Rachel Ross-Farmer | Director, Care & Student Advocate Services
Rachel Ross-Farmer (she/her) serves as the Director of Care & Student Advocate Services. Rachel has a background in student conduct; residence life; restorative justice; diversity education & programming; and mental health. Rachel received a Bachelor's degree in Spanish, with minors in Chemistry & Psychology from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and a Master's degree in Counselor Education with an emphasis in Student Affairs from Mississippi State University.
Rachel cares deeply about reducing stigma and barriers to accessing mental health support, promoting self-advocacy and self-growth, experiencing joy as an act of rebellion, and people. When not working with students, Rachel enjoys raising her two young kids, watching trashy reality TV, and drinking copious amounts of coffee.
M VanSteenbergen | Coordinator, Care & Student Advocate Services
M (they/them) is a Care Coordinator for the Care Team within CSAS, splitting their time between the OSA Care Team and Student Advocate Services.
M spent seven years in Residence Life, and has worked in a number of other Student Affairs areas: Student Wellness Services, Student Activities, Multicultural Affairs, Access Control, and COVID-19 Response. They are passionate about student support, promoting self-advocacy, and seeing students persist towards their goals. M has degrees in Psychology and Business Management, and applies their knowledge in helping students overcome barriers to success.
Maggie Druschel | Coordinator, Care & Student Advocate Services
Maggie (they/them) is a Care Coordinator for the Care Team within CSAS. Maggie comes to Student Affairs as a social worker with a background in case management and community-based services, which informs their work around supporting students in connecting to resources both within the University landscape and around the wider Twin Cities.
They have worked in a variety of settings including community health, refugee resettlement, outpatient and inpatient mental health care, and sexual violence intervention and prevention. They have specialities in working with queer and trans communities, people navigating neurodivergence and particularly late-diagnosed autism and ADHD, navigating ableism, chronic illness and disability, emerging psychosis, and students navigating life across multiple cultural identities and experiences.
Maggie is deeply passionate about student self-determination and the power of consent and finding access to choice even within the prescriptive landscape of higher education, they love to help students find their voice and the power of saying yes to some things while also embracing saying no to others.
Maggie is usually brewing a hot beverage of some kind between meetings and can be found riding public transit or their bicycle whenever possible. They walk everywhere even in the depths of Minnesota winters but complain endlessly about the heat all summer long because they are a New Englander who craves ocean breezes. They obsessively read books and can talk about tasty food for days, so if you ever need recommendations, they’re your guy for bagel and taco suggestions and engrossing nature memoirs.
Kate Schmit | Assistant Director, Care & Student Advocate Services
