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The center’s staff is diverse in experience and background, but all are equally committed to the well-being of the center and its constituents, and in maintaining meaningful, evergreen, and dynamic relationships with the center’s primary stakeholders: the working people of New York City, the schools and administrative units of Brooklyn College, and the community at large.
Manny Ness is an internationally renowned labor scholar whose research focuses on labor, urban political economy, migration, imperialism, social mobilizations, worker insurrections, strikes, and solidarity in Global North and Global South.
Lucas Rubin, Assistant Dean for Academic Programs, is the chief administrative officer of the GCWE. Before joining Brooklyn College in July 2014, Rubin was a program director in Columbia University’s School of Professional Studies, where, over a 13-year career, he developed and administered a range of programs, including graduate and certificate programs, and credit, noncredit, and extension-style courses. From 2005 to 2014 he was director of Columbia’s Master of Science in Nonprofit Administration and, from 2006 to 2014, its graduate program in Sports Management. Rubin is deeply committed to the mission and purpose of higher education—especially public higher education—and to student outcomes and success. He has significant experience with and interest in the specific needs of professional and non- (or less) traditional students, who must juggle the proverbial work/life balance in order to pursue professional advancement and/or academic enrichment. In addition to this administrative responsibilities, he teaches in the Brooklyn College Department of Classics and directs CUNY’s world-renowned Latin /Greek Institute.
Rubin holds a Ph.D. in Classical Archaeology from the State University of New York at Buffalo and is the author of Brooklyn’s Sportsmen’s Row: Politics, Society, and the Sporting Life on Northern Eighth Avenue (2012) and contributed a chapter to the critically acclaimed Stewart, Tabori & Chang / Abrams publication, Design Brooklyn. His forthcoming book is a visual history of the Latin/Greek Institute, scheduled for publication in spring 2025. He is currently working on a sports history of Brooklyn.
Anselma Rodriguez is the center’s resident expert on all things related to Brooklyn College. She began her career as an intern in the college’s Financial Aid Office, which subsequently hired her into a full-time, permanent position. From there, she served in the Admissions-Financial Aid Office in several positions, including loan adviser, SEEK liaison, adviser to graduate students, and emergency loan adviser. In 1994, at the invitation of the dean of graduate studies, she became the coordinator of graduate studies. In this capacity, she helped to consolidate student services and worked closely with graduate students, staff, and faculty. She was instrumental in developing a one-stop graduate webpage and creating several workshops and informational materials to serve graduate students and staff, including—among others—Writing the Thesis, Taking the Comprehensive Exam, Getting Off Probation, and Considering a Doctoral Degree. Rodriguez is deeply committed to assisting students in achieving their goals and in working with faculty and staff to help achieve student persistence and success.
In addition to her work at the center, Rodriguez is active in the PSC, a captain for the CUNY Campaign, and mentor to several students. She, along with her family, also established the Juan Bautista Rodriguez (JBR) Scholarship in honor of her father, who was a lifelong education advocate. The scholarship awards $1,000 to undergraduate and graduate Latino students in need who demonstrate academic excellence throughout their college career by maintaining a high GPA.
Rodriguez is proud to be a member of the Graduate Center for Worker Education team and helping the center fulfill its goal of helping workers in all walks of life reach their professional goals.
