Written By:

Katherine A. Friedrich, M.S., Associate Editor
Katherine A. Friedrich is a writer and editor for the Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning. She holds a graduate degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies. Her professional interests include journalism, qualitative research, and the connections between cultural diversity, science and the environment. Her background is in mechanical engineering, with an emphasis on sustainable design.

Sherrill L. Sellers, Ph.D., Diversity Team Co-Leader
Dr. Sherrill Sellers received her Ph.D. in Social Work and Sociology from the University of Michigan. She is now on the faculty of the School of Social Work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Professor Sellers teaches in the areas of social policy, macro practice, and health and well-being. She is actively involved in policy research and publishes on race/ethnicity, gender, social stratification and mental and physical health. Her most recent work considers race and gender differences in mental health.

Nilhan Gunasekera, Ph.D.
Dr. Nilhan Gunasekera is an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Rock County. He grew up in Sri Lanka and arrived in Wisconsin as a college freshman in 1994. He received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire.  He went on to get his Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis in 2003. He has won several grants to diversify the student body and the workforce in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Tabassum Saleem, B.S., Student Assistant
Tabassum Saleem was an undergraduate student majoring in Economics at the University of Wisconsin – Madison. She was a student hourly at the Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning. Her interests included exploring gender differences in investment behaviors, financial vulnerability of small business owners, and the implications of privatizing Social Security.

Judith N. Burstyn, Ph.D., Diversity Team Co-Leader and Diversity Institute Lead Scholar
Judith N. Burstyn is a Professor of Chemistry and Pharmacology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and former faculty director of the Women in Science and Engineering Residential Learning Community there. A long-time teacher of freshman chemistry, Judith was a leader in the redesign of the freshman chemistry curriculum and the chemistry major. Her research is in bioinorganic chemistry, studying the function of metal-containing proteins and metal-based compounds and materials in gas sensing.