About Us

Dr. Lisa Patterson Phillips serves as the Vice Provost for Community Engagement and Belonging and Tribal Liaison at Boise State University. Known for her strategic, community-centered approach, Dr. Phillips has dedicated her career to creating a sense of belonging for all members of the university community to prioritize student success and belonging.

Before joining Boise State, Dr. Phillips worked at Columbus State Community College as the Director of the Student Advocacy Center, where she championed initiatives to address students’ basic needs, enabling them to reach their academic and personal goals. Her diverse experience spans both academic and student affairs.

Dr. Phillips holds a PhD from Ohio University in Organizational Communication, a MEd from James Madison University in Counseling Psychology with a focus on Higher Education Administration, and a bachelor’s degree in Speech Communication from East Stroudsburg University.

Guided by her signature strengths—Relator, Strategic, Individualization, Connectedness, and Learner—Dr. Phillips is driven by the belief that listening to and uplifting each individual’s unique experience creates a more equitable and resilient educational environment. Her work continues to inspire and support transformative pathways for students, communities, and the broader field of higher education.

Prior to her role in the Office of Community Engagement and Belonging, Esperansa was an Educational Specialist for the TRIO Rising Scholars Program for 3 years, where she provided one-on-one advising for students, coordinated academic workshops and fun events, and supported the creation and implementation of TRIO cohort classes. While with TRIO, Esperansa also served as a Student Organization Advisor and participated in multiple leadership development programs, such as Shared Leadership. All of these roles influenced her passion for community work, advocacy, and fostering a sense of belonging. Esperansa holds an M.Ed. in Educational Leadership and B.A. in Social Work from Boise State University. Currently she is working on her Doctorate in Higher Education Administration through the University of Wyoming. Esperansa passionately strives to make higher education more accessible, equitable, and inclusive.

Jeremy is a queer, multiracial Black educator with a background in education, student affairs, violence prevention, and community organizing. Although they were born in Seattle, Jeremy grew up here and considers Boise their home. In fact, they are the third generation of their family to live in Idaho. (Jeremy’s mom was a proud Borah alum who earned a technical certificate from Boise State much later in life!) Above all, Jeremy is passionate about helping students, faculty, and staff build communities where every member has what they need to thrive.

After being the first in their family to graduate with a 4 year degree and going on to earn an MA in Gender and Cultural Studies, Jeremy moved back to Boise to be closer to their family. Since 2014, they’ve worked at Boise State in a variety of roles and departments–as adjunct faculty in University Foundations, as a Resident Director, and more recently as the Director of the BUILD Program. They bring a broad academic training, including a BA in mathematics, and graduate research on educational inequity, social movements, gendered violence, and research ethics. Over the years, Jeremy has taught a number of courses–ranging from math, physics, and chemistry, to gender studies and feminist research methods, to zine-making and tabletop game design. Additionally, they’ve facilitated workshops on inclusive teaching practices, inclusive leadership, LGBTQIA+ identities, multiracial identities, conflict mediation, Title IX protocols, and more. Outside of education, Jeremy’s background includes gendered violence prevention, survivor support services, and community organizing—all of which inform their approach to leadership and education.

When not working, Jeremy loves cooking, designing games, hanging out with their partner and two dogs (Kai and Clover), and reading young adult fiction. They’re also learning to sew and knit!

Dr. Reshmi Mukherjee is an Associate Professor of Global Humanities and Cultural Studies and Graduate Director for MA in English. From 2013-2021, Dr. Mukherjee has served as a faculty member in the former English Department. In 2014-2015, she served as the interim Director of the Gender Studies Program at Boise State and in 2020-2021, she served as the START Faculty Associate for GEM 3 project. Dr. Mukherjee is a trained dialogue facilitator and a search advocate. She has also served as faculty advisor for more than one student organization and works closely with student bodies and individual students to support them in their personal and academic journey.

Before coming to the United States as a graduate student to earn her doctorate degree, Dr. Mukherjee completed her MPhil in Women’s Studies from Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India and has worked with multiple nonprofit organizations in rural and urban India on issues of economic sustenance in low-income groups, social equity, human rights and social justice, gender violence in domestic spaces, anti-human trafficking for child prostitution, and has helped in community development and awareness raising programs. Mukherjee’s research and teaching focus on many of the same issues and she regularly teaches classes on race, gender, sexuality, culture, and human rights issues in 20th and 21st century. She also specializes in testimonio, exilic, diasporic, and refugee narratives, and storytelling as reclaiming history. At present she is working on her book monograph titled “Teaching Empathy Without Pity: Critical Refugee Studies and Learning to learn by unlearning”.

Jacoba Rock (she/they), PhD, LCSW, is a clinical faculty member in the School of Social Work, and a Faculty Associate for the Office of Community Engagement and Belonging (CEB). She is grateful for the opportunity to offer CEB educational programming and consultations, recognizing the value of accessible, intentional, and collaborative steps toward equity and inclusion at Boise State. As an interdisciplinary educator, Dr. Rock has been advancing these efforts in the classroom and beyond, at undergraduate and graduate levels, since 2012. Their social work practice and applied research interests have focused on incarcerated youth and young adults, evaluating and developing micro and mezzo interventions based in evidence-informed assessment and advocacy.

Dr. Sarah Llewellyn is an Assistant Professor in the School of Nursing. She teaches primarily in the pre-license undergraduate program and serves on the curriculum, simulation, and research committees and chairs the admissions committee. Her teaching philosophy focuses on growth mindset and creating supportive learning environments. Her area of research is in undergraduate nursing education, specifically empathic learning environments, supporting students with physical and sensory disabilities, artificial intelligence use, and healthcare simulation.

Dr. Llewellyn is on the board for the International Association for Human Caring, is president of the local nursing honor society chapter-at-large Mu Gamma, provides medication administration training at Idaho Youth Ranch Hays House, and volunteers as camp nurse for the YMCA at Horsethief. She continues to work with colleagues in Uganda and Eswatini following completion of Peace Corps Virtual volunteer experiences.

Dr. Llewellyn graduated with a BSN from the Ohio State University in 2001 and continues to practice at the bedside as an RN. She completed her masters in nursing education and leadership from the University of Washington Bothell in 2013 and a PhD in nursing research from the University of Washington in 2018. She has taught full time since graduating and has been at Boise State since fall of 2020.

Breanna earned her BA in Religious Studies from Linfield College with minors in Sociology, Political Science, and Gender Studies. Following her undergraduate studies, she completed a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship at Davis College (formerly known as the Akilah Institute for Women) in Kigali, Rwanda, where she cultivated her passion for student empowerment. Breanna then completed her MA in Critical Gender Studies at Central European University in Budapest, Hungary. While living and teaching abroad, Breanna developed a commitment to building inclusive learning environments in higher education. Breanna finds fulfillment supporting Boise State students in the Interdisciplinary Studies and Digital Innovation and Design programs as they craft intentional degrees that align with their unique goals and interests. In her spare time, Breanna likes to hike with her dog and shoot film photography in nature, hobbies she developed growing up in rural Eastern Oregon.

Jackie Dierdorff (she/her) is a Process Improvement Analyst in the Office of Continuous Improvement and a Staff Associate for the Office of Community Engagement and Belonging. Jackie is trained in complex change management and holds a graduate certificate in Conflict Management. She is currently working towards her Masters of Public Administration and will graduate in December. Jackie is excited to partner with CE&B to equip Boise State faculty and staff with the skills and confidence to foster equitable spaces of belonging within their own teams and communities. She is looking forward to sharing her experience in human-centered change management and facilitation with the broader campus community as well as supporting the organizational development of CE&B.

Calvin has been a program assistant for both Community Engagement and Belonging and the Center for Teaching and Learning since Fall 2022. He has an AA in Social Science, and is currently a senior student majoring in Sociology. In his role at Boise State, Calvin has worked on strategic planning, program development, and the designing and facilitation of programming. Before his employment at Boise State, he has promoted community and belonging as a Youth Advocate for the Idaho Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence, and has volunteered with United Way and Corpus Christi House to help strengthen community in Boise, and promote accessibility and community resources.

When not at work or in class, Calvin finds joy in learning about animals and ecology, and has spent many summers surveying Western rattlesnakes and Cassia Crossbills. He spends his free time taking care of his many animals, playing role-playing games, and writing personal essays.

Melanie is an undergraduate student majoring in Global Studies and Interdisciplinary Studies in the areas of Critical Theory, Environmental Studies, and Spanish and works as Program Assistant for the Office of Community Engagement and Belonging.

Maria is an undergraduate student majoring in Spanish with minors in Political Science and Visual Art. She works as a Program Assistant for The Office of Community Engagement and Belonging.

Abigail is a program assistant for the Search Advocate Program.