Equal Opportunity and Title IX

In keeping with Lesley’s shared respect for human dignity and social justice values, we ask that all members of the community take it upon themselves to bring forward concerns about discrimination or harassment, including sexual misconduct or sexual violence. As a matter of University policy, all employees (faculty, adjunct faculty, and staff), with the exception of certain employees in the student Counseling Center and the Student Health Services who have obligations of confidentiality, must immediately report to the Director of Equal Opportunity if they learn about potential instances of discrimination and harassment, including misconduct and sexual violence. The University encourages students who learn of such conduct to report to the Director of Equal Opportunity. Reports can be made by:

• Emailing the Office of Equal Opportunity at equalopportunity@lesley.edu.
• Using our Equal Opportunity Report, which allows individuals to report anonymously.
• Using our new EthicsPoint reporting hotline, which also allows individuals to report anonymously. EthicsPoint is a third-party hotline that provides ways for individuals to report either online or by phone by calling (833) 500-1789. Reports that are made through EthicsPoint will be referred to Lesley’s Office of Equal Opportunity.
• Contacting Lesley’s Director of Equal Opportunity, Valerie Yeakel, directly by emailing vyeakel@lesley.edu or by calling (617) 349-8643.

Reports that are made directly to the Office of Equal Opportunity or through our Equal Opportunity Report Form or EthicsPoint reporting hotline will be reviewed by the Office of Equal Opportunity. Our office will protect the privacy of any individuals involved to the extent possible. Lesley strictly prohibits retaliation against any individual who makes a report pursuant to the Discrimination, Harassment, and Sexual Violence Policy or who cooperates in the investigation of such reports.  

Members of our community who have been impacted by sexual misconduct or sexual violence can contact the Office of Equal Opportunity for resources and to discuss supportive measures without having to go through a formalized investigation process.

At Lesley University, our desire is to create a working, learning, and living environment where everyone can bring their authentic selves into the community. Whenever a community member experiences harassment, discrimination, sexual violence, or violence of any kind, we encourage the community member to submit a report right away.

The University recognizes that deciding among these options can be difficult. We encourage complainants and witnesses to seek assistance from a Confidential Resource Provider before deciding how to proceed.

You can find information about who the Confidential Resource Providers are, and how to contact them, in the Confidential and Private Reporting Resources section on this page.

Some members of the University community have a responsibility to report suspected violations. For more information about reporting responsibilities, see the section Reporting an Incident of the Discrimination, Harassment, and Sexual Violence Policy (also included within the Employee and Faculty Handbooks).

Reporting Overview

Step 1: A report is made to OEO. OEO reviews the report and confirms receipt of the report with the reporter. If the reporter is not the impacted individual, this confirmation may be the only point of communication from OEO to the reporter about the report in order to protect the privacy of those involved.

Step 2: OEO reaches out to the impacted individual to provide support and resources.

Step 3: OEO will meet with the impacted individual if the impacted person would like to do so. In their meeting, OEO will listen to that person’s experience and outline potential resolution options for them to consider.

Step 4: OEO begins a resolution process, if appropriate, which may include outreach to the person who is reported to have harmed the impacted individual.

If in doubt, please contact the University’s Director of Equal Opportunity, Valerie Yeakel, at vyeakel@lesley.edu. In an emergency situation, please contact your local police department by calling 911 or Lesley’s Public Safety Office at (617) 349-8888.  

The Office of Equal Opportunity respects the privacy of students, professional staff, and faculty. If you decide to seek a resolution through our office, to the greatest extent possible, we will not disclose your identity or the identities of witnesses or respondents during our resolution process.

There may be times when we need to disclose some information about the incident to witnesses so that they can meaningfully provide information relevant to the investigation. We ask all witnesses to keep this information private and we may only give them enough information to provide their perspective and memory.

When we request accommodations or supportive measures on behalf of parties, we will need to provide your name in support of those requests, but we will not provide information relating to why you need those accommodations or supportive measures without your informed consent to do so.

We redact our final investigation reports so that the identities of those involved in the investigation are kept private, except on a need-to-know basis to certain other administrators.

Finally, participants within an investigation or resolution process with our office are protected from retaliation based on their report or participation in the process. If at any point during or after communications with our office a participant feels that they have been retaliated against, they are advised to contact us, as we can provide support.

There are times when a person will not report an incident. All Lesley community members have the option to submit an incident report anonymously. Reporting anonymously means that you inform the Director of Equal Opportunity & Title IX Coordinator of an incident, but do not identify yourself by name in your report.

The Director of Equal Opportunity & Title IX Coordinator will keep your disclosure private and will not inform the University or police of your name or other identifying details. The Director of Equal Opportunity & Title IX Coordinator has an obligation to keep record of your report for state and federally mandated statistical reporting, but the record will have no identifiable information about the reporter.

You may choose to make an anonymous report if you would like to disclose to the Director of Equal Opportunity about an incident you have witnessed or experienced for informational purposes. If you choose to make an anonymous report, but identify a respondent, or a person who you allege is violating Lesley’s Community Standards, we will assess whether there is sufficient threat posed to pursue other campus intervention.

Lesley has Confidential Resource Providers (CRPs) on campus who can provide confidential support to students and employees for concerns related to sexual misconduct, relationship violence, and stalking. CRPs are individuals who work at Lesley who have been trained in responding to concerns of such nature and can provide information on where to seek medical attention, how to contact law enforcement, and available on- and off-campus resources.

CRPs are available to support people who have been impacted by sexual misconduct, relationship violence, and stalking, as well as individuals who have been accused of engaging in such conduct. Upon the request of either an impacted individual or an individual who is being accused of engaging in misconduct, a CRP will provide information on:

• Reporting options and the effects of each option;
• Counseling services available on campus and through a local, community-based rape crisis center or domestic violence program;
• Medical and health services available on campus and off campus;
• Available school-based supportive measures related to academic and residence life;
• The disciplinary process of the institution; and
• The legal process carried out through local law enforcement agencies.

Below is a list of the Confidential Resource Providers (CRPs) on campus:

• Funmi Oyekunle, CRP for Students and Employees
  • Funmi can be reached by emailing funmi.oyekunle@lesley.edu or on-campus in University Hall, room 2-011.
  • Funmi is the Director of Intercultural Affairs at Lesley in the Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Justice (EDIJ).
• Yami Rojas, CRP for Students
  • Yami can be reached by emailing yrojas2@lesley.edu or on-campus in University Hall, room 2-012.
  • Yami is an Advisor in the Center for Student Success and Advising at Lesley.
• Max Meristil, CRP for Employees
  • Max can be reached by emailing meristil@lesley.edu.
  • Max is the Associate Director of Total Rewards in Human Resources.
• Kathy George, CRP for Employees
  • Kathy can be reached by emailing kathleen.george@lesley.edu.
  • Kathy is the Human Resource Manager in Human Resources.