Introducing Our New Chief Diversity Officer
Following an extensive search, we have appointed Jessica Morak as the new executive director of institutional equity and chief diversity officer at the Graduate Center.
Dear Graduate Center community,
I am pleased to announce that, following an extensive search, we have appointed Jessica Morak as the new executive director of institutional equity and chief diversity officer at the Graduate Center. Jessica comes to us from the CUNY Office of General Counsel and will begin her appointment at the Graduate Center on May 15.
Jessica will play a leadership role in supporting and advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in our community. Her responsibilities include overseeing policies related to affirmative action and equal opportunity and serving as our Title IX coordinator. She said, “I look forward to the chance to get to know, support, and serve the Graduate Center’s diverse and engaged community of students, faculty, and staff.”
As an associate general counsel at CUNY, Jessica has served as a resource for issues related to Title IX and the university’s sexual misconduct policy. Before coming to CUNY, she served as a staff attorney at Sanctuary for Families, where she spearheaded and expanded a program that provides free legal representation to student survivors of gender-based violence. In her prior role as an assistant district attorney in the Bronx County District Attorney’s Office, she investigated and prosecuted allegations of sexual assault against adults and children.
Jessica is a former co-chair of the NY Cyber Abuse Task Force, which is dedicated to combatting digital sexual violence. In 2020, she received the Lydia Martinez Multidisciplinary Collaboration Award, which recognizes service by professionals involved in addressing sexual violence in New York City.
Jessica received her B.A. in psychology from the University of Michigan and her J.D. from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University.
She will be hosting some informal meet-and-greets soon after she arrives. Please come by the small conference room in the President’s Office suite on Thursday, May 18, from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m., or Monday, May 22, from 11 a.m. to 12 noon.
I want to thank Edith Rivera for her dedication in serving as our interim chief diversity officer and for her many contributions.
I’m grateful also to the members of the search committee for their outstanding work and look forward to welcoming Jessica to the Graduate Center.
Sincerely,
Robin L. Garrell
President