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About the OMPS

The OMPS staff has significant experience working with students from diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds. With three professionals and an administrative support team that includes interns, OMPS is committed to student accessibility. Both drop-in and pre-scheduled appointments are available for personal assistance with a variety of human relations concerns. Focused on student academic success, OMPS was established in 1979 to serve African-American students at Emory. In 1988 Minority Student Programs was reorganized to meet the growing needs of all students of color on campus. In 1990 the offical name of the office was changed to the Office of Multicultural Programs and Services in order to better reflect the population it serves.

 

The Staff

Donna Wong, Assistant Dean for Campus Life & Director

Marc Cordon, Associate Director

Prudence Goss, Program Coordinator

Patricia Taylor, Administrative Assistant

DeLa Sweeney, Program Development Specialist

Ken Hornbeck, Director of the Issues Troupe

Stephen Deaderick, Student Intern

Joshua Talton, Student Intern

Kristin Young, Student Intern

 

Donna Wong

Donna Wong, Assistant Dean for Campus Life is the Director of the Office of Multicultural Programs and Services.  Prior to coming to Emory, she served as an instructor in Ethnic Studies on Asian American experiences; an instructor in young adult migrant education; and as the first Outreach Coordinator for the Student Support Services/Trio Program, Educational Opportunities Program at the University of Oregon.  She also taught English and held positions at Tunghai University in Taiwan, at the University of California at Berkeley, and at the University of California at Los Angeles.

 

She has published, conducted workshops, and made numerous presentations on a wide variety of topics in the area of multicultural student affairs, mentoring minority students, and access issues from secondary schools to higher education.  She is the co-author of Making a Difference:  University Students of Color Speak Out. (June 2002, Lanham: MD, Rowman & Littlefield), co-author of “Today’s Latino Students:  Identity, Dreams and Struggles,” Nosotros:  The Hispanic People of Oregon, Essays and Recollections (Oregon Council for the Humanities, 1995), and author of an essay in Chinese Laundries: Tickets to Survival on Gold Mountain (Yin and Yang Press, 2007).

 

Dean Wong received her B.A. in fine arts at University of California at Los Angeles, a second B.A. in English Education, an M.A. in Curriculum and Instructional Leadership and teaching credential in Secondary Education, and pursued doctoral studies in Higher Education Policy and Management at the University of Oregon.  She received the Emory Award of Distinction in 2005 and recently represented Emory at the HERS Management Institute at Wellesley College in 2006.  She served as Chair of President’s Commission on Race and Ethnicity (PCORE) in 2005-06.  Her diversity work includes presentations at the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity, training in the National Coalition Building Institute, and a certificate in Conflict Resolution and Mediation in Georgia. 

 

Cultural Background:  Second-generation Chinese American; born and raised in Los Angeles, CA. Speaks Cantonese and Mandarin.

 

Email: Donna.Wong@learnlink.emory.edu

 

Marc Cordon

Marc Cordon is the Associate Director of the Office of Multicultural Programs and Services and a doctoral student in the University of Georgia’s Student Affairs Administration Program.  His chief responsibilities include coordinating programs such as Unity Month and the Freshman Crossroads Retreat, facilitating leadership and diversity training for students and staff, and advising student leaders and organizations.  

 

Since 1996, he has conducted a variety of workshops, given keynote addresses, and presentations with a focus on leadership, student activism, and identity development around the country.  Additionally, he has coordinated several national and regional conferences for Asian American youth. 

Marc received his BS in Nueroscience and Behavioral Biology in 1999 and MPH in Policy and Management in 2000 from Emory University.  As a student, he founded Emory’s Filipino Student Association, formed the leadership committee for the Students in Alliance for Asian American Concerns, chaired the Atlantic Coast Asian American Student Union Conference, and helped coordinate New Student Orientation as a student captain.

 

Marc recently received the 2007 Advisor of the Year Award from the Center for Student Leadership and Engagement.  Additionally, he is a member Emory’s Campus Life assessment team, the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity’s Asian and Pacific Islander Committee, and the National Association of Asian American Professional’s Committee on Student Relations.  His diversity work includes presentations and workshops for organizations such as the Association for Asian American Studies National Conference, the Organization of Chinese Americans, the Filipino Intercollegiate networking Dialogue, and the East Coast Asian American Student Union, training in the National Coalition Building Institute, and a certificate in Conflict Resolution and Mediation in Georgia. 

 

Cultural Background:  Second-generation Filipino American; raised in Tampa, FL.

 

Email: mcordon@learnlink.emory.edu

 

Prudence Goss

Educational Background:
B.A. Child Development- Spelman College Atlanta, Georgia
M.A. Higher and Postsecondary Education- Columbia University/Teachers College New York, New York

 

It is with immense delight that I am serving as the Program Coordinator of the Office of Multicultural Programs and Services. I approach this role with the ambition of bringing the members of the community together with diverse thoughts and backgrounds in an effort to encourage learning, critical thinking, and cultural harmony. With this approach, I anticipate serving the Emory community by advising multicultural organizations, counseling students, offering guidance to students participating in the MORE Program, and facilitating the various multicultural programs and events offered by our office.

 

My areas of scholarly interest include college access and campus climate for underrepresented students, higher education policy, exploring the influence of Brown v. Board of Education on minority students' access to higher education, and student identity development. My educational philosophy centers on building relationships with students that encourage their self-understanding as well as their social, emotional, academic and personal development. I desire to create a safe place where all students can ask questions openly and sort through the joys and challenges of being a young adult.

 

Please come by the office at any time and introduce yourself to me. I am looking forward to a remarkable experience and I openly welcome everyone's participation in our programs and services.

 

Email: pgoss@learnlink.emory.edu

 

Pat Taylor

I am the Administrative Assistant for the Office of Multicultural Programs & Services. I have been employed by Emory University for five years. I am responsible for scheduling appointments for the professional staff. In addition, I handle concerns which relate to the Mentoring for Excellence Program. I also assist with event planning for Unity Month and African American Heritage Month celebration and publicity for these major celebrations which are coordinated out of our office. I am one of the first lines of contact for our various activities.

 

Email: pytaylo@emory.edu

 

Mitchell DeLa Sweeney

Educational background:
B.A. from Emory University: Dance & Movement Studies and Religion Majors; Sociology Minor

 

I am the Program Development Specialist for OMPS. I am very excited to have this position at my alma mater in such a wonderful office. With Emory's rich cultural offerings added to my own cultural past, I am very passionate about the exchanging of differences between individuals. I can be found in the office and around campus developing and promoting various programs and events. I am currently pursuing a Masters of Science in Counseling. Additionally, I teach dance classes in a local studio.

Please come by the office and I could very well be person waiting to welcome you.

~PL@H~

 

Email: dela.sweeney@emory.edu

 

Ken Hornbeck

Ken Hornbeck moved to the Atlanta area from New York City in January of 1997. He served as Artistic Director of Mount Sinai Medical Center’s STAR Theatre (now NiteStar) from 1989-1997, and was Founder and Executive Artistic Director of the EN-ACTE Program at Emory University from 1997 - 2001. Both of these programs created original theatre for teens around topics including HIV/AIDS and early pregnancy prevention, diversity, decision-making and abuse, among others.
He has worked professionally as an actor, director, playwright, designer and visual artist in Dallas and New York City as well as in Atlanta. He has performed locally in “Big Love” for Out of Hand Theater, as Buzz in “Love, Valour, Compassion” for Onstage Atlanta, at Art Station, at Stone Mountain Park, and in festivals for both SavageTree Arts and the Center for Puppetry Arts.

 

Ken recently completed co-writing a theater-in-education Manual which has been published in three languages by the United Nations Population Fund, where he is a member of the International Peer Training Team. He has provided training for UNFPA in Estonia, Macedonia, Istanbul and Morocco, and provided additional training in Sarajevo, Belgrade and New York.

 

As director of Emory University’s Issues Troupe, Ken has been pleased to direct five original short plays dealing with diversity for fall orientation 2003 thru 2007, as well as four original works--"War Daddy,” “Shrapnel,”  “Heliocentricity” and “What’s the Difference?” --presented for Emory’s Charter Celebration.

 

In addition to “God is a Biker Chick,” he recently directed “Paint!” by Robin Seidman and Spencer Stephens. Other Atlanta directing credits include “Tis the Seasons” by Evan Guilford-Blake, “Alana” by Jeffrey L. Graham, and “365 Plays” for the Transforming Community Project/365 Plays Project.

 

Email: kdh1956@bellsouth.net