Commissioner

Rebecca Nelson
Rebecca Nelson currently serves as Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs and Director of the Multicultural Center at The Ohio State University.  As Assistant Vice President, Rebecca provides oversight for the Multicultural Center along with Off-Campus Student Services, the Student Housing Legal Clinic, the Parent Association, and community relations.   The Center’s mission is 3-fold:  to provide intellectual and cultural enrichment, programs, services, and facilities focusing on multicultural concerns; to create a community environment recognizing cultural differences and respecting cultural uniqueness; to facilitate cross-cultural interaction, learning and appreciation. 

Prior to joining Student Affairs, Rebecca was Program Manager for Community Development with The Ohio State University Medical Center, where she was involved with the creation of the Asian Health Initiative and Latino Health Initiative Free Clinics, the Women Coming Together Conference, Partner in Education affiliations, and the Infant Mortality Task Force of Central Ohio.  Rebecca has also served as an Assistant Director with the Office of Minority Affairs and as an Academic Adviser for Honors Students at The Ohio State University.

Currently, Rebecca serves as the Vice-Chair Commissioner with the City of Columbus Community Relations Commission, and as a member of the OSU President’s Council on Diversity, the OSU Faculty Senate Diversity Committee, and the OSU Student Affairs Diversity Council.  Rebecca is the Board Chair for the Breathing Association, and serves as a board member at large for Asian American Community Services and Girl Scouts Seal of Ohio.  She is a past board member with the Columbus Organization of Chinese Americans, and WAND: Women’s Action for New Directions.  Rebecca also serves on the Race Relations and Diversity Vision Council for United Way of Central Ohio, and is a past Chair of the Critical Difference for Women Re-Entry Scholarship Fund at The Ohio State University.

Rebecca received her BA in English and Political Science from Linfield College and her MA in Education from The Ohio State University.  She is also a graduate of Howard University’s Publishing Institute.  Rebecca was born and raised in Northern Thailand, and is blessed to be mother to the irrepressible Anya Jieling.