Experienced diversity and belonging professional Rivkah Gamble has joined Albion as its new associate director for belonging and culture.

In her new role, Gamble will be responsible for developing, driving and implementing a college-wide framework for the cultivation and accountability for every member of the Albion College community to actively participate in creating a campus environment of equity, inclusion and belonging. Gamble will promote diversity, belonging and equity through critical and compassionate communication and strategic outreach efforts to various students and faculty.

Gamble brings more than a decade of experience in higher education. She has expertise in diversity and belonging, facilitating trainings and workshops, building diverse relationships and grant writing and fundraising.

“Embracing diversity and promoting inclusion are at the heart of our institution’s mission, and we are thrilled to have someone as passionate and experienced as Rivkah to lead these efforts,” said Dr. Taran McZee, vice president for belonging and culture at Albion College. “Together, we will cultivate an environment where every member of our community feels heard, valued and respected. Rivkah will play a pivotal role in advancing diversity initiatives and belonging on our campus.”

Gamble joins Albion College from the University of Arizona, where she served as a coordinator for Arabic Special Programs. In this role, she collaborated with universities and organizations in Morocco and Jordan to recruit, enroll and support Arabic Flagship students. She was responsible for grant writing, budgets and academic support. She restructured the recruitment plan and increased high school outreach, which resulted in a 20% increase in program recruitment.

Gamble also served as a diversity trainer and associate ombudsperson at the University of Arizona, serving as an advocate for international students. In this role, she monitored budgets and developed digital outreach and managed social media and the website. She also co-developed and facilitated diversity equity and inclusion workshops.

Prior to her time at University of Arizona, Gamble was an administrative specialist, program coordinator and diversity educator at Northern Arizona University. During these five years, she developed curriculum for a variety of inclusion-focused workshops and other events and programs. She also trained student workers and served as a liaison between students and staff.

Gamble also served as an advisor for the Black Student Union. She worked with students and other departments to increase events and opportunities for interaction for Black students on campus, which led to a significant increase in Black student retention. As a diversity peer educator, she developed and led workshops and events to promote DEI.

Additionally, Gamble served as a program coordinator for AmeriCorps while at NAU. She also served as assistant director of the Westside Community Center in Bartlesville, Oklahoma for seven years prior to going into higher education.

Gamble holds a bachelor of arts in English from Northern Arizona University and a minor in Arabic and Japanese. She also has a bachelor of science in history from Northern Arizona University and is currently working toward completing a master of science in clinical mental health counseling at Grand Canyon University.