Syracuse Sun

The Board of Trustees has announced the appointment of four new student representatives. These include undergraduate, graduate, and law students who have been actively involved in various student activities and are pursuing diverse career paths.

The undergraduate representatives are Luwam Ghebremicael ’25, a senior at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, and German Alejandro Nolivos ’26, a junior at both the College of Arts and Sciences and the Maxwell School. Ava Breitbeck ’22 represents graduate students; she is currently enrolled in the science teaching program at the College of Arts and Sciences. Brett S. VanBuren L’25 serves as the law student representative; he is a third-year law student at the College of Law.

These new appointees join current dean, faculty, and staff representatives who are in their second year of two-year appointments. The current members include Michael Speaks, Dean of the School of Architecture; Christine Ashby, Professor of Inclusive Special Education and Disability Studies; and Kathleen (Kati) Foley, Project Director in the College of Visual and Performing Arts.

Michael Speaks has been Dean since 2013. His prior roles include Dean at the University of Kentucky's College of Design from 2008-13. He has also taught at several prestigious institutions including Yale University and Harvard University. Speaks has published extensively on contemporary art, architecture, urban design, and scenario planning.

Christine Ashby focuses on inclusive education for people with disabilities through her role as director at the Center on Disability and Inclusion. Her research emphasizes communicative diversity among autistic students.

Kati Foley manages strategic projects for VPA while directing daily operations within her college office. Before joining VPA in 2007, she managed data analysis projects related to income studies for ten years at Maxwell School.

Luwam Ghebremicael brings experience from her involvement with various campus organizations such as president of African Student Union and peer educator roles within Community Standards.

German Alejandro Nolivos is noted for his leadership roles including President of Student Association along with internships that span organizations like Telemundo NBCUniversal.

Ava Breitbeck conducts research into public attitudes towards science while working as a teaching assistant in Physics Department alongside her duties as Graduate Intern in Office Admissions.

Brett S VanBuren combines his legal studies with practical experiences such as serving JAG intern positions both domestically & internationally besides being Business Editor Syracuse Journal International Law Commerce among other roles.