Contact
The Aurora Center for Advocacy and Education
University of Minnesota
407 Boynton Health Services
410 Church Street
Minneapolis, MN 55455
Crisis line: 612-626-9111
Business: 612-626-2929
Email: aurora@umn.edu
Website: www.umn.edu/aurora
Staff Bios and Contact Information
Jamie Tiedemann, Director, M.S.
Since 1991, Jamie C. Tiedemann has been the Director of The Aurora Center for Advocacy & Education. She supervises staff duties, overall performance, and supports professional development needs. As Director, she oversees the financial management of the program, including grant writing. In addition to supervising the advocacy program, she provides direct service to victim/survivors as well as to parents concerned about their students, and facilitates the sexual assault support group each semester. As a trainer, she conducts a nationally recognized training for dental students and professionals on intervention in sexual assault and relationship violence as well as training for supervisors on how to handle domestic violence experienced by employees (for more information, go to "Schedule a Presentation" for her presentation descriptions). Jamie serves on committees, unit and cluster meetings including strategic planning and grant funding review boards. She also consults with higher education programs in the country on the development of campus programs whose focus is sexual assault, relationship violence, and/or stalking.
Contact Jamie if you have questions related to the development of sexual assault, relationship violence, and stalking programs on a college campus, fundraising and fiscal management of campus direct service and violence prevention programs. You may also contact her if you are interested in joining The Aurora Center's sexual assault support group or if you are a University of Minnesota parent in need of information and support.
Email: tiede001@umn.edu
Direct line: (612) 626-9988
Office: 423 Boynton
Roberta Gibbons, Associate Director, M.A.
Roberta has been with The Aurora Center since 1999. She directs education, outreach and evaluation and serves as principal investigator and project director for the U.S. Department of Justice’s Grants to Reduce Violent Crimes Against Women on Campus. Roberta teaches GWSS 3290: Sexual and Domestic Violence against Women, which doubles as training for volunteers, and co-facilitates Aurora’s fall and winter volunteer training. She works on curriculum development for violence prevention and awareness and conducts trainings and workshops for students, faculty, staff and the community. Roberta supervises the Violence Prevention Education Coordinator and Volunteer Coordinator and is responsible for the placement and hiring of Aurora Center interns and student staff.
Contact Roberta for grant-related issues, questions related to program development and evaluation, requests for professional workshops on violence prevention, awareness and response, and for information on about volunteer training and internship opportunities.
Email: gibbo005@umn.edu
Direct line: (612)626-9977
Office: 425 Boynton
Becky Redetzke Field, Legal Advocacy and Direct Services Coordinator, B.A.
Becky is responsible for coordinating all direct services provided by the Aurora Center. This includes legal advocacy, case management, academic advocacy, and systems advocacy. She assists all volunteer advocates and student interns in their contact with clients in the office and on the 24 hour help line.
If you have a question about the services we provide to survivors, legal questions, or to schedule an appointment to meet with an advocate, contact Becky. If you are a professor and you have a received communication from our office on behalf of a student, you may contact her directly with any questions or concerns. She is also the person to connect with if you are a former client seeking assistance or would like to obtain a copy of your records.
Email: rede0026@umn.edu
Direct Line: (612) 626-6404
Office: 415 Boynton
Jill Lipski Cain, Violence Prevention Education Coordinator, B.I.S.; M.P.P. Candidate
Since 2002, Jill Lipski Cain has been the coordinator for education programming at The Aurora Center. She develops and facilitates presentations on the issues of gender violence and prevention. While focusing on leadership development and professional skill-building, she is responsible for training and supervising volunteer student Violence Prevention Educators who give peer-led presentations on campus. Jill is also the editor of auROARa!, The Aurora Center’s quarterly newsletter.
Contact Jill if you would like to schedule a presentation, inquire about gender violence and prevention, looking for information about the volunteer training held each year in February. Like all staff, she welcomes students who are looking to interview to someone at The Aurora Center for class assignments and projects. As for information about presentations on our website, click "Schedule a Presentation" under "Get Educated" in the main menu for a list of options and their descriptions.
Email: lipsk002@umn.edu
Direct line: (612) 626-9122
Office: 419 Boynton
Jerie Smith, Volunteer Coordinator
Jerie is responsible for overseeing volunteer involvement and the general care and nurture through on-going training and supervision of volunteer advocates. She is responsible for ensuring that advocates have the skills necessary to do direct work with clients.
She is also the staff coordinator for Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) and Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM) events and provides leadership to the student SAAM and DVAM Coordinators.
Contact Jerie if you are curious about what it would mean to be a volunteer, would like to join the student group or want any general information about Aurora and what it offers.
Email:smith449@umn.edu
Direct Line: (612) 626-3433
Office: 411 Boynton