We would like everyone on campus and in the community to feel welcome during their visit to the UMKC Women's Center. Our friendly staff is always willing to assist with inquiries whether it be discussing programs, finding resources or just getting on-campus directions. Our office is open Monday through Friday, 8:00 am - 5:00 pm. Click here for contact and location information.
Brenda Bethman, Ph.D., DirectorPhone: 816.235.1643
Email: bethmanb@umkc.edu
Brenda has been at the UMKC Women’s Center since January 2007. She also holds appointments as Acting Director of the Women’s & Gender Studies Program, and as Affiliated Faculty in German in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures. Before coming to UMKC, she was founding Program Coordinator of the Women’s Center and then Director of the Women’s & Gender Equity Resource Center at Texas A&M University. She is a past chair of the National Women’s Studies Association (NWSA) Women’s Centers Committee, as well as past Secretary for NWSA. Brenda was a member of the committee that revised the CAS Standards for Women Student Programs and Services. Recently, she was appointed to the MLA's Committee on Academic Freedom and Professional Rights and Responsibilities.
Brenda is a co-founder of and blogger at Student Affairs Women Talk Tech, a group blog that serves as a forum for women in student affairs with an interest in technology. She has presented and published on social media, assessment, women’s leadership, women’s literature, Elfriede Jelinek, Marlene Streeruwitz, Ingeborg Bachmann, and feminism in a variety of venues. She holds a B.A. in German Literature from Dickinson College, an M.A. in German Literature from Temple University, and a Ph.D. in Modern German Studies and a Graduate Certificate in Advanced Feminist Studies from UMass Amherst. Her book, “Obscene Fantasies”: Generic Perversions in Elfriede Jelinek, examines Elfriede Jelinek’s investigation of Austria’s and Western Europe’s “obscene fantasies” through her “perversion” of generic forms in three of her best-known texts, women as lovers, The Piano Teacher, and Lust and was published by Peter Lang in 2011.
Arzie Umali, Assistant DirectorPhone: 816.235.5577
Email: umalia@umkc.edu
Arzie joined the UMKC Women’s Center in August 2009. Prior to joining the Women’s Center staff, Arzie worked as the Student Services Coordinator for the UMKC Office of Multicultural Student Affairs and Program Coordinator for the UMKC African American History & Culture House. With several years in higher education, Arzie has extensive experience in program development for multicultural student populations and in the recruitment and retention of underrepresented and first-generation college students. An advocate for women’s issues and social justice, Arzie served on the Chancellor’s Advisory Board to the Women’s Center for two years and has been an active volunteer for the local affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union for more than a decade. In 2007, the ACLU of Kansas & Western Missouri awarded Arzie with the Volunteer of the Year Award. Arzie holds a B.F.A. in Painting from the University of Kansas and an M.P.A. in Organizational Behavior from the UMKC Bloch School of Management. She is an active member of the Kansas City arts community exhibiting her artwork, judging various art scholarship competitions, and contributing to panel discussions regarding women in the arts. Arzie is also the proud mother of two children, Max and Mimi.
Michelle Kroner, Victim Services Adjudication AdvisorPhone: 816.235.1652
Email: kronermm@umkc.edu
Michelle assumed the duties of Victim Services Adjudication Advisor in April 2008. Before coming to UMKC, Michelle worked as Victim's Rights Advocate for the Lincoln County Prosecuting Attorney's Office in Missouri. She was also a board member for the Lincoln County Family Violence Council, as well as the Chairperson for the local Sexual Assault Response Team.
She has devoted her entire professional career to empowering the lives of women and is very excited to be working at the Women's Center.
Kelly Rifenbark, Violence Prevention CoordinatorPhone: 816.235.6175
Email: rifenbarkk@umkc.edu
Kelly became the Violence Prevention Coordinator in July 2012. Prior to joining the Women’s Center staff, she interned as a counselor at SAFEHOME, a domestic violence shelter in Johnson County, KS and worked in orientation at a school in Virginia. This role combines two of her passions, working with college students and advocating for healthy, positive interpersonal relationships. She holds a B.S.W. from the University of Kansas, a M.A. in College Student Personnel from Bowling Green State University, and a M.S.W. from UMKC. Kelly looks forward to working with members of the UMKC and Kansas City communities to prevent interpersonal violence and sexual assault.
The phone number for all student staff is 816.235.1638
Andrea L. Fowler, Graduate Assistant for Programming
Andrea joined the Women’s Center staff in 2012 as the Graduate Assistant of Programming. Andrea is in her second year at UMKC, working on a Master’s in Musicology at the Conservatory of Music and Dance. She also holds a Master of Arts in Vocal Performance from Truman State University and a Bachelor of Science in Music Education from Missouri Western State University. Discovering the work of American women composers is one of Andrea’s primary areas of interest within musicology. Andrea is excited to join the staff at the Women’s Center, and is looking forward to helping increase awareness of women’s issues and use this position to set a strong example for her daughter, Aislinn.
Morgan Elyse Christensen, Her Art Project Student Assistant
Morgan Elyse is a junior in the Film and Media Arts Program at UMKC and anticipates graduating with her degree in Communications by December of 2013. Upon graduation, she would love to work in the television industry or for a large film festival while writing and directing films of her own on the side. Morgan is currently the director of the Paris of the Plains Student Film Festival to debut in June of 2013. Born and raised in Kansas City and always having had a passion for the arts, she is thrilled to be working with the Women’s Center to help promote other female artists in the KC and surrounding areas through the Her Art Project. She is also honored to have the chance to assist with the life-education of other women on campus as they become healthy, strong, and positive forces of the community.
Jasmin D. Smith, Office/Events Student Assistant
Jasmin Smith is a senior at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and will graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with an emphasis on Family Studies in the Spring of 2014. She is originally from the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois and left her hometown to attend UMKC on a scholarship. The responsibilities of being a single parent to her daughter Jordyn are a huge motivation for Jasmin. Jasmin enjoys being engaged in various positions and activities on the UMKC campus. She currently works as a community health research assistant in the Psychology department and is Secretary of Psi Chi, the International Honor's Society of Psychology. Jasmin is known for her perky demeanor and looks forward to the new experiences she will have in her position at the Women's Center where she hopes to make a positive impact on the student body at UMKC.
Looking for a way to get involved at the Women's Center? Start here!
Blog For Us!
Volunteer at the Women's Center!
