Film Discussions

Joel Aure has served as Skidmore’s Title IX Coordinator since January 2017, managing institutional compliance with Title IX, the Violence Against Women Act, and NY’s Enough is Enough law. Prior to Skidmore College, he was the Chief Diversity Officer and Title IX Coordinator at SUNY Purchase. Joel holds degrees from Johns Hopkins University and Sarah Lawrence College and was born and raised just outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Parker Diggory is Director of Religious and Spiritual Life. Her  work with individual faith communities has ranged from preaching to liturgical dance to social-justice activism. She has also worked in the nonprofit sector on interreligious collaboration for peace and development. Parker’s academic work includes graduate study in theology and Hebrew Bible at Emory University. She holds a B.A. from Middlebury College, where she studied religion and theater. Her research interests include the intersections of religious texts and practice and the impact of archaeology and history on biblical interpretation. A Saratoga native, Parker enjoys being back in the Skidmore community and close to Adirondack hiking and cross-country skiing.

Soha Jafarzade, J.D. (he/him) is the Sands Family Foundation Associate Director of Diversity Career Development at Skidmore College. He oversees programming and counseling related to Government & Law and Diverse Populations within the Career Development Center. Additionally, he supervises the Career Corps, a student paraprofessional team focusing on first-level peer support. Soha received his J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law after completing his undergraduate education at the University of California, San Diego. At UCSD Soha was a four-year member and captain of the Track & Field team as a 110m and 400m hurdler. At Hastings he was a national champion with the moot court team and president of the U.C. Hastings Association of Youth Advocates and Homeless Legal Services. After a brief career as an attorney Soha transitioned to counseling undergraduate students at Skidmore College in 2017. He was born in Sweden to Iranian-refugee parents before moving to Dubai at 10 and San Diego at 13. Soha is a fervent soccer fan, lover of food, and proud husband of orthodontist Holly and dad of little Kai!

Gabriela Melillo joined Skidmore in July 2019 as the Title IX Deputy Coordinator for Student Affairs. She serves as the lead investigator in sexual- and gender-based misconduct cases between students and offers prevention and awareness programming and resources. She received her MSW from SUNY University at Albany and is registered as a Licensed Master of Social Work (LMSW). Before coming to Skidmore, she worked for a child advocacy center as a forensic interviewer and trauma therapist for children and teens who experienced and/or witnessed abuse and violence. Since her undergraduate studies (also at SUNY Albany), she has worked with the Albany County Crime Victim and Sexual Violence Center as a rape crisis counselor in both volunteer and supervisory roles.

Jamin Totino is the Associate Dean of Student Affairs and Director of Student Academic Services (SAS). Here at Skidmore he is responsible for oversight of the tutoring program of the College, services for students with disabilities, and support for international students and facilitates assessment planning for Student Affairs. SAS collaborates with the Office of Academic Advising and the Opportunity Program to monitor student progress and, when necessary, mobilize intervention. Jamin and each of the staff in SAS provide direct academic support for all Skidmore students, often in the form of writing support and study skill development. Jamin holds a Master's degree in Social Welfare with a concentration in management from the State University of New York at Albany and a bachelor's of Science degree in Sociology with a concentration in Social Work from the College of Saint Rose. Committed to access in education, Jamin has worked in a variety of settings in higher education for the past twenty-three years, including the Arthur O. Eve Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP), the federal TRIO Upward Bound program, disability services, academic support, and Skidmore’s Intergroup Relations (IGR) program. Throughout his career Jamin has worked with people with disabilities and is recognized as expert in disability services in higher education. His teaching career includes "Human Resource Development," "Multicultural Counseling" and "Disabled in America: The History of the Disability Rights Movement." Jamin is deeply committed to supporting students and grateful to be a part of the Skidmore Speaks.