About Us

Belinda Guthrie returned to Vassar College in 2021 as the Assistant Vice President for Institutional Equity and the College’s Title IX Coordinator. She brings a wealth of experience, having previously served in various leadership roles at Vassar from 1996 to 2012, including Associate Dean of the College and founding director of the Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action in 2003 (now the Office for Institutional Equity), as well as the Office for Accessibility and Educational Opportunity in 1996. After leaving Vassar, Belinda joined Santa Clara University to establish their first Office of Equal Opportunity and Title IX.

Belinda has been a dedicated advocate for Title IX and disability for over twenty-five years. Serving on the ATIXA Advisory Board and as a consultant, she has worked with private and public colleges and universities, as well as K-12 institutions, as a Title IX investigator and external hearing officer. She has trained thousands of practitioners on Title IX compliance and ADA/504 issues. Outside of her professional work, Belinda enjoys spending time outdoors, riding motorcycles, hiking, and traveling. She is originally from Wyoming and holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Wyoming and a Master of Education degree from New York University.

Jeffrey Schneider has worked at Vassar College since 1997. Though he was officially appointed to the Faculty Director role in this office in 2023, beginning in 2009, he served multiple times in this role in an acting capacity. He was drawn to the position by his passion for social justice, his long-standing intellectual interest in the design and implementation of fair policies, and the satisfaction he finds in helping others. In addition to his work in this office, he is also a Professor of German Studies and teaches all levels of the curriculum. He is also an active member in several multidisciplinary programs, including Women, Feminist, and Queer Studies and the Global Nineteenth Century Studies. His research interests include foreign language pedagogy, drama, queer studies, masculinity studies, and late nineteenth-century German literature and culture. His book Uniform Fantasies: Soldiers, Sex and Queer Emancipation in Imperial Germany was published in 2023 by University of Toronto Press. In the meantime, he has begun working on a study of Asian Boys Love television, a recent feminist and queer pop cultural phenomenon with a global reach. Outside of Vassar, he has been actively engaged in the local community as a co-founder and member of the End the New Jim Crow Action Network (ENJAN), a local group working to end mass incarceration and racism in the criminal legal system.

Lynn is a professor in the Biology Department and serves as the Associate Faculty Director for Institutional Equity. She started working at Vassar in 2005, teaching in the ENST program as a visiting professor. Lynn joined the Biology Department full-time as an Assistant Professor in 2010 and is now a full professor at the college. She teaches ecology and ecosystems classes in the biology department and environmental science in the ENST program. One of the best parts of her job as a professor is working with students in both the lab and field, conducting research that advances our understanding of the environment. Her role as Associate Faculty Director for Institutional Equity is new, as she joined the team in January 2025. For the past two years, she has served as an Equity Advisor, assisting departments with the hiring of new faculty. Finding new faculty members who bring creativity and fresh perspectives to our campus has been an important contribution. Similarly, helping our community navigate our core standards of behaviour is super important to Lynn. Hearing how we treat one another and responding to concerns allows this office to promote practices that can overcome these challenges. Sometimes we treat each other poorly; her goal in the Title IX office is to work with all community members and to remember that kindness, empathy, and consideration of our actions can ultimately strengthen our community.

Olani (Loni) Maher has worked at Vassar since 2018 as the Office Specialist for the Office for Institutional Equity (previously EOAA/Title IX), supporting the office’s operations, the work of the Administrators in the office, and all initiatives with the College community, student employees, and the Student Advisory Committee.

Before Olani’s employment at Vassar, she had no prior history in higher education, Title IX, or Title VI. However, she has found a great sense of community, belonging, and a continual drive to achieve in the ever-changing atmosphere of higher education. There are no two days alike, and the sense of fulfillment gained in this work, where we work as a team, commit as a team, strive as a team, and aspire as a team for the betterment of a community, is second to none. Outside of her work, Olani enjoys every opportunity for a day spent at the beach, classical architecture, attempts at cooking a new or favorite ethnic dish for her family, long scenic drives in the Hudson Valley, a good Ready Coffee (don’t sleep on it), a good book and loving on my newly adopted Frenchie.