Amani Alqaisi :2022 Summer Intern
Amani Alqaisi is a rising fourth year at Grinnell College majoring in Computer Science. Amani was recently selected as a Fellow in Girls Who Code‘s 2024 Fall Leadership Academy. She is currently working as an extern at Beats By Dre. Next fall, Amani will begin a two year off campus study at Washington University in St. Louis.
Tarrita Avant-Spicer: Co-treasurer
Tarrita Avant-Spicer is a Des Moines native and entrepreneur. Tarrita’s brands include Shy Intimate Apparel , a lingerie and shape-ware line, and a t-shirt and athleisure line, Just Living
Tarrita served on the board of the Martin Luther King Jr Scholarship fund in Des Moines, Iowa for many years. She is a founding board member of Sistars Girl Talk, a monthly meditation group where Black women can find sisterhood, friendship, and support. Tarrita has been instrumental in #sistasoulfest , Iowa’s largest event featuring Black women owned businesses. In her free time, Tarrita enjoys travelling and spending time with her three children.
Leslie Bleichner: Secretary
Leslie Bleichner (she/her/hers) was previously the Assistant Chief Diversity Officer: Community Training, Education, and Belonging at Grinnell College. She is charged with implementing intercultural programming and providing educational training to the campus with a focus on improving the lived experiences of community members who hold identities that have been historically excluded and/or underrepresented. From her personal and professional experiences in leading diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, developing and facilitating DEI educational offerings, Leslie coordinates campus-wide, culturally informed programming in support of an inclusive community in which all feel a sense of belonging. Her work is grounded in two central tenets: putting people in positions to make powerful decisions about their future and ensuring that folks can be 100% their authentic selves 100% of the time. We look forward to seeing what Leslie does next!
Hayley Carson
Hayley Carson (she/they) graduated from Grinnell College in 2025 with degrees in Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies and Digital Studies. Her educational interests are shaped by the inequity she and her friends faced while pursuing K-12 schooling and applying to college. Hayley’s courses have focused on domestic and transnational critical race theory, accessibility in education, and queering various kinds of technology. She plans on applying her experience in creating diversity, equitable, and inclusive curriculum for Grinnell College and Drag Story Hour, as well as her technical skills developed in her concentration and position as a Digital Accessibility Leader to create digital resources for Iowa Black History Research Collective.
Haley is currently an Erasmus Mundus Scholar in Children’s Literature, Media, and Cultural Entrepreneurship.
Evelynn Coffie: Student Experience Advisor + 2022 Intern
Originally from New Orleans, Louisiana, Evelynn Coffie is a 2024 graduate of Grinnell College, completing a double major in English and Religious Studies.
She was a Grinnell Cops Off Campus organizer, and a Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellow at Grinnell College. Evelynn has been an active member of the college’s Black Student Union and was previously on the advisory board. She grew up in various churches in the South and has a passion for exploring spirituality and social justice through her writing. In her free time, Evelynn likes walking her dogs in the park, reading books, articles, prose pieces, and organizing her clothes. In 2022, Evelynn interned for the Iowa Black History Research Collective, gathering invaluable information on Black life in Central Iowa, with the Black church as a hub.
Juliana Gaddis
Juliana Gaddis (she/her) is a rising fourth-year student majoring Gender, Women’s and Sexuality Studies (GWSS) at Grinnell College. Hailing from Houston, Texas, Juliana was brought to Grinnell as a Questbridge National College Match Scholar. At Grinnell, she is one of the founders and organizers of the Black Girl Book Club and will be serving as co-spokesperson for the Black Student Union for her senior year. In Fall 2023, Juliana studied abroad in Ghana, where she deepened her understanding of the Black diaspora and its history. Outside of her academic pursuits, she enjoys visiting museums, critiquing films, exploring unique bookstores and walking her cat.
Dr. Simone Sorteberg: Vice President
Dr. Simone Sorteberg is a committed educator with a passion for social studies education. Dr. Sorteberg has taught K-12 in the Chicago Public School System, Des Moines Public Schools, and Saydel Schools in Iowa. Simone has held administrative positions in both Des Moines and Saydel. Dr. Sorteberg is currently a professor of education and a member of the Diversity Advisory Team at Grand View University in Des Moines, Iowa. In her free time, Simone enjoys spending time with family, as well as her canine fur-children, Mauricio and Jaques.
Arnold Woods III: Co-treasurer
Arnold Woods III was born in Cape Girardeau, MO and raised in Des Moines, IA. He’s a graduate of Hoover High School and received his Bachelors and Masters degrees from Iowa State University. Currently he works as the Director of Multicultural Student Success for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Iowa State, where his focus is improving graduation rates for students of color. He lives on the east side of Des Moines with his wife and two children, and is passionate about uplifting and supporting students with marginalized identities in education.
