Vanessa Greene
Director of Multicultural Education

Vanessa Greene graduated from Grand Valley State University with a Bachelor in Science and Masters in Higher Education Administration. Her professional career has included six years in vocational rehabilitation; five years as an entrepreneur; and seven years in Continuing Education at Grand Valley State University. She began her position as Director of Multicultural Education at Hope College in October 2003. Due to her passion in serving others, Vanessa’s professional life intersects with her personal life and community service. She believes in the quote by Mathama Ghandi, “we must become the change we want to see in the world.” Whether at work, church or in the community, Vanessa is always actively promoting and fostering change for a better community; emphasizing education as the greatest vehicle towards change.

Vanessa is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. a private non-profit organization of over 200,000 members throughout the world, whose purpose is to support communities, both nationally and internationally in the areas of economic development; educational development; international awareness and involvement; physical and mental health; and political awareness and involvement. She was instrumental in chartering Tau Psi chapter at Hope College in April 2005.

In addition to her primary responsibilities in her current position of developing and providing educational programs and services to engender cross-cultural awareness and cultivating an environment that promotes inclusion, Vanessa is a mentor and advocate to students. She works diligently with students and student organizations, and serves on numerous boards and committees to promote academic excellence, spiritual growth, leadership development, and social justice.

During her tenure at Hope College, she has led numerous new initiatives, including extensive programming in honor of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Cesar Chavez, including, luncheons and programs with keynote speakers, marches, film reviews, diversity workshops, and dialogues. She works with faculty, administrators, student groups, and community leaders to create greater awareness and commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. She developed a Multicultural Leadership program and has sponsored highly successful leadership conferences and retreats for students. But she is most proud of the achievement of students, as this is the ultimate goal, which is essential to the future of our society.

Latoya Gates
Assitant Director of Multicultural Education

Latoya Gates joined the staff of the Office of Multicultural Education in May of 2007. Latoya is a graduate of Grand Valley State University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Secondary Education and a Master of Education in Adult and Higher Education with an emphasis on College Student Affairs Leadership. Her student services experiences include being an executive board member for the Minority Teacher Education Cohort, serving as student leader for King/Chávez/Parks-College Day, an instructor for the TRiO Upward Bound summer program, an academic adviser for the TRiO Educational Support Program, a graduate assistant for the Career Services Office, a volunteer ESL teacher for adult English language learners, and instructor for community education.

Through these experiences Latoya has adopted a commitment to increasing underrepresented student enrollment, retention, and achievement as well as working to improve intercultural awareness. Latoya serves as the Assistant Director and is an excellent addition to the Office of Multicultural Education.

Sara Frye
Office Coordinator of Multicultural Education

Sara Frye is the Office Coordinator for the Office of Multicultural Education. In addition to Sara's strong clerical and administrative skills, she is bilingual in Spanish and has a wealth of experience in cross-cultural environments. As part of her experience, Sara worked with the Open Arms Foundation Ministry to street children, serving in Medellin, Colombia, South America and in their U.S. office in West Virginia. She most recently served with Core City CCDA, a Holland social service agency which provided programming for individuals from different social, educational and ethnic backgrounds.

Sara's responsibilities consist of assisting in the operational and administrative needs of the office, event execution and providing oversight for the student assistants. Sara has a Bachelor's degree in Spanish from Albion College, a Master's degree in Christian Education, and Certificate in Counseling from Columbia International University in Columbia, SC. We are very pleased to have her as part of the Office of Multicultural Education staff.