Karisa A. Moore to serve as interim executive director for equity and access

Karisa A. Moore has been selected to serve as the interim executive director for equity and access. She will begin her new role on July 16, following the departure of the current director Karen A. Jones.  

Jones, who has been in the position for nearly two years, is returning to her alma mater, Buffalo State College, as chief diversity officer.  A national search will be held to fill the position.

“Karisa and the Equity and Access team will work hard to make sure the transition is as smooth as possible for all of the many individuals who depend on them for support.  Equity and Access plays a critical role in our efforts to treat our employees with fairness and respect, through services for employees with disabilities, equal opportunity efforts to advance campus diversity and pay equity, employee mediation, and investigations of discrimination and harassment complaints,” said Hal Irvin, associate vice president for human resources.

Before beginning in her current position as the director of equity initiatives in April 2009, Moore served as the equity manager in the Office of the Vice President for Equity and Inclusion. She has held several other related positions since she began her career at Virginia Tech in 2006. From 1999–2006, Moore worked with special education children in Montgomery County Public Schools.

She has a bachelor’s degree in political science from Berea College in Kentucky and a master’s degree in science from Virginia Tech.

She is certified as an Affirmative Action Professional and a Center for Alternative Dispute Resolution Mediator. Moore is also a member of the American Association for Affirmative Action and the local branch of the NAACP. She has participated in the Equal Opportunity Committee on Virginia Tech Athletics, Human Resource Restructuring Implementation Team, President’s/Governor’s Award Nomination Committee, and Administrative/Professional and Staff Recruiting Team. She serves as co-chair of the Virginia Tech Employee Advisory Committee.

The Office of Equity and Access, which is part of the Department of Human Resources, houses University ADA Services, Compliance and Conflict Resolution, and Equity Initiatives.  The role of the Office of Equity and Access in human resources is to support and advance the university's commitment to diversity and ensure a campus community free from discrimination and harassment.