Executive Board

The Women’s Caucus executive board is composed of faculty and staff volunteers. The board meets monthly to review progress made in subcommittees and to plan for the future. Each board member sits on at least one subcommittee.

Jennifer Biddle

Co-Chair | jfbiddle@udel.edu

Dr. Jennifer Biddle is a professor in the School of Marine Science and Policy in Lewes, DE. She is a microbial ecologist who has worked on the deep ocean and marine subsurface. She is currently the UD Advance fellow for CEOE and is trained as a UD LEAD ally.

Lauren Bailes

Board Member | lbailes@udel.edu

Dr. Lauren Bailes is an assistant professor in the School of Education at the University of Delaware. She also serves as the program coordinator for the Ed.D. in Educational Leadership program. Her scholarship focuses on the ways in which organizational, social-cognitive, and leadership theory unite to promote the success of school leaders and K12 students.

Barbara Ley

Board Member | bley@udel.edu

Barbara is an Associate Professor of Communication and Women & Gender Studies. Much of her research and teaching focus on the health of women, families and children, and she is especially interested in the role that yoga and mindfulness can play in trauma-informed care. She also teaches yoga and mindfulness to children and families in the greater Delaware area. Barbara joined the Executive Board in 2017.

Naomi Nash

Board Member | nnash@udel.edu

Having previously served as an advisor and Senior Associate Registrar at UD, Naomi Nash is currently the Director of Student Success Initiatives and has been at UD since 2011. Naomi’s professional background is rooted in advising, academic policy work, advisement technologies and in training advisors on system platforms and policies. With a passion for student success, Naomi enjoys working with the UD community on optimizing the Blue Hen Success platform and implementing improvements in policies and processes for undergraduate students. Outside of UD, Naomi keeps busy with her family and enjoys doing activities with them such as playing games, exploring the outdoors and traveling. Naomi is excited to continue to great work of the UD Women’s Caucus and looks forward to see how she can contribute to help other women at UD.

Jennifer Semrau

Board Member | semrau@udel.edu

Jennifer is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Applied Physiology at the University of Delaware. She received her PhD from Washington University in St Louis and completed her post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Calgary. Her research focuses on the use of robotics and other technologies for the assessment and rehabilitation of stroke and other neurologic injuries. She has been involved in a variety of STEM outreach efforts aimed at increasing the representation of women and other underrepresented groups in science and engineering.

Barbara Settles

Board Member | settlesb@udel.edu

Dr. Barbara Settles is a Professor of Human Development and Family Studies at University of Delaware. Dr. Settles teaches a wide variety of family studies courses at both the undergraduate and graduate levels with special emphasis on intergenerational relationships and caregiving, family theory, family policy, and family life education and prevention programming and evaluation. She is also active in the honors program and has served on the advisory committee, served on reading committees, and sponsored students in the summer CHEP scholars program and as their undergraduate thesis advisor.

Megan Wenner, PhD

Board Member | mwenner@udel.edu

Dr. Wenner is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Applied Physiology at the University of Delaware. She received her PhD from the University of Delaware. Her research focus is on women’s health and cardiovascular function.