Gender Equity.

Ohene received his bachelor's degree in political science with a minor in English from the University of Ghana, Legon, in Ghana, West Africa. He has great passion for planning, coordinating, and organizing programs and events for the purpose of advocacy. In his home country, he has led various fundraiser and donation activities for the benefit of some disadvantaged members of his local community in his time served as Vice President of the National Union of Presbyterian students Ghana (NUPS-G) at the University of Ghana.

As a Public Administration student and graduate assistant, Ohene is ready to use the experiences he would gain to support projects and meaningful interventions geared toward curbing food insecurities and helping people in need. He hopes create a space which helps the equitable distribution of food resources at GVSU to ensure that students, faculty and staff of the GVSU campus community have a sense of belonging.