The seventeenth cohort of Outstanding Women of Color Award recipients will be honored at a reception on Tuesday, February 25, from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in Varsity Hall at Union South, 1308 W Dayton Street. The event to celebrate this year’s honorees is open to the campus and community. You are invited to register here.
Each year, we recognize honorees whose advocacy, activism, and/or scholarship has positively transformed their organizations and/or community, and whose efforts advance inclusive excellence for people of color.
“These outstanding women are simply a representation of the countless women who have made excellence the standard within the university and the community, while also humbly pouring into so many,” said Vice Chancellor of Inclusive Excellence LaVar J. Charleston. “Collectively, we want to make certain they know how valued they are by their villages, how respected and appreciated they are by their colleagues, and how loved they are by their family and friends.”
Please plan to join us in celebrating our honorees at a campus-wide reception hosted by the Division of Diversity, Equity & Educational Achievement on Tuesday, February 25, from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in Varsity Hall at Union South, 1308 W Dayton Street. Register to join us today.
The ceremony also will be livestreamed at go.wisc.edu/outstanding
Outstanding Women of Color Honorees are nominated and selected for their:
- Involvement in social justice, activism and advocacy on behalf of disadvantaged, marginalized populations;
- Community service;
- Scholarly research, writing, speaking and/or teaching on race, ethnicity, and indigeneity in U.S. society, and;
- Community building on- or off-campus, to create an inclusive and respectful environment for all.
This year’s Outstanding Women of Color honorees are:
Hope Broadus, JD
Chief Human Resources Officer, School of Medicine and Public Health
Hope Broadus is a dedicated advocate for inclusive excellence and human resources transformation in higher education. She currently serves as the associate dean and chief human resources officer at the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s School of Medicine and Public Health, where she has worked since 2019. Broadus’s work is driven by a deep commitment to fortifying excellence in HR service delivery, developing sustainable HR infrastructures, and fostering strong relationships with stakeholders across the academic medical center and the broader UW campus.
Previously, Broadus held the position of director of human resources for the School of Humanities and Sciences at Stanford University, where she led key initiatives to enhance talent acquisition, compensation planning, and performance management. Her earlier roles at Stanford were integral in transforming the HR function within the land, buildings & real estate department and establishing the university’s first state-certified apprenticeship program.
Broadus began her career in employment and labor law, gaining valuable insights into the challenges faced by workers and employers alike. Her work as Assistant Counsel for the U.S. Department of Defense and as an attorney in private practice provided her with the tools to advocate for change and fairness in the workplace. Broadus holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Cincinnati College of Law and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from the University of Pennsylvania.
Beyond her professional accomplishments, Broadus is passionate about empowering others. At UW–Madison, she has worked tirelessly to expand employee resource groups and ensure standardized, inclusive recruitment processes. Her leadership extends beyond the workplace; she actively mentors individuals in the broader community, supporting their professional growth and development.
Broadus’s commitment to teamwork and collaboration was first honed during her time as a collegiate athlete, playing women’s basketball at the University of Pennsylvania. Competing at the Ivy League Division I level taught her the importance of leadership, collaboration, and community—values she continues to bring into both her personal and professional life.
Jeneile Luebke, PhD
Assistant Professor, School of Nursing
Jeneile Luebke is a dedicated registered nurse and assistant professor in the School of Nursing at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. An enrolled member of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, Dr. Luebke began her nursing education in Bemidji, MN, where she attended Northland Community College and Bemidji State University for her pre-nursing studies. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing from UW-Madison before completing her PhD in nursing at UW-Milwaukee.
Her research program aims to better understand the lived experiences of gender-based violence through the powerful tool of storytelling. Dr. Luebke is committed to creating survivor-led, trauma-informed, and culturally safe screening methods and interventions for Indigenous survivors of violence. By employing Indigenous-specific and community-engaged research methodologies, she works to ensure that the voices of those affected by violence are heard and respected.
Beyond her research, Dr. Luebke is deeply passionate about teaching and mentoring. She finds fulfillment in guiding both undergraduate and graduate nursing and allied health students, particularly those interested in health promotion and disease prevention.
Dr. Luebke also serves on Wisconsin’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Taskforce, where she advocates for change and raises awareness about the disproportionate rates of violence faced by Indigenous women. She leads the annual Native Nations Nursing, Helpers, and Healers Summit each fall, a space where community members come together to support professional development and address the health disparities Indigenous populations face. Additionally, she co-leads the Center for Indigenous Research to Create Learning and Excellence (CIRCLE) program, a new mentorship initiative for Indigenous graduate students at UW–Madison.
Outside of her professional life, Dr. Luebke enjoys spending time with her 11-year-old son, Easton, in their home in Madison, WI. She is an avid animal lover, with many pets, including a flock of backyard chickens. In her spare time, Dr. Luebke is a hobbyist photographer, enjoys gardening, and finds joy in riding her Harley-Davidson motorcycle.
Catherine H. Phan
Digital and Media Archivist, Libraries
Cat Phan is a passionate advocate for preserving diverse community histories as the digital and media archivist at University Archives and Records Management at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. She is deeply committed to amplifying underrepresented voices and is centered on creating an inclusive and empathetic approach to archival practices.
One of her proudest achievements is co-founding the Tribal Libraries, Archives, and Museums group at the Information School at UW–Madison, which has become a vital space for collaboration and knowledge-sharing. Phan also played a crucial role in advocating for the removal of restrictions on the historically significant “Racial Discrimination in Housing” film, helping it reach the public after nearly 60 years of inaccessibility.
Phan was instrumental in building the UW–Madison Libraries’ Diversity Resident Librarian Program, which has helped support diversity in the library and information science profession. Additionally, she is proud of her work in establishing the University Archives’ Student Historian program, which allows undergraduate students to conduct independent research and highlight the voices and stories of those often overlooked in history.
Phan’s dedication to making archives accessible is felt in the broader community. Over the years, she has been deeply honored to mentor students and early-career professionals, sharing her knowledge and passion for archival work.
In her most recent project, Phan co-hosts “The Look Back,” a PBS Wisconsin Education series inviting young learners to explore Wisconsin’s history through artifacts and their rich contexts. This series is an extension of Phan’s ongoing efforts to make history more accessible, drawing on the power of collaboration with colleagues and community partners to bring these stories to life beyond the walls of the university.
Born and raised in Madison, Phan’s connection to UW–Madison runs deep. She followed in her father’s footsteps by earning both her Bachelor of Arts in Chinese Language and Literature and her Master of Arts in Library and Information Studies at the university, and by pursuing a career in public service. Over the course of her career, she has been honored to participate in the Association of Research Libraries Leadership and Career Development Program and contribute to national projects, such as the IMLS-funded InFrame: Centering the Underrepresented in Moving Image Archives and the NEH-funded Broadcasting Audiovisual Data.
Outside of work, Phan enjoys learning about and connecting with others through cooking and baking. She also loves to support animals – both her own dogs and those looking for their forever home, by volunteering to work on the Fetch Wisconsin Rescue website.
Kao Lee Yang
PhD Candidate, Neuroscience and Public Policy Program
Kao Lee Yang is a Science and Medicine Graduate Research Scholars Fellow and PhD candidate in the Neuroscience and Public Policy Program at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Under the mentorship of Dr. Barbara Bendlin, her research focuses on innovative fluid and imaging biomarker approaches to address Alzheimer’s disease. Yang’s dissertation examines newly developed blood biomarkers for Alzheimer’s pathology, particularly in the context of comorbid health conditions. Her research has been disseminated through presentations at national and international conferences and published in peer-reviewed journals.
In addition to her research, Yang is deeply committed to advocacy and community engagement. She founded Hmong in the Biological Sciences to support and connect Hmong scientists across the U.S. and co-founded the Hmong Association for Scientific Research, which launched initiatives such as virtual panels to guide underrepresented students in applying to STEMM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine) graduate programs. As a Morgridge Fellow for community-engaged research, she led the development of linguistically and culturally tailored dementia resources for Southeast Asian elders. To further these efforts, she was awarded a Community-Based Research Grant from the Morgridge Center in February 2024, allowing her to extend her Alzheimer’s research and advocacy work to the Hmong community. In fall 2024, she organized a first-of-its-kind dementia awareness event for Hmong and Southeast Asian elders, which featured educational resources and programming in the Hmong language with interpreter support.
Yang also advocates for addressing racial data aggregation biases in science, publishing on the topic in STAT News and Nature to raise awareness of how data practices can perpetuate inequities for underrepresented groups. Her scientific, advocacy, and policy work has been supported by several honors, including the Alzheimer’s Association and Neuroscience Next “One to Watch” Award, the Tau 2022 Global Conference Registration Fellowship, the La Follette School of Public Affairs Summer Policy Learning Experience Fellowship, and the Excellence in Engaged Scholarship Graduate Student Award from the Morgridge Center for Public Service.
Yang earned her undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of Wisconsin–Stout and her master’s degree in psychology from Ball State University. In her free time, she enjoys dancing in the kitchen with her husband, Ajay.
About the Outstanding Women of Color Award
In 2007, UW-Madison launched this annual recognition for women of color who have demonstrated outstanding service in higher education and beyond. Ninety-seven faculty, staff, students and community members have been honored since the establishment of this award.
For a full list of past honorees, please go to: Outstanding Women of Color Honorees.