Staff

Kimberly M. Goff-Crews, Secretary & Vice President for University Life

Kimberly Goff-Crews is secretary and vice president for university life at Yale. She is responsible for the university’s work to further diversity, equity, and inclusion in service of the university’s mission, and ensures the alignment of policies and procedures to maximize support for all students. She also oversees the university chaplaincy and the conduct of official university functions, including Commencement.  Read more

203.432.6602
203.432.7307 FAX
Heather Samson Calabrese, Assistant Vice President: university traditions, strategic communications and events

Heather Samson Calabrese joined the Office of the Secretary in October 2013. She oversees communications initiatives within the Office of the Secretary; major university events including Commencement; and the Gordon Grand Fellowship Lecture. Prior to joining Yale, Heather was an independent nonprofit consultant and the chief operating officer of United Way of Greater New Haven. She is active in Greater New Haven civic efforts and has served on several community boards, including New Haven Reads and The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven’s Fund for Women and Girls. She is a fellow in Ezra Stiles College.

203.432.2317
203.432.7891 FAX
Carolyn Claflin, Chief Resource Officer

Carolyn Claflin serves as Chief Resource Officer for two key divisions of the university – Alumni Affairs & Development and Secretary & University Life.  In this role, she provides senior leadership and guidance in budgeting and finance, human resources, operations, and strategic planning.  She currently also serves as a member of the university’s Emergency Operations Team and as health and safety leader for her two divisions.  Prior to her current position, she helped lead Yale Alumni Association as Deputy Executive Director.  Between 1984 and 2003, Claflin worked in the Yale University Library system, ultimately serving as Director of Library Development. She received a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Providence College and attended the Université de Fribourg.

Elizabeth Conklin, J.D. , Associate Vice President for Institutional Equity, Accessibility, and Belonging and University Title IX Coordinator

Elizabeth Conklin, J.D., joined Yale University in the inaugural role of associate vice president for Institutional Equity, Accessibility, and Belonging in September 2020. In this role, she works closely with other leaders across the university to support institutional equity and accessibility, and to guide strategy and initiatives that create a culture of belonging. Elizabeth oversees the Office of Institutional Equity and Accessibility (OIEA), Student Accessibility Services (SAS), the Title IX Office, Veteran and Military Affairs, Restorative Practices, and the Office of LGBTQ Resources. Elizabeth’s work focuses on ensuring appropriate response to incidents of discrimination and harassment as well as training for university community members on responding to discrimination and harassment and creating a culture that prevents such behaviors. Elizabeth became University Title IX Coordinator in January 2022, and in that role has campus-wide responsibility for all policies, processes, and programs that address and prevent discrimination on the basis of sex or gender, including sexual misconduct.

Prior to joining Yale, Elizabeth worked at UConn for ten years, including serving for nearly nine years as Associate Vice President for the Office of Institutional Equity, Title IX Coordinator and ADA Coordinator. Before her time in higher education administration, Elizabeth was an associate attorney with a midsize Hartford law firm practicing labor and employment law.

203.432.6670
Ryan Croteau, Assistant Director of University Events and Communications

Ryan Croteau is the assistant director of university events and communications. She joined the Office of the Secretary and Vice President for University Life in March 2017 as a program coordinator. In her role she produces major University events and ceremonies including Commencement, Baccalaureate, and Opening Assembly. She also leads various communications initiatives, including website development and strategy for Belonging at Yale. Ryan has been at the university since 2011, and previously served in various administrative and communications roles at the Office of the Vice President for West Campus and Human Resources.

203.436.4817
Nina Fattore , Associate Director for University Life

Nina Fattore joined the office in November 2022 as the associate director for university life. She is the governing administrator for Yale Connect, coordinates Yale’s voting initiatives, and works with Pilar Montalvo in supporting student life at the university level, particularly responses to student and campus crises. Nina is the second resource behind Pilar regarding the university’s protocol in event of a student’s death or serious injury.

Nina began her career at Yale in 2018 at the President’s House as an event coordinator. She also worked in the dean’s offices of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, the Law School, as well as the Office of the President. Her experience in a variety of offices gives her unique insight into the many perspectives at Yale.

She is a Branford local and enjoys traveling, fishing and Formula One.

Burgwell Howard, Senior Associate Dean of Yale College, Associate Vice President of Student Life

Dean Burgwell “Burgie” Howard joined the Yale College Deans Office in August 2015, and serves as the Dean of Student Engagement within Yale College and Associate Vice President of Student Life at the University.

Dean Howard has made a career supporting students at colleges and universities, including those at Bowdoin College, Colgate University, Santa Clara University, Dartmouth College and, most recently, Northwestern University where he served as Asst. Vice President and Dean of Students.

He is a graduate of Dartmouth College and Stanford University. He loves dogs, lacrosse, tennis, skiing and meeting, and helping students. He never ceases to be amazed at the creativity and capacity of students. He enjoys exploring and contributing to the Yale community.

203.432.2906
Julia Hsieh, Chief of Staff

Julia Hsieh joined the Office of the Secretary in February 2023. In this role, she supports Secretary Goff-Crews as a senior advisor and creates and implements strategic plans to advance the university’s goals and priorities. Julia partners closely with administrative, faculty, student, and alumni leaders as well as with colleagues from across Yale on various university-wide initiatives and projects, such as the emerging Cultivating Conversation effort under Belonging at Yale. Julia manages a portfolio of programs and prizes, including the Woodbridge Fellowship program, the Dwight H. Terry Lectureship series, and the Theron Rockwell Field and the John Addison Porter prize competitions.

Prior to her current role, Julia worked in Yale development for almost a decade, most recently as senior director for campaign and advancement strategy managing the For Humanity capital campaign at the Yale School of Management. She earned a M.Phil. and Ph.D. in Egyptology from Yale and has published academic works including a monograph on Letters to the Dead. In her past life as an academic, she taught beginning hieroglyphs, worked as a paleographic artist, and excavated various sites in Egypt. Julia is a fellow of Pierson College.

203.436.9498
Gena McGuire, Senior Executive Assistant

Gena McGuire joined the Office of the Secretary as Senior Administrative Assistant in February 2018.

In this role she supports the Secretary and Vice President for University Life while working on special projects as needed.  Before joining the Office of the Secretary Gena spent over a decade in New York City enjoying a successful career in hospitality management.

Gena is a professional musician and enjoys spending time with her husband, three sons, and dog.

203.432.6670
Pilar Montalvo, Assistant Vice President for University Life

Pilar joined the Office of the Secretary and Vice President for University Life 2021 after leadership roles in the Office of the President and the Yale School of the Environment. Collaborating with deans of students and other student-facing administrators, she facilitates student affairs at the university level. She identifies, tracks, and resolves issues of concern for a wide range of student and campus needs particularly in the nexus of student life, mental health, and public safety. Pilar leads the implementation of the university’s guidelines on freedom of expression and peaceable assembly. She also oversees Yale Votes, the university’s student civic engagement initiative.

Pilar began her Yale career in 2002 in what is now the Yale School of the Environment. As an assistant dean, she managed every aspect of academic administration and assisted the dean in the development and implementation of strategic initiatives and programs. As the school’s inaugural diversity coordinator, she created and coordinated a range of initiatives that enhanced community building and strengthened the learning environment. Pilar was recruited to the Office of the President in 2012 to assist the president on special projects. In 2013, she was appointed the director of administrative affairs to work with faculty and staff across the university on major initiatives and advance the president’s goals and priorities. As the public face of the Office of the President, Pilar was the point of contact for students, faculty, and staff on a broad array of emerging matters.

She is a fellow of Branford College.

 

203.432.2742
Maytal Saltiel, University Chaplain

Maytal Saltiel is the 8th Yale University Chaplain and the first University Chaplain who is Jewish. She comes to this leadership role after serving for 10 years as an Associate Chaplain at Yale. As University Chaplain, Maytal oversees religious and spiritual life on campus. Her work has primarily focused on fostering and deepening interreligious collaboration and conversation, pastoral care in times of grief and growth, and nourishing diverse religious and spiritual traditions on campus. In addition to the Chaplain’s Office staff, Maytal works closely with all members of Yale Religious Ministries to support the Yale community. Prior to Yale she worked at Penn Hillel and Johns Hopkins Interfaith Center. She is a graduate of the Johns Hopkins University and Harvard Divinity School. She was the inaugural President of the Association for Chaplaincy and Spiritual Life in Higher Education and is a lecturer at Yale Divinity School. Maytal is a fellow of Silliman College.

203.432.8751