Professional Staff
The Residence Life and Health Education professional staff team is committed to fostering residential communities that support our students’ personal growth through critical thinking, and social and intellectual engagement beyond the classroom. Professional staff members support our student staff of Junior Advisors, Residence Coordinators, and Team Leaders in creating environments where students can thrive, whether in a large residential hall setting, or a small house setting. Our staff work to support students and their families around various aspect of life at Bates, including housing, health promotion, residential community engagement, and the first-year experience.
Molly Newton ’11
Molly Newton (she/her), a 2011 graduate of Bates, serves as the Senior Associate Dean of Students. She is responsible for the the holistic support of students across a variety of Student Affairs offices. Molly supervises the Offices of Accessible Education, Community Standards, Residence Life and Health Education, and Student Support. Together with the student and professional teams in these areas, Molly works to support students in navigating the challenges of college life along with the moments of joy along the way. Molly received her Master’s in Social Work at Smith College where she specialized in community responses to substance use and psychosocial capacity building for young adults. Prior to graduate school, Molly received her Bachelor’s degree in environmental studies and geology from Bates College. Before joining Bates professionally in 2015, Molly worked with students at Bard College at Simon’s Rock and Lasell College, and provided clinical support to patients at Boston Medical Center and Boston Healthcare for the Homeless.
Jimmy Riley
Jimmy Riley (he/him) serves as the Director of Residence Life & Community Standards. He is responsible for managing the college’s residence life system and community standards processes. Within all aspects of the program, Jimmy focuses on building relationships that support professional and student staff in building welcoming and inclusive communities. Jimmy received a bachelor’s degree in Marketing from Saint Joseph’s College and a master’s degree in College Student Personnel Services from Arkansas State University. During his career, he has held positions in residence life, community standards, student engagement, first-year experience, and counseling services.
Andee Bucciarelli
Andee Bucciarelli (she/her) serves as the Associate Director of Residence Life for Health Education and Deputy Title IX Coordinator for Students. Andee is responsible for programming that supports student well-being in a holistic, person-centered way. Working with student staff in Residence Life and professional staff across Student Affairs, she oversees programming and training across a variety of health education topics, including the Bates Green Dot program, which focuses on bystander intervention and sexual violence prevention. As the Deputy Title IX Coordinator for Students, she also responds to requests for support and works directly with students impacted by bias, harassment, and discrimination, including sexual violence. Andee holds a Master’s in Public Health from Boston University, where she specialized in community-based health programming, and sexual violence prevention. Andee received her Bachelor’s degree in sociology from Hamilton College. Prior to joining Bates in 2020, she worked in social policy research.
Cole Taylor
Cole Taylor (he/him) serves as the Assistant Director of Residential Operations. As a live-in staff member, he is responsible for supporting residential students and all functions of the Residence Life & Health Education Office. Cole joined Bates College in January of 2023. Prior to Bates, he spent 5 years in other residence life positions at Bentley University in Waltham, Massachusetts as well as the University of New England in Biddeford, Maine. Cole received both his Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Communications from Lasell College (now known as Lasell University) in Newton, Massachusetts. He is from Standish, Maine – just half a mile from the St. Joseph’s College of Maine campus. Cole is passionate about equity and inclusion within his roles in higher education and enjoys spending time with his wife, dog, family, and friends!
Danielle Miller
Danielle Miller (she/her) serves as the Assistant Director of Residential Operations. As a live-in Residence Life staff member, Danielle is responsible for all things housing. She oversees student housing operations including housing selection, first-year student assignment, and managing essential administrative functions related to the Residence Life program. Danielle is the primary point of contact for students and families about housing related issues. She also manages partnerships within and outside the college related to housing. Danielle received her bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Denver. After graduating she worked in Student Affairs and Residential Life at Bowdoin College and the University of New Hampshire. She also earned her Master’s in Education at the University of New Hampshire while working there. Danielle is passionate about inclusion, equity, and access within her work in student affairs and higher education.
Zach Brown-Cross
Zach Brown-Cross (he/him) serves as the Senior Coordinator of Residence Life. He is responsible for supporting student leaders within Residence Life and all functions of the Residence Life & Health Education Office. After receiving a Bachelor’s degree in Wildlife Conservation from UMass Amherst, he has spent time working in the fields of zookeeping, outdoor education, and most recently outdoor recreation. He completed his Master’s in Kinesiology while working for Miami University’s Outdoor Pursuit Center and then spent a few years managing the indoor rock climbing program at Penn State University.
Meg Hoppe
Meg Hoppe (she/her) serves as a Coordinator of Residence Life. As a live-in staff member, she works in an after-hours capacity to help provide a safe and happy environment for students to live and learn. Meg graduated with a bachelor’s degree in History and Secondary Education from Saint Joseph’s College of Maine where she gained experience in Residence Life. Meg loves connecting with all students, faculty, and staff to help build a strong sense of community.
Marc Muro
Marc Muro (he/him) serves as a Coordinator for Residence Life. As a live-in staff member, Marc is responsible for supporting students throughout their college experience at Bates by helping provide a safe and welcoming environment at all times. As a first-generation college student, Marc earned his bachelor’s degree in Education and Hispanic Studies from Bowdoin College in 2022. At Bowdoin, Marc spent a lot of his time supporting students in THRIVE, which is a program that strives to support BIPOC students. Once graduating, Marc worked at a behavioral health facility in Tucson, AZ as an Employment Specialist to support members of the community, of all ages, struggling with mental health issues to find employment or pursue educational opportunities. Marc looks forward to connecting and working with students to find ways to best support them.
Fernando Rojas ’22
Fernando Rojas (he/him) is a 2022 graduate of Bates College, who now serves as a Coordinator of Residence Life. Fernando works within the Office of Residence Life to assist with departmental initiatives and projects, provide mentorship and support to students, and build strong residential communities. He is a member of the Residence Life duty rotation and often works with students after hours to provide support. As a first-generation college student, Fernando earned his bachelor’s degree in Psychology with a minor in Spanish and a concentration in Digital and Computational Studies.
Andrew Shepard
Andrew Shepard (they/them) serves as a Coordinator of Residence Life and Confidential Resource Advisor (CRA). As a live-in staff member, they work to help foster a safe community and connect students to resources on and off-campus. In 2020, Andrew received a bachelor’s degree in public health from Hampshire College. After graduating, they worked in the anti-violence field supporting survivors through systems advocacy, case management, and prevention education. Andrew has a passion for working with students to identify what supports work best for them as they pursue their educational goals at Bates.
If you have questions or comments, please feel free to contact any of us via email or by calling the Office of Residence Life and Health Education at (207) 786-6215.