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Since Fall 2021, SUNY Brockport has partnered with the Steve Fund – the nation’s leading organization focused on supporting the mental health and emotional well-being of young people of color. As part of this work, a multi-disciplinary team of professionals from across campus engaged in a year long needs assessment, gathering information and stories to reflect the ongoing mental health needs of BIPOC.

The outcomes of this work included the development of an institutional mission:

To create a culture of care where students and members of the Brockport community feel safe and have a sense of belonging that “allows me to be me”.

In seeking to meet this vision, it is our goal to establish equitable environments, providing a sense of safety and knowledge of resources to optimize positive mental health, and to promote engagement.


Steve Fund Strategy 

As we continue to implement the goals of the Steve Fund work at SUNY Brockport, the committee has outlined a 5 part strategy:

  1. Gather stakeholder consensus
  2. Conduct assessment and identify standards
  3. Workforce development skills
  4. Sharing best-practice and project progress with the university community
  5. Establish a web-based resource hub for the management of evolving policies, programming, support, and institutional response.

Steve Fund Steering Committee

To ensure expertise from across the field was consulted for this project, the following individuals were identified to serve on the Steve Fund Steering Committee: 

Name Title
Donnie Cook, PhD Steve Fund Coach

Darlene Schmitt, MSEd, LMHC

Associate Director of the Counseling Center, Committee Chair

Claudette Brown-Smythe, PhD

Assistant Professor of Counselor Education

Mathew Hall, M.Ed.

Associate Director of Health Promotion and Prevention Education

Tausha Hill, MSEd

Senior Counselor, Educational Opportunity Program

Karen Podsiadly, MA

Director of Student Union, Leadership, and Activities

Lorraine Acker, PhD

Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs

Michelle Kuleszo, RN, MBA

Director of the Hazen Center for Integrated Care

Milo Obourn, PhD

Professor and Chair of Women and Gender Studies

Melis Kural, PhD

Coordinator; Office of Diversity and Inclusion

Will Walker, M.Ed.

Coordinator of the Joey Jackson Intercultural Center