LaVar J. Charleston, Ph.D., is the deputy vice chancellor for diversity & inclusion at UW–Madison. He serves as vice provost and chief diversity officer for the university as well as the Elzie Higginbottom director of the Division of Diversity, Equity & Educational Achievement (DDEEA).

Dr. Charleston provides overall leadership for the university’s efforts to create a diverse, equitable and inclusive learning and working environment for all students, faculty, staff, alumni and others who work with the university. Along with the staff of the DDEEA, he partners with leadership in the university’s schools, colleges and divisions, as well as shared governance groups, to create policies that promote equity and social justice while fostering a sense of belonging for all members of the UW community. Dr. Charleston oversees the administration of scholarship and service programs designed to increase diversity and foster equity and inclusion for students, faculty and staff at the university. A first-generation college graduate and Badger alumnus from Detroit, Dr. Charleston earned his master’s and doctoral degrees from the UW–Madison School of Education in 2007 and 2010.

Rabbi Andrea Steinberger has been serving as a rabbi at the Hillel Foundation at the University of Wisconsin-Madison since 1999. In an ever-changing world, her deep spirituality, thoughtfulness, and compassion have created a welcoming sense of community and home for Jewish students on campus. She is a teacher, a learner, a questioner, and a spiritual seeker. At UW Hillel, Rabbi Steinberger provides opportunities for students to explore spiritual practices, experience Jewish learning, ask difficult questions, and come together for Shabbat and holidays. She helps students create and expand their Jewish lives and practices during their college years at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Rabbi Andrea received her ordination from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 1997 and her BA from Northwestern. In March 2022, she received an honorary Doctor of Divinity from HUC-JIR for serving 25 years as a rabbi in the Reform Movement.

Reverend Erica Liu has served as the Pastor and Director of Campus Ministry at Pres House since 2004. She is a second-generation Taiwanese-American who grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area of California. She lives in Madison with her partner, Mark, and together they have two daughters. Erica has a B.A. in Mass Communications from UC Berkeley, a Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary, and is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church, U.S.A. Some of her favorite spiritual disciplines include practicing the martial art taekwondo and Sabbath.