Benjamin Schneider
Teaching Professor, Honors College
Dr. Benjamin Schneider serves as Special Assistant to the Provost for Conflict Resolution and Chair of the Ombuds Council for the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He has been part of the Ombuds Council since 2016 and is a member of the International Ombuds Association (IOA). He has completed training in the IOA standards of practice and code of ethics and conflict resolution training through Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations. Ben teaches Humanities courses in the Honors College and has served on many University committees, including ASHAC, and he is a past member of the Academic Staff Senate. He has been at UWM for more than 25 years and is honored to lead a program designed to implement informal conflict resolution.
Adrienne Woods
Director, Office of Charter Schools
Adrienne Woods serves as the Director of the Office of Charter Schools (OCS) at UW-Milwaukee. The OCS serves as the administrative and policy division with regard to the University’s role as a charter school authorizing agent. Adrienne started her position at UWM on July 1, 2014. Her interest in the Ombuds Council comes from her experience in the field of counseling and education, which have helped strengthen her listening and communicating skills while also fulfilling her interest in helping others.
Arcetta Clay Jones
Director of University Housing and Assistant Dean of Students
Arcetta Clay Jones is director over all functions in University Housing. She has knowledge/experience in working with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), Clery Act, Section 504 of Rehabilitation Act, Americans with Disabilities Act (Title I and II), Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX), Wisconsin Statutes (Ch. 17, 18, and 36, and 51), conflict management and resolution. Arcetta is honored to work on the UWM Ombuds Council and serve members of the UWM community.
Cathy Rossi
Deputy Athletics Director
Cathy Rossi is the Deputy Athletics Director at Milwaukee. Cathy came to UWM after two years as the director of budget and finance at the University of Minnesota and has over 18 years of experience at the NCAA Division I level. Her interest in the Ombuds Council is to play a part in making UWM a positive place to work.
Drew Blanchard
Assistant Professor, English and Creative Writing
Drew Blanchard is an Assistant Professor of English and Creative Writing at UWM at Waukesha. Before he entered the world of academia, he worked for a not-for-profit community development corporation in Indianapolis. In his position as an economic development manager, he learned the value of bringing people together to create a community that thrives. As a member of the UWM Ombuds Council, Drew is grateful for the opportunity to help strengthen our academic community in support of the Council’s mission.
Erin Wiggins
Clinical Assistant Professor, American Sign Language Studies
Since her appointment at UWM, Erin Wiggins has become the advisor to the ASL Living Learning Community and the Signing Student Association, giving her multiple opportunities to assist students to resolve conflict with one another and with the university. As a program coordinator of over 500 students per semester, Erin has moderated student complaints and appeals, giving her the experience that makes her an asset to the Ombuds Council.
Kelsi Faust
Academic Advisor, Zilber College of Public Health
Kelsi Faust is an Academic Advisor in the Zilber College of Public Health and works with Nutritional Sciences and Public Health undergraduate students. She is completing her doctorate degree in Leadership and Organizational Change and looks forward to applying what she has learned while working on the Ombuds Council. Kelsi has served on several committees at UWM, such as Academic Staff Senate, ASCHAC, and ACN. As a UWM graduate, she looks forward to giving back to her community.
Rosemary Stelzer
Senior Teaching Faculty, Biological Sciences
Rosemary Stelzer’s current position at UWM is instructional within the Department of Biological Sciences. She is responsible for the instruction of a large-enrollment introductory Anatomy & Physiology course. As there are typically 400+ students per semester registered for the course, and anywhere from 10 to 20 TAs managing labs, conflict resolution is an important part of her job. Because of this, becoming a member of the Ombuds Council seemed like a natural way for Rose to provide service to the University.
Sarah MacDonald
Training and Dispute Resolution Specialist, Division of DEI
In 2023, Sarah MacDonald joined UWM’s Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) as their Training and Dispute Resolution Specialist, after five years as an inclusive teaching specialist with the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL). Sarah also teaches facilitation in UWM’s Master of Sustainable Peacebuilding (MSP) program. She holds a PhD in Religion, Conflict, and Peacebuilding and previously worked in international nonviolent activism. Here at UWM, serving on the Ombuds Council is one way she seeks to help others build the skills and confidence needed to dialogue well across difference and to engage conflict constructively.
Nadya Fouad
Mary and Ted Kellner Endowed Chair of Educational Psychology; Founding Chair of UWM Ombuds Council
Nadya A. Fouad is a faculty member in the Counseling Psychology area of the Department of Educational Psychology. She is past Special Assistant to the Provost for Conflict Resolution and Founding Chair of the Ombuds Council for the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Dr. Fouad holds thirty years of experience of developing the critical skills necessary for dispute resolution through training and involvement at various levels on campus. Her expertise comes from being a counseling psychologist with a multicultural focus which enables her ability to relate well to people and have an innate sense of fairness and respect for colleagues.