UAS Faculty & Staff: Welcome, Mitzi Bolaños Anderson - October 2, 2023

Good Morning Everyone!

Please join me in welcoming our new Director of Equity and Compliance, Mitzi Bolaños Anderson! In her position, she will oversee Title IX, Equal Opportunity issues, the American Disabilities Act/Section 504 requirements, and Clery compliance.  Mitzi brings a great deal of relevant experience in civil rights work in Alaska and in the lower 48. Most recently, she served in the Des Moines Civil and Human Rights Commission where she provided leadership in their civil rights investigations and community engagement. She has also worked for the First Alaskans Institute in Anchorage.

Mitzi brings with her a broad and interesting educational background. She earned her law degree (Juris Doctor) from Florida International University (FIU) and a Master of Laws degree in Animal Law from the Lewis and Clark Law School. She also has a graduate certificate from FIU in Latin American and Caribbean Studies and a graduate certificate from Harvard University in Natural Resource Management and Sustainable Ecosystems. She has study-abroad experiences in Brazil, Argentina, and Costa Rica and is well-versed in Latin American Studies and International Law. 

Mitzi has already begun working virtually for UAS and is making her way to Juneau in the next couple of weeks. She will be here in-person in mid-October. We are so fortunate to have someone as experienced as Mitzi in this very important position! If you would like to do so, please feel free to welcome Mitzi at mbanderson10@alaska.edu! I know that she will appreciate getting to know our wonderful community even before she arrives in Juneau!

Finally, huge, huge thanks to the search committee members and to HR for helping us to hire such an excellent person for the position! A great big THANK YOU to Sara Childress, who has been serving as our Interim Director of Equity and Compliance on top of her responsibilities at UAA. We couldn't have gotten through these last few months without her and we thank her for helping transition Mitzi into the position. We are also thankful to Nathan Bodenstadt, Ryan Sand, and Bridget Ballou (who is at UAF) for all of their support as well. They have been amazing in keeping us going and we are so grateful for their help in transitioning Mitzi into her new role!

Cheers,

Dr. Aparna Palmer

Chancellor