Advisors
Any person who is impacted by sexual harassment or sexual violence, and who is involved in a matter with the Office for Equity, has a right to an Advisor. An Advisor can be a person who is trusted by the person impacted by sexual harassment or sexual violence, such as a friend, coach, professor, mentor, parent or attorney, or a CWRU employee who is trained by the Office for Equity on the Sexual Harassment Policy and how to help others fully access their rights under that Policy. Advisors help people involved in a matter access and express their rights. Advisors help people articulate their needs for support, understand the parts of the Sexual Harassment Policy that apply to them, ask questions and obtain answers, and prepare for meetings. Advisors can support persons accused of violating the Sexual Harassment Policy.
To obtain an Advisor who is trained by the Office for Equity, let the Office for Equity know that you want one, or consult the list below and contact a trained Advisor on your own.
In addition to serving as an Advisor, the Sexual Harassment Policy also requires that Equity use trained CWRU employees to serve in other roles, including:
- Hearing Panel - people who review the Equity Investigation Report and listed to the parties and witnesses at a hearing, and decide whether the Sexual Harassment Policy has been violated.
- Hearing Panel Chair - the person who runs the hearing, asks questions of the people impacted by the sexual harassment or sexual violence, or the witnesses, and makes decisions about what questions are appropriate and what are not.
- Appeal Panel and Appeal Panel Chair - After a hearing, or at other points in the process, a matter under the Sexual Harassment Policy might be completed. Persons who are impacted by the sexual harassment or sexual violence may appeal those decisions, and the outcome of those appeals is decided by the Appeal Panel.
- Informal Resolution Facilitators - Often, after the Equity Investigation Report is issued, the persons impacted by the sexual harassment or sexual violence may want to explore resolving the situation. Equity trains facilitators to support the goal of reaching an agreement to resolve a matter.
- Investigators - People who investigate allegations of sexual harassment or sexual violence that may violate the Sexual Harassment Policy.
If you are a CWRU employee who is interested in serving in any of these roles, please contact the Title IX Coordinator. Training is held annually or when needed.
Pool Member Training
The Pool members receive annual training. This training includes, but is not limited to:
- The scope of the University’s Discrimination and Harassment Policy and Procedures
- How to conduct investigations and hearings that protect the safety of Complainants and Respondents, and promote accountability
- Implicit bias
- Disparate treatment and impact
- Reporting, confidentiality, and privacy requirements
- Applicable laws, regulations, and federal regulatory guidance
- How to implement appropriate and situation-specific remedies
- How to investigate in a thorough, reliable, and impartial manner
- How to uphold fairness, equity, and due process
- How to weigh evidence
- How to conduct questioning
- How to assess credibility
- Impartiality and objectivity
- How to render findings and generate clear, concise, evidence-based rationales
- The definitions of all offenses
- How to apply definitions used by the recipient with respect to consent (or the absence or negation of consent) consistently, impartially, and in accordance with policy
- How to conduct an investigation and grievance process including hearings, appeals, and informal resolution processes
- How to serve impartially by avoiding prejudgment of the facts at issue, conflicts of interest, and bias
- Any technology to be used at a live hearing
- Issues of relevance of questions and evidence
- Issues of relevance to create an investigation report that fairly summarizes relevant evidence
- How to determine appropriate sanctions in reference to all forms of harassment, discrimination, and/or retaliation allegations
Current Advisors and persons trained to perform other roles
Below is a list of CWRU employees who have been trained to serve as, among other things, Advisors. To obtain an Advisor, you may (1) contact the Office for Equity, which will reach out to trained Advisors and find one who is available to assist you; or (2) contact an Advisor directly to discuss your situation and assist you.
- Rebecca Benard- rbb53@case.edu
- Carlier Myers- cxc70@case.edu
- Jean Seneff- jean@case.edu
- George O'Connell- geo9@case.edu
- Neda Farroqui- nxf80@case.edu
- Kelly Marcus- krm78@case.edu
- Karen Abbott- kca27@case.edu
- Dawn Ellis- dxe92@case.edu
- Sharan Mehta- sharan@case.edu
- Emily Szymanski- exs568@case.edu
- Megan Carney- mmc186@case.edu
- Janée Kelly- jmk222@case.edu
- Elizabeth Miller- exm295@case.edu
- Jennifer Simonetti- jls421@case.edu
- Danny Manor- dxm178@case.edu
- James SIlay- jws149@case.edu
- Geoff Zevnick- gaz12@case.edu
- Ganapati Mahabaleshwar- ghm4@case.edu
- Jenn Brown- jmb113@case.edu
- Michelle McCain - mrm292@case.edu
- LynMarie Hamel - lxh5@case.edu
- Felicia Moss - fxm161@case.edu
- Mailey Lorio - mtl76@case.edu
- Devin Fabian - dxf258@case.edu
- Wendy Mather - wxm184@case.edu
- Rhonda Moore - rlm46@case.edu
- Mary Erdmas -
- Nate Kruse - nbk17@case.edu
- Pegah Zardost - pxz96@case.edu
- Maureen McEnery - mwmcenery@gmail.com
- Kristin Williams - kaw14@case.edu
- Virnette House-Browning - vxh95@case.edu
- Sunniva Collins - skr@case.edu
- Autumn Beechler Stebing - autumn.beechlerstebing@case.edu
- Jasmine Pace - jxp799@case.edu
- Kristi Lehmer- kxl488@case.edu
- Eric Siler - exs551@case.edu
- Melissa Van - mxv128@case.edu
- Kimberly McFarlin -
- Karen Farrell - klc3@case.edu
- Ana Merdita - axm791@case.edu
- Dorothy Oluonye - duo1@case.edu
- Elizabeth Southworth - eas81@case.edu
Trained student advisor and panel members:
- Srilakshiya Sudhakar - sls313@
- Henry Channell - hbc22@case.edu
- Abigail Blinka - acb193@case.edu
- Nichole Cobb - nmj@case.edu
- Abby Krupa - aek134@case.edu
- Allison Curry - aec178@case.edu
- Gabi Hale - geh76@case.edu
- Amelia DuCharm - ard164@case.edu
- Allison Girzadas - amg384@case.edu
- Zachary Clapp - zxc358@case.edu
- Rebecca Hollimon - rlh169@case.edu
- Mira Schwarz - mss324@case.edu
- Alanah Jackson - acj194@case.edu
- Maryssa Shanteau-Jackson - mxs1573@case.edu
- Anna Lauricella - avl26@case.edu
- Xi Chen - xxc683@case.edu
- Lauren Bohatka - lxb360@case.edu
Hearing Facilitators
- Rachel Hambrick- rsh58@case.edu