Angela Winfield, J.D. ’08, program manager at Cornell’s Yang-Tan Institute on Employment and Disability (YTI) in the ILR School, has been appointed director of inclusion and workforce diversity in Cornell’s Division of Human Resources, effective May 2.

Also, Sarah Affel, currently lead Title IX investigator in the Office of Workforce Policy and Labor Relations, has been appointed Title IX coordinator for the university. Both will report to Mary Opperman, vice president and chief human resources officer.

In YTI, Winfield coordinates the Northeast Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Center’s technical assistance activities, and she has participated in creating learning programs focused on the ADA throughout New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

An attorney at Barclay Damon LLP in Syracuse, New York, and a motivational speaker and coach, Winfield also has presented workshops and participated in panel discussions on diversity, disability, leadership, goal setting, women’s empowerment, and personal and professional growth. In October 2015, she was the keynote speaker at a half-day conference at Cornell in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the ADA.

“Angela brings nearly a decade of legal experience and a background in diversity advocacy to this position,” Opperman said. “She approaches inclusion, accessibility and equity both from the perspective of the law and from their human dimensions and impact. That approach will serve the university well as she leads our workforce diversity and inclusion efforts.”

Serving as one of the university’s five diversity officers, Winfield will address and advise hiring managers, faculty and staff on workforce diversity legal compliance concerns.

Winfield also will partner with colleges and administrative units to provide diversity and inclusion educational programs.

“I am thrilled to serve in this capacity and look forward to helping advance workforce diversity and cultivating an inclusive climate that benefits all members of the Cornell community,” Winfield said.

Affel, who started at Cornell in September 2014 as an assistant judicial administrator, will focus on diversity and inclusion concerns related to the federal law Title IX. Enacted in 1972, Title IX is landmark federal civil rights law that prohibits sex discrimination in education.

Affel will lead efforts across the university to comply with Title IX and New York State Law 129-B (Implementation of Colleges and Universities of Sexual Assault, Dating Violence, Domestic Violence and Stalking Prevention and Response Policies and Procedures), including coordinating and advising on education and outreach across campus.

She also will oversee the university’s response and investigation of complaints of sexual harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence and stalking, including meeting with individuals who want to initiate a formal complaint; assessing the need for remedial or protective measures and imposing them as needed; and monitoring the progress and reporting the results of those complaints.

“I am delighted that Sarah has taken on this important role. Her experience and commitment will be vital to Cornell’s efforts to address and prevent issues that not only violate Title IX and New York State Law 129-B but our own campus community standards,” Opperman said.

After receiving her bachelor’s degree at Tufts University in 2005 and her law degree at the Northeastern University School of Law in 2008, Affel practiced law for three years in the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office in Woburn, Massachusetts. She was admitted to the New York Bar in 2015.

Affel has been on maternity leave and will begin working part time in her new role April 15.

“I look forward to working with the Cornell community to foster a safe, diverse and accessible educational environment where students, staff and faculty of all sexes, genders, sexual orientations and gender identities thrive,” Affel said.