The IDEA Newsletter!

The IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility) Newsletter is a monthly newsletter that is designed to curate the diversity, equity, and inclusion educational opportunities and initiatives that help to improve campus climate at Loyola.

To read past issues of the IDEA Newsletter, please visit:
https://www.loyola.edu/department/equity-inclusion/about/idea-newsletter

Updates from the
Office of Equity and Inclusion

IDEA Spotlights

In each newsletter, the Office of Equity and Inclusion highlights individuals within Loyola who are working to make our campus an inclusive and welcoming place for all people.

In this edition, we are spotlighting Will Sears, SGA Director of Diversity, Equity, and Justice; Caitlyn Shannon, Gradaute Student representative for the President's Council on Equity and Inclusion; Jae Whitlow, Associate Director of Residential Education; and Mary Beth Akre, Professor in the Department of Visual and Performing Arts.

Will Sears (He/Him) 

Will Sears is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Engineering, with concentrations in Mechanical and Material Engineering. He serves as a student intern at the Center for Community Service and Justice, where he holds the position of Office Manager. In this role, he supports the intern team and oversees most of the department's relations and communications with the student body.

In the Student Government Association, Will is the Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice on the Executive Board. He spearheads DEIJ initiatives within the SGA and collaborates with the Office of Equity and Inclusion and the Diversity Advisory Board to foster a more inclusive campus environment. Additionally, Will is the Vice President of the Baking Club. He assists the president in planning baking and pastry classes, decorating events, and making treats and desserts for collaborations with other organizations and groups on campus.

Last summer, Will completed a research fellowship under the guidance of a renowned engineering professor. Together, they conducted testing and proved new electrical engineering practices to be viable options. Their research has been submitted for publication.

Will's passion for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice work stems from his desire to create an inclusive environment where everyone feels seen and heard. He believes in a world where respect, dignity, and love are extended to all.

Caitlyn Shannon (She/Her)

Graduate Student representative for the President's Council on Equity and Inclusion

Caitlyn Shannon is currently pursuing her Master's degree in Clinical Professional Counseling. She works as a graduate assistant in the Disability and Accessibility Services (DAS) office, a role she began during her first semester at Loyola in the Fall of 2024. In the DAS office, Caitlyn is responsible for proctoring exams in the testing center, scanning, uploading, emailing, and delivering completed exams securely, ensuring the confidentiality of students, processing exam requests, ensuring that notes are uploaded for students who have a note taker as an accommodation, and answering any questions current or prospective students may have.

Additionally, Caitlyn serves as a teaching assistant for the Clinical Professional Counseling (CPC) Master Program. In this role, she provides feedback to the newest cohort of future therapists and helps them on their journey as they discover their therapeutic strengths and styles.

Beyond her academic roles, Caitlyn is the Marketing Chair for the CPC's Community Building Committee, where she helps create events for the CPC program and designs signage to foster a stronger community outside of the classroom. She also serves as the graduate student representative for the President's Council on Equity and Inclusion, acting as a voice for Loyola's graduate students and advocating for ways to make the campus more equitable.

Caitlyn has achieved notable accomplishments, including her role as a Counseling Intern at Pivot Point Counseling and maintaining a 4.0 GPA. Her passion for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice (DEIJ) work is driven by her future clients as well as her own lived experiences and identity factors. She is committed to supporting DEIJ initiatives because she believes that an effective counselor must stand up for clients with diverse backgrounds and identity factors.

Caitlyn recognizes that while significant work can be done inside the therapy room, true progress requires DEIJ initiatives to be present outside of the office. She is dedicated to ensuring that all her clients, regardless of identity factors, have a fulfilled, comfortable, successful, and happy life. 

Jae Whitlow (He/Him) 

Jae Whitlow is the Associate Director of Residential Education within the Office of Residence Life and Housing at Loyola University Maryland. With 10 years of experience in higher education, he has worked in student engagement/student activities and cultural center/inclusion/equity work.  

As the Associate Director of Residential Education, he cultivates opportunities in the residential community that promote a sense of belonging, leadership, and identity development and drive the culture of the residential experience at Loyola University Maryland. Joining the community in August 2024, he is excited to work within a mission-driven institution to create a transformative residential living experience.  

His passion for the work is rooted in his lived experience as a Black, Queer Transmasculine person and continuing to make a difference in the ways folks have made a difference for him. A quote he lives by is “It is our duty to fight for our freedom, it is our Duty to Win, we must love and support each other, we have nothing to lose but our chains”- Assata Shakur.  Actively on a healing and liberation journey, Jae strives to live unapologetically and authentically, even when the world is making it hard to do so. His 2025 motto is “a new day, a new opportunity to love and show up for yourself.” 

His career in higher education presented many rewarding and challenging experiences connected to the evolution and destruction of diversity, equity and inclusion work. 

In 2015, while working at Morehead State University, a regional university in the Appalachian Mountains, as the coordinator of multiculturalism and inclusion, the SCOTUS ruling for Marriage Equality was passed. While there was much to celebrate, he worked in a community where the county clerk, Kim Davis, was actively denying marriage licenses to same-sex/same-gender couples. Through strategic planning and advocacy work, he was able to change the institution's “nondiscrimination” statement to include gender identity and gender expression and revamped the university’s safe zone program.  

From 2016 to 2024, Jae served in various roles at Millersville University. During his tenure, he created the institution's first Intercultural Center for Student Engagement (ICSE) and served as the inaugural director. After a year of opening, the center was renamed to honor the life and legacy of Dr. Rita Smith Wade-El, a long-time, tenured faculty member and founder of the African American Studies Program at Millersville University. 

Originally from Louisville, Ky, Jae holds a BA in Journalism from the University of Kentucky and a Master’s of Science in Education- College Student Personnel from the University of Dayton.  

Mary Beth Akre (She/Her)

Professor in the Department of Visual and Performing Arts

Professor Mary Beth Akre, a dedicated faculty member in the Department of Visual and Performing Arts, has long sought to make her classroom—and the world—a more inclusive space. This semester, she shares the deeply personal and community-driven results of that mission through her sabbatical exhibition, We’re All Stories, on display in the Julio Fine Arts Gallery from February 21 to April 3.

This interactive multimedia exhibition emerged from a transformative period in Professor Akre’s journey as an artist and ally. Inspired by her Safe Zone training and her first experience attending the Trans Day of Remembrance in the fall of 2022, she found herself deeply moved by the pain and resilience of the LGBTQ+ community. These experiences made it clear that she needed to act—not just as an artist but as a storyteller and advocate.

The first component of the exhibition features eleven banners, each incorporating the colors of the Pride flag. These banners hold the voices and experiences of Loyola’s LGBTQ+ community and their allies. Over the past year, Akre facilitated a series of creative workshops where participants wrote, painted, and stamped personal stories onto fabric. With no strict guidelines, contributors were invited to share freely in whatever way felt right to them.

The second component of the exhibition—a series of ten life-sized memorial portraits—serves as a powerful tribute to transgender individuals who have lost their lives to violence or suicide in recent years.

Through We’re All Stories, Mary Beth Akre has created more than an exhibition—she has built a space for reflection, remembrance, and radical empathy. As visitors engage with the banners and portraits, they are invited not just to witness but to listen, learn, and ultimately, to love.

Professor Akre extends heartfelt gratitude to the many individuals who made We’re All Stories possible, from students and faculty to community members who offered their time, expertise, and encouragement. Their support, she says, made this project a true collaborative effort.

IDEA Resources

Events

If you would like to contribute relevant news items, events, professional development opportunities, or community updates and accomplishments, please send them to rlittle1@loyola.edu


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