Acting Assistant Vice President for Legal Affairs and Labor Relations
As Acting Assistant Vice President for Legal Affairs and Labor Relations, Joy B. Tolliver, Esq., oversees BMCC’s legal team to ensure compliance with city, state, and federal laws, as well as with CUNY bylaws, policies and collective bargaining agreements. She will also provide guidance to help ensure that the College’s labor practices are in accordance with BMCC’s mission and strategic priorities and serve as the BMCC liaison to the CUNY Office of General Counsel and the CUNY Office of Labor Relations.
Ms. Tolliver is well-versed in federal and state laws, regulations, and best practices for anti-discrimination. She has applied her expertise in developing Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) solutions in the workplace to support higher education organizations as they worked to promote a culture of inclusivity. This has included the securing of stakeholder buy-in and the development of partnerships that ensure access and equity for all students.
Most recently, Ms. Tolliver served as Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Solutions for Antiracism, Diversity, Inclusion and Equity (SADIE), a consulting firm that provides support for higher education institutions facing DEIB-related issues. As the CEO of S.A.D.I.E., Ms. Tolliver also provided counsel on DEIB best practices and coached higher education leadership and faculty on how to sustain a culture of inclusivity and belonging.
Prior to her role at S.A.D.I.E., Ms. Tolliver was Vice President for Strategic Initiatives and General Counsel at a private college in New Rochelle, New York. She served as General Counsel and Administrator at Essex County College in Newark, New Jersey, and was an attorney in the Education Law/Labor and Employment Law Group at Weiner Lesniak, LLP in Parsippany, New Jersey.
Ms. Tolliver has also served as an adjunct professor at Rutgers Law School, Essex County College, and New Jersey City University, Graduate School of Education.
Ms. Tolliver is currently completing her Doctor of Education degree. In 2021, she earned the Certificate in Diversity and Inclusion from Cornell University and was most recently honored as a “2023 Diverse Attorney of the Year” by the New Jersey Law Journal. She was a fellow at the Chair Leadership Academy for Higher Education Administrators. She earned her Juris Doctor degree from Rutgers Law School, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology, cum laude, from Fordham University.
