Workshop Presenters
Christine Asidao, Ph.D., Psychologist, Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS)
Christine Asidao is a Licensed Psychologist and the Assistant Director of Outreach & Education at the University of Michigan Counseling & Psychological Services (CAPS). She is also the Chair of the Association for University and College Counseling Center Outreach (AUCCCO) and in 2008, launched the 1st national outreach conference for counseling centers. She has been the architect of the do something campaign, an initiative focused on increasing U-M college student mental health awareness and the administrative lead for the Messages of Hope project which is part of an overall creative effort directed at decreasing college student suicide.
Catherine Dehlin, J.D., Associate General Counsel, General Counsel Office
Cathy (Pinkerton) Dehlin joined the General Counsel’s Office in March, 2013. She provides legal advice and counsel to the divisions of student affairs and academic units on all three campuses on matters relating to students, including: academic, non-academic, and professional misconduct; disability accommodations; student organizations; FERPA; crisis management planning and critical incident response; investigations; and policy development and implementation.
Before joining the legal team at the University of Michigan, Cathy served as internal general counsel for another public university in Michigan for nearly seven years and has experience as its equal opportunity officer/Title IX coordinator for several years. Before working in higher education, she practiced law at private law firms in Washington, D.C. and Phoenix, Arizona for 15 years, focusing primarily on civil litigation and employment law. She received her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center and her undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan.
Laura Elgas, Director of Admissions & Student Affairs, School of Information
Laura Elgas directs admissions and student affairs at the University of Michigan, School of Information. In this role she provides oversight for the student life-cycle including recruitment, admissions, advising, curriculum, financial aid, and student life. She has been working in higher education for almost 15 years, and cares deeply about the connection between students, learning and the higher education environment. She has worked in a variety of roles at the University including work as a Student Services Assistant in the Newnan Advising Center, a Recruitment and Admissions Coordinator in Mechanical Engineering, and a Manager, Assistant Director, Associate Director, and now Director at the School of Information. She has seen close hand how great mentorship and colleagues are a key component to professional growth and development. Her education includes an undergraduate degree in Psychology and an M.B.A. with a focus on non-profit management and higher education administration. Her current life goal is to stay one step ahead of her work, her schedule, and her young children.
Lily Gershenson, LLMSW, U-M Psychological Clinic
Lily Gershenson graduated with an M.S.W from the School of Social Work in 2011, and during her studies she worked as an intern seeing psychotherapy clients of the U-M Psychological Clinic. Immediately following graduation, she was hired by the Psychological Clinic as a post-M.S.W. fellow and therapist, and she currently sees a full-time caseload of therapy clients. Lily’s interests since embarking on her career in clinical social work are fairly diverse, including the treatment of trauma, grief/loss, and interest in providing couples counseling and in learning about attachment. Lily has been trained in a variety of treatment modalities, including cognitive-behavioral therapy, brief dynamic psychotherapy and a number of other evidence-based models. She is particularly interested in the use of mindfulness and meditation as a therapeutic intervention. Lily moved to Ann Arbor from Chicago, where she worked for several years as the project coordinator of pediatric psychology research lab. She is enjoying the liveliness and diversity of the Ann Arbor community, as well as observing all the excitement and rituals that occur around U-M sports events!
Amy Homkes-Hayes, Hsquared Professional Development Consulting
Amy Homkes-Hayes is fervent about engaging others in active, intentional, and life long professional development. After completing her bachelor’s degree at the University of Michigan she spent several years working in the non-profit sector with children and families. Her time testifying in court on their behalf readily grew her communication skills. After completing her master’s degree in Social Work at Grand Valley State University, Amy has spent her time working in higher education in a variety of contexts. She is skilled at both interpersonal practice and program management. She’s trained in Motivational Interviewing, has ample experience as both a personal and career counselor, and regularly finds herself in the role as the “evaluation and assessment person” on projects. Amy presents anywhere from 20 to 40 workshops and presentations per year at local, state, and national levels. When she’s not up at night pondering ways to engross her audiences in their growth, she is busy chasing two dogs and ever working on her “fixer-upper” house.
Janelle Kilgore, M.S.W., ACSW Faculty/Staff Counselor
Janell Kilgore has been with the Faculty and Staff Assistance Program since 1999. She has extensive professional counseling experience working with families, teens, couples and sexual abuse survivors. She worked for seven years as an employee assistance consultant and trainer to Ford Motor Company, Deloitte & Touche, Young & Rubican, Stroh and other corporations. Janell has provided employment-related trainings/educational workshops throughout the United States. She received her Master’s in Social Work degree from Wayne State University.
Patricia Mackmiller, Academic Program Manager, Integrative Systems & Design
In the last 26 years, Patti has served a number of schools and colleges at the University. She began her career at the Institute of Continuing Legal Education, where she was an editor for a number of legal publications, including the Court Rules for the State of Michigan. From there, she moved on to an extensive career in supporting student success—including work in career services, academic program development and management, admissions and student services, and department management.
Currently, Patti is the manager for the College of Engineering’s online master’s degree programs—overseeing staffing, recruiting, admissions, program development and student services support for more than 500 students who will earn a University of Michigan degree without ever stepping foot on campus.
Patti has a B.S. in Special Education, English, and Journalism, and a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership and College Student Personnel.
She is the recipient of this year’s College of Engineering Excellence in Staff Service Award, to be awarded on May 22nd!
Lyonel Milton, Director of Student Affairs, School of Education
Lyonel started as a temp advisor for the MEPO in the College of Engineering (1999-2001). He then secured a permanent position as coordinator of student support and development services with MEPO (2001-2008). Lyonel completed the U-M CSHPE master’s program while working full time (2001-2004). He pursued the master’s degree because his undergraduate major was in marketing and he needed the formal training in education to better understand student affairs and student development in order to advance to a leadership role. His current responsibilities include oversight and coordination in the areas of recruitment, admissions, graduate records, retention, financial aid, and several active student organizations in the School of Education. Lyonel has been married for 13 years and he has two children (boy & girl).
John Sonnega, Ph.D., MHealthy Thrive Program Manager
John is the Program Manager of MHealthy’s stress management program. John has a Ph.D. in Public Health Psychology from Johns Hopkins University. Previously, he was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Public Health at U-M – Flint, and a Research Investigator at the Institute for Social Research. John approaches the complexities of stress with a salutogenic rather than pathogenic outlook.
Ryan Vis, Service Owner—Collaborative Services, University of Michigan
Ryan Vis works for Information Technology Services at the University of Michigan. As Service Owner, he helps drive adoption and strategy for Collaboration Services on Campus. Ryan was the Business Lead for U-M’s transition to Google Services in 2012, and continues to be an advocate for collaborative and cloud services.