Barnard Vice Presidents Jomysha Delgado Stephen and Sarah Gillman announced this afternoon that Amy Zavadil, Associate Vice President for Community Accountability, Response, and Emergency Services (CARES), will step away from her role at Barnard on May 18.

In an email sent to the Barnard student body this afternoon, Jomysha Delgado Stephen, Executive Vice President of the College and General Counsel, and Sarah Gillman, Senior Vice President for Strategic Finance and Operations, informed the community that Amy Zavadil will step down from her role as the Associate Vice President for Community Accountability, Response, and Emergency Services (CARES). She will depart the role on May 18, 2023. 

Prior to serving as AVP for CARES, Zavadil worked as the College’s Associate Dean for Equity and the inaugural Title IX Coordinator between 2011 and 2017. In 2019, she returned to Barnard as the interim head of Public Safety. Before coming to Barnard, she served as a police officer early in her career and later earned a Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision. Delgado Stephen and Gillman described Zavadil’s work as “instrumental,” and thanked her for her dedicated service to the community.

The CARES department was launched in 2020 under Zavadil’s leadership as a “new, holistic approach to fostering a safe and welcoming community,” per Barnard’s website. The CARES program comprises four units: Response Team, Community Safety, Nondiscrimination & Title IX, and Preparedness. Prior to the development of CARES, these departments operated separately. The college sought to unify them under a new structure, referencing a need to “evolve how we think about campus safety,” according to a communication from President Beilock announcing the creation of CARES. 

Delgado Stephen and Gillman wrote that Zavadil “has achieved the goals she set when she accepted the inaugural role as Associate Vice President for CARES.” These include holding town hall discussions about the definition of safety, establishing the non-emergency phone line service, and playing a leading role in the response to the pandemic. 

The email announced that there will be a national search to identify Zavadil’s successor. In the meantime, CARES will be led by Robert Carotenuto, Executive Director for Safety; Dr. Elizabeth Scott Francis, Executive Director for CARES Outreach and Response; and the senior CARES team. 

Email from Vice Presidents Jomysha Delgado Stephen and Sarah Gillman to Barnard Students on March 6, 2023 at 4:31 pm:

Dear Members of the Barnard Community,

We are writing to let you know that Amy Zavadil, Associate Vice President for Community Accountability, Response, and Emergency Services (CARES), will step away from her role at Barnard on May 18. Amy was instrumental in launching CARES in 2020 as a new, holistic approach to community safety and well-being. We are immensely grateful for her leadership in developing this innovative program and building a strong team to sustain it.

Safety, in all its elements, is necessary to achieving the College’s mission, and Barnard remains committed to the comprehensive and innovative approach to safety embodied in CARES. We will share details of a national search to identify Amy’s successor. In the meantime, as Amy begins her transition, the CARES program and its four units — Response Team, Community Safety, Nondiscrimination & Title IX, and Preparedness  — will be in excellent hands under the leadership of Robert Carotenuto, Executive Director for Safety; Dr. Elizabeth Scott Francis, Executive Director for CARES Outreach and Response; and the senior CARES team.

Amy has a long history of service to Barnard. In addition to her current role, she served as the College’s Associate Dean for Equity and our inaugural Title IX Coordinator from 2011 to 2017. She returned to Barnard in August of 2019 as the interim head of Public Safety during a time of transition, and her work was instrumental in helping us to rethink how best to structure our programs to support community safety.

In her message to CARES staff, Amy indicated that she has achieved the goals she set when she accepted the inaugural role as Associate Vice President for CARES. Among her many accomplishments, she:

  • Supported a campus wide conversation to answer the question “what is safety?” for the Barnard community; this included collaborating with campus partners and Student Government to develop the elements of safety and host town hall discussions.
  • Developed the CARES model as an innovative approach to addressing the safety needs of our campus, including developing the four units of CARES, establishing a strong and effective leadership team, and launching the CARES non-emergency phone line service. She also oversaw publication of the first CARES Annual Recap.
  • Strengthened CARES operations, including adding card readers and other access technology to campus buildings, centralizing and digitizing safety-related record-keeping, and enhancing policies, protocols, training, and compliance efforts.
  • Played a significant leadership role in the emergency response to the pandemic beginning in March 2020, assisting with plans to maintain operations during reduced density and reopen buildings and labs, integrating health protocols into events and buildings, and maintaining operational staffing. 

Please join us in thanking Amy for her dedicated service to the Barnard community.

Jomysha Delgado Stephen ’96

Executive Vice President of the College and General Counsel

Sarah Gillman

Senior Vice President for Strategic Finance and Operations

To access CARES resources and services:

For campus emergencies, call 212-854-6666

Reach the CARES Nonemergency line at 212-854-3362 or email CARESResponseinfo@barnard.edu

For building or space access questions, contact campusaccess@barnard.edu or find access information details on the portal

Additional information about services and resources can be found on the CARES website

Barnard gates via Bwog Archives