Staff Directory

Dr. Cook previously served as an associate dean in UGA's Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. She is an affiliate faculty member in the Institute for African American Studies and the Institute for Women’s Studies. She is also a member of the Foot Soldiers Project faculty. Dr. Cook was the inaugural dean of the Franklin Residential College and she was a 2008 faculty-in-residence at the UGA Oxford program in Oxford, England. Dr. Cook is co-principal investigator for the Peach State Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation.

She holds a bachelor's degree in history from Princeton, a master's in African-American Studies from Yale and a doctorate in history from Duke.

Read more about Dr. Michelle Cook in Columns.

Randolph Carter rejoined the Office of Institutional Diversity in January 2022. Randolph has served in a number of capacities at UGA including leading the Auxiliary Services Human Resources team, serving as Office of Faculty Affair’s (OFA) Functional Lead on the OneSource Project (UGA’s Human Capital and Financial Management Infrastructure implementation), and HR Senior Managing Consultant at the Learning and Development Center (T&D).  His previous role in OID included serving as Coordinator for Faculty and Staff Development. In this role, he developed engagements and partnerships with over 75 units across all major divisions within the institution around diversity and inclusion, employee development and leadership development.

Prior to joining UGA, Randolph held leadership roles in a number of international development organizations and co-founded Fundamentalz, LLC, a small consulting firm that works with for-profit and nonprofit organizations. Randolph’s work spans over 20 years in regions such as Africa (East, West and South), the Middle East and North Africa, South East Asia, the Balkans and North America. This work has included thematic areas such as diversity and inclusion, conflict transformation, peace education, leadership development, staff and community capacity building, organizational development, strategic planning, trauma counseling and post-war reintegration. He has provided strategic assistance to organizations such as The United States Institute of Peace, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), United Nations Development Program (UNDP), UNICEF, the US Department of Labor, the Soros Foundation, Harvard University, Stockton University, The Lovett School and The Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities.

Randolph has served as Adjunct Faculty for American University’s Peacebuilding and Development Institute as well as Senior Advisor for Strategic Management and Capacity Building at the Center for Peacebuilding International, a Washington DC-based firm that provides strategic and programmatic support to International NGOs and local communities in several parts of the world.

Dr. Birkes joined the University of Georgia as the Alliance Director for the Peach State Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (Peach State LSAMP) in the Office of Institutional Diversity in August 2010.  The Peach State LSAMP program is funded by the National Science Foundation. As the Alliance Director, she manages and oversees the Alliance-wide activities for the program.  In addition she provides fiscal management of the program budget and ensures that all reporting requirements are met.

She holds a BS degree in Mechanical Engineering from Howard University, a MS degree in Mechanical Engineering, as well as a MS degree and Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Marques R. Dexter serves as the assistant director of student initiatives within the Office of Institutional Diversity. Under this role, Marques leads the office in the creation of programmatic and institutional efforts that focus on academic success, achievement, and engagement of students who hold identities within historically underrepresented and marginalized populations. Additionally, he serves as the Georgia African American Male Experience (GAAME) program's assistant director, a University System of Georgia African American Male Initiative funded program. Currently, Marques is a Sport Management & Policy doctoral candidate in the Department of Kinesiology within the Mary Frances Early College of Education. Hailing from Philadelphia, PA., Dexter received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a Sport Management concentration from Robert Morris University (PA), and a Masters of Science in Kinesiology, specializing in Sport Management & Policy from UGA.

Wendy Starnes joined the Office of Institutional Diversity in March 2022, as the Administrative Coordinator. She provides administrative leadership in the coordination of office programs, communications and processes, management of student workers, and the compilation of information for OID reports.

She holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology with a minor in Justice Studies from Georgia Southern University, as well as a Master of Education with a concentration in Educational Leadership - Higher Education Administration from Columbus State University.

Alejandra joined the Office of Institutional Diversity in 2021 as a Graduate Assistant for Diversity Education. She is originally from Ecuador, where she earned a B.A. in Clinical Psychology from Universidad San Francisco de Quito. She holds an M.S. in Third Generation Psychotherapies from Valencian International University and an MS.Ed in Mental Health Counseling from the University of Miami. Working bilingually with people of diverse ages, origins, and backgrounds in Ecuador and Miami has taught her the importance of human connection and social support. Alejandra has a commitment to diversity and social change; her approach with clients is to promote empowerment and use their multicultural and diversity factors as resources to develop strengths and skills.

Alejandra is currently enrolled in the Counseling Psychology Ph.D. program at the University of Georgia’s Mary Frances Early College of Education. Her research interests include intersectionality, multiculturalism, and Latinx mental health. Alejandra is part of ¡BIEN! Research Team and La Clinica In LaK'ech, which provides bilingual counseling services to the Latinx community in Athens.

A native of Savannah, Georgia, Carl Anthony Miller is an author, entrepreneur, and community leader. Carl Miller is a graduate of Savannah State University, where he received his B.A in English Language & Literature. He also holds a Master of Arts in Professional Communication & Leadership from Georgia Southern University. Currently, he is pursuing a Ph.D. in Learning, Leadership, & Organization Development with research interests including:

• Transformative Leadership
• Justice Oriented Education
• Leadership & Community Engagement
• Race & Leadership
• Black Male Leadership Development
• Organizational Development & Change (Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion)

As the Graduate Assistant (Coordinator) of Faculty and Staff Initiatives, Miller works closely with and report to the Associate Director of Faculty and Staff Initiatives, with key responsibilities in faculty and staff recruitment, engagement, and success.

Miller is an active member of the community, having served on several local boards, commissions, and authorities to include Savannah Cultural Affairs Commission, Savannah-Chatham Fair Housing Council, and the Boy Scouts of the Coastal Empire. He also served on the executive board of the Savannah NAACP and headed the Education Committee. The youngest to serve on the board and lead the organization, Carl Miller served as Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Ralph Mark Gilbert Civil Rights Museum. He also holds memberships to several social and civic organizations, including the Prince Hall Masonic Order, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., Rotary Club East, and the SSU National Alumni Association. He has completed Advocacy Training with the Congressional Black Caucus Institute and is a graduate of Leadership Savannah and the Georgia Academy of Economic Development.

In 2016, Carl Anthony Miller was named to Georgia Trend Magazine’s “40 under 40”. In addition, local CBS television affiliate, WTOC named Miller “Hometown Hero”. At the 2017 annual meeting of the United Way of the Coastal Empire, Miller was named “Volunteer of the Year in the Area of Arts & Culture”.  Carl was also recognized by the Georgia Secretary of State as Goodwill Ambassador and Outstanding Georgia Citizen.  In 2018, The Savannah Morning News’ BIS Magazine named Carl Anthony Miller a “Generation Next Rising Star in Business”. That same year, he received the “Citizen of the Year” award from the Mu Phi chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.

Carl Anthony Miller is a lifelong member of Mount Hermon Baptist Church in Savannah, Georgia, where he serves as Chairman of the Deacon Board and Chorister for the adult choir.

Jordan joined the Office of Institutional Diversity in 2022 as a Graduate Assistant for the Georgia Ready Summer Institute. She is a Georgia native where she  graduated from the University of Georgia in 2021 with a  Bachelor of Science in Biology and a Double Minor in Gerontology and Public Health. Her interest in Public Health and Gerontology was piqued after taking a service-learning trip centered around the topic of Ageism earlier in her undergraduate career. After talking with a few professors here at the University of Georgia, she decided to make the switch from Biology to Public Health in her last semester of undergrad. While researching graduate programs, she noticed the Dual MPH/MSW program here at UGA and was immediately intrigued.

While she had no background in Social Work, she always knew that it had a heavy emphasis on ethics, principles, and interpersonal relationships. Now having finished her first semester of Public Health courses and getting a glimpse of Social in Healthcare, she has gained so much knowledge and appreciation as to why pairing the field of Public Health with Social Work is so important and relevant to today’s rising professionals. There is a need for the Public Health and Social Work Disciplines to collaborate and create community health and equity in society.

Her view as an Interdisciplinary professional means that you are setting yourself apart from others within the disciplines. You are equipping yourself with the knowledge and skills of both disciplines to combine and implement them in your future practice as a professional in the field. There are many reasons why this dual degree is important in today’s world and why it has made such an impact on her.

Jordan is currently enrolled as a Dual MPH/MSW student in the Public Health and Social Work in the graduate school at the University of Georgia’s College of Public Health and School of Social Work. At the end of her program, it is her hope that she will be able to effectively apply principles from both disciplines to help further advancements in social work and healthcare for the older adult population.