Welcome to WCTF

The Women of Color Task Force

Who We Are

The Women of Color Task Force (WCTF) is a University of Michigan staff organization, founded in 1979, that provides professional development, networking, and training opportunities for employees, with a focus on addressing the needs of women of color staff. The WCTF serves as a support network and a forum for the exchange of information about the status of women of color staff at the University of Michigan.

History

In 1979, Jennie Partee of the U-M Affirmative Action Office and Beulah Sanders of the School of Education created the Minority Women’s Task Force, a staff organization that would provide career development opportunities for minority women employed at the university. With additional support from the University of Michigan Affirmative Action Office (HRAA), the Human Resource Development Office, the School of Education, and the University of Michigan Hospital Office of Organizational Effectiveness (Medical Center), Ms. Partee and Ms. Sanders developed a series of workshops designed to build professional skills that would empower and support African American women in their career advancement efforts at the University of Michigan.

The format consisted of small groups of women coming together to discuss employment concerns and career development opportunities within the University. Over the course of the next four years, the membership grew and focused on enhancing the workshop training modules. These efforts culminated in a day-long career development conference on February 25, 1983, that featured eleven professional development workshops and more than two hundred conference participants.

The Minority Women’s Task Force experienced a major shift in its recruitment focus in the mid-1980s as it actively targeted Latina, Asian, and Native American women for membership. During the 1985 summer retreat, the members voted to change the name of the organization to the Women of Color Task Force. The WCTF membership, which is comprised of staff from both the Ann Arbor and Flint campuses, has received support for the past twenty-one years from the University and the surrounding community and is currently an administrative unit of the Office of Diversity Equity and Inclusion (ODEI). Awards The Women of Color Task Force has been recognized for its outstanding work in support of and advocacy for women of color, receiving two university service awards in May 2009. WCTF also received the inaugural 2008 University of Michigan Distinguished Diversity Leaders Team Award from Senior Vice Provost Lester Monts and the 2009 VOICES of the Staff Champion Award from Chief Human Resources Officer Laurita Thomas. WCTF was recognized for its continuing commitment to provide career development opportunities for all university personnel: and to support the University its efforts in recruiting and retaining a highly skilled workforce. The group was most recently recognized by the Black Employee Association at the University of Michigan (BEAM) in 2022 for its service to U-M staff. In 2013, WCTF along with representatives from University Human Resources, the U-M Health System Human Resources Office, and VOICES of the Staff Career Development Team, collaborated to create the Career Development Passport Pilot, a 12-month staff development initiative. The project was implemented in March 2013 and ran until February 2014. This project received the 2014 CUPA-HR Midwest Successful Practices Award.

Leadership

Officers

Janice Reuben, Alumni Association (President)
Sandy Zalmout, ICPSR (Vice President)
Shante Galloway, School of Dentistry (Treasurer)
Doreen Tinajero, Center for Social Solutions (Secretary)

Executive Team Members

Zarinah Aquil, Office of the Provost
LaTonya Berryhill, Michigan Institute for Clinical and Health Research
Patricia Coleman-Burns, School of Nursing (WOCAP Liaison)
Chanda Doxie, College of Engineering Resource Planning & Management
Linda Hart, Radiology
Liese Hull, LSA Comprehensive Studies Program
Samantha Price, College of Engineering Robotics
Jessica Calderon, U-M Dearborn Human Resources
Doreen Tinajero, Center for Social Solutions
Katherine Weathers, LSA Scholarships
Robin Pankey, Program Coordinator

Membership

Are you interested in becoming a member of WCTF? Any University of Michigan (U-M) employee is eligible for membership in the Task Force if they are an active, regular staff member.

The Task Force encourages the participation of individuals from all University of Michigan departments and units who are interested in the professional development of women of color staff and supporting the career advancement of all U-M staff.

Please contact WCTF about membership via email at wctf-faqs@umich.edu or fill out the interest form and we will contact you.