Contact Us

Tivoli Building
900 Auraria Parkway
Suite 310

Drop-in hours at the Women and Gender Center are as follows:
Monday          9am-4pm
Tuesday         9am-4pm
Wednesday    9am-4pm
Thursday        9am-4pm

The Women and Gender Center staff are available virtually or by appointment 9am-4pm on Fridays or afterhours as needed. For additional assistance please email cii@ucdenver.edu.

Jill Rubin | Director (She|Her|Hers)
Women & Gender Center
Tivoli Student Union 310 | 303.315.2123 | JILL.RUBIN@UCDENVER.EDU

CII Women & Gender Center Director Jill Rubin has been on a path of gender unlearning and reimagination in university settings for the past six years. A graduate of Florida Atlantic and Boston University, Rubin is passionate about disrupting hierarchies through lifting and centering student voices and ideas. With experience teaching women's studies and sexual health courses, collaborating with women's non-governmental organizations, and organizing women & gender programming, Rubin excels at making hard conversations accessible, necessary resources available, and gender education fun! When Rubin's not working, she enjoys cuddling her butterscotch pit mix, Maggie, trying new foods, and exploring the city.

Andrea Avalos aka Andy (Any Pronouns) is a Bi Mexican Women, born and raised in Oxnard, California. Andy loves to read books (fantasy, non/fiction, comic/graphic novels) and is a well-known tea fanatic. Andy is an undergraduate student at CU Denver, who is earning her BA in Psychology. Andy strives to become a therapist focusing on creating a vision on a collaborative, cultural, ethnic, and inclusive community. Andy's goal is to strives on reduce mental and women's health stigmas and restructure work settings.

Iris Barkett (she/they) grew up in Asheville, North Carolina, and spent her childhood in the Appalachian Mountains. Here she learned to love hiking, camping, and anything that involves plants. Iris is pursuing a bachelor's degree from the College of Liberal Arts and Science. They are majoring in political science with a minor in women and gender studies. Iris started working in the Women and Gender Center February of 2022 as a Gender Equity Educator. She is passionate about LGBTQ+ issues with a focus on intersectionality and plans to work with a non-profit to help LGBTQ+ youth.

Lily Spezze (she/her) is an undergraduate student at CU Denver, who is currently pursing two bachelor’s degrees with the School of Public Affairs. These degrees include public administration and criminal justice. Lily came from the small-town mountain town of Salida Colorado, where she has lived her whole life.  She loves to paint, take care of her plants and read.  During the past year Lily began working at the WGC in March and has been working diligently here ever since.

Lily plans to pursue a career with the Department of Homeland security as a public administrator. She also plans to work with a non-profit organization to help put an end to human trafficking.

Mayra Mercado Ramirez | She/Her/Ella is a student in the Master of Public Administration and Master of Criminal Justice program at CU Denver. She received a bachelor’s degree in business administration with an emphasis in finance from the University of Northern Colorado.  She is a first-generation student, immigrant, and Latine woman. Mayra was born in Coahuila, MX and was brought to the U.S. at the age of 4. She became a U.S. citizen in 2020. Mayra can speak, read, and write in both English and Spanish fluently.

Mayra is passionate about social equity with a focus on intersectionality and BIPOC inclusivity. Post-graduation, Mayra plans on using her Public Administration degree to bring policy-equitable change to marginalized communities, especially BIPOC communities.

Maxwell Cornett (They/Them) is a graduate student at University of Colorado, Denver. They are working towards a master’s degree with a focus on gender, validation, and socialization. They graduated cum laude from Christopher Newport University and received the Virginia Purtle Research Award for their Senior research project. They are also a member of the national sociology honors fraternity Alpha Kappa Delta, has presented original research at the national Sociology for Women in Society conference, and was accepted for publication in the Winter 2020 edition of the Undergraduate Journal of Humanistic Studies.

Max aspires to become a professor and conduct research related to gender and socialization in the coming years. They have a passion for outreach and acquiring knowledge and are excited for their position at the Women and Gender Center.