Women’s Center Staff
Scheduling Meetings on Staff Calendars
Students are encouraged to schedule meetings and appointments with Women’s Center staff. Please email staff members directly or request a meeting through our shared email account(womenscenter@umbc.edu). We are able to offer in-person or virtual meetings.
Lauren Allen-Director
Lauren Allen, LMSW, M.Ed, RYT, is originally from the Washington, DC Metropolitan area. Lauren graduated from Bowie State University with a Bachelor of Science in Social Work. She earned a Master of Social Work and a certificate of Trauma Treatment and Practice in Social Work from Widener University. In 2018, she earned a Master of Education in Human Sexuality with an emphasis in Sex Therapy at Widener University. Lauren completed the Askable Adult certificate program through the Interdisciplinary Sexuality Research Collaborative. Through this program, she was educated on how to talk to young people about topics of sex and sexuality in a culturally and developmentally appropriate way. The topics of focus were but not limited to, intimacy, gender identity, sexuality, reproductive health, and sexualization. Also, Lauren is a 200-hour Registered Yoga Teacher. Lauren comes with over 11 years of experience in the social work field, and we are excited to have her here.
Zoe Brown-Program Coordinator
Zoe Brown (she/her) grew up in Southern California and Portland, Oregon. She moved to the Baltimore area for her undergraduate degree in Peace Studies at Goucher College. She is currently pursuing a master’s in UMBC’s School of Public Policy. Zoe is passionate about abolition work as well as food and housing justice. She co-runs a weekly mutual aid grocery distribution through Tubman House, a Baltimore City community organization founded by the late radical community organizer Eddie Conway. Zoe previously worked for the Choice Program in UMBC’s Shriver Center and has experience working in adult education. She deeply enjoys working with students.
Amelia Meman-Graduate Assistant
Amelia Meman (they/them and she/her), ’15, is a queer feminist educator and clinical psychology doctoral student at UMBC. In their role as Graduate Assistant in the Women’s Center, Amelia works with the team to create engaging programs and coordinate the department’s assessment plans. Amelia is a proud graduate of UMBC, where they received their B.A. in Gender, Women’s, + Sexuality Studies, and UMB’s School of Social Work, where they received their M.S.W. In their doctoral program, Amelia is a part of the Gender-Based Violence & Abuse Prevention lab led by Dr. Christopher Murphy. Before entering their doctoral program, Amelia had worked in the Women’s Center as Assistant Director for 6 years. Amelia lives in Baltimore with their partner, their chosen family, their dog Hero, and their cat Yoshimi. In their free time, Amelia dabbles in many hobbies, takes care of an increasing collection of plants, and follows pop culture too closely.
Student Staff
The Women’s Center is proud to hire undergraduate students in both for-credit internships and paid staff positions. Our student staff are at the heart of our work and have the opportunity to apply their learning in a challenging but highly supportive environment.
We offer internships in collaboration with several departments on campus, including the Honors College, Social Work, Gender, Women’s + Sexuality Studies, Interdisciplinary Studies, and Psychology. Interns must attend staff training and generally are hired in the late spring for the following full academic year.
The Women’s Center offers paid staff positions through the UMBC Federal Work Study program. If you meet the requirements for work study and wish to join the Women’s Center team, send us an email at womenscenter@umbc.edu. Please note, student staff must attend staff training and generally are hired in the late spring for the following academic year.
Current Student Staff Interns
Julia Garcia
Pronouns: she/her
Year: Senior
Program: Social Work major, Psychology minor
What do you like most about working at the Women’s Center?: I enjoy the abundance of opportunities to get to know members of the UMBC community and create a safe space for them to express themselves.
Ash or Nati Acuña
Pronouns: they/them
Year: Senior/Transfer student
Program: Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies major, Critical Sexuality Studies certificate
What do you like most about working at the Women’s Center?: I love the conversations about feminism and social justice the most in the Women’s Center. 🙂
Carrington Cline
Pronouns: she/her
Year: Senior
Program: Media and Communications and Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies double major, Honors College Certificate
What do you like most about working at the Women’s Center?: I really value the ability to cultivate a community with the discussion group I lead, Between Femmes! I also enjoy meeting new students every day! 😀
Tanzila Malik
Pronouns: she/her
Year: Junior
Program: Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies major, Political Science and Anthropology minors
What do you like most about working at the Women’s Center?: I love community building, and meeting people from all walks of life at the Women’s Center!
Maalini Srinivasan
Pronouns: she/her
Year: Sophomore
Program: Computer Science major, Political Science minor
What do you like most about working at the Women’s Center?: What I love most about working in the Women’s Center is leading my discussion group, Women and Gender Minorities in STEM!
Katlynn Seghetti
Pronouns: any pronouns
Year: Senior
Program: Psychology major, Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies and Critical Sexuality Studies minors
What do you like most about working at the Women’s Center?: I love how fufilling working with neurodiverse and trans/non-binary communities is through the Women’s Center!
Women’s Center Advisory Board
The Women’s Center Advisory Board is a collective of graduate students, classified staff, associate staff, and faculty with an interest in participating in the processes associated with developing and maintaining the UMBC Women’s Center.
Board members are appointed for a two-year term with the possibility of renewal. The Women’s Center seeks to serve a diverse population of women, gender minorities, as well as men interested in gender equity. As a result, a diverse board is sought to assure that varying needs and interests are represented. Recruitment takes place each spring semester and interested community members are encouraged to apply.
The Friends of the Women’s Center is an affiliate program of the board designed for UMBC faculty members. If you would like to serve as a Friend of the Women’s Center, please email us at womenscenter@umbc.edu.
Current Advisory Board Members:
Amanda Sharp, Academic Success Center
Allison French, Psychology
Amanda Sharp, Academic Success Center
Antoinette Newsome, McNair Scholars
Autumn Dietrich, Residential Life
Beatriz Gutiérrez-Malagón, Campus Life
Cynthia Wagner, Biological Sciences
Davina Orieukwu, Athletics (Track and Field)
Dinah Winnick, Office of Institutional Advancement
Jennifer Harrison, Faculty Development Center
Jessica Wyatt, Office of Institutional Advancement
Joanna Gadsby, Albin O. Kuhn Library
Kasey Venn, The Shriver Center
Kristen Anchor, Media and Communication Studies
Lindsay DiCuirci, English
Lucie Blauvelt, College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences
Lindsay DiCuirci, English
Marcela Mellinger, Social Work
Maria Celleri, Gender, Women’s, + Sexuality Studies
Maria Sanchez, College of Engineering and Information Technology
Melissa Lundberg, University Health Services
Mercedes Burns, Biological Sciences
Michael Stone, Honors College
Narges Ershad, Residential Life
Sharon Tran, English
Sunny Swift, Counseling Center
Vanessa Capuano, Philosophy
Vickie Williams, Education
Advisory Board Student Affiliates: Allison French, Meghan Mette