About Us
Our Mission
The mission of Wellness Education Services (WES) is to improve the health of students in the broadest sense:
- To reduce risk for injury and illness
- To increase academic success and personal satisfaction
- To work toward the genuine health of the whole campus community
Meet our Wellness Team:
Staff...
Sherri Darrow, MS, PhD. Director. Chronic Disease Epidemiologist. Areas of expertise include health promotion and harm reduction campaigns and program development, program evaluation, peer education, cancer prevention, gender and health, multicultural health, LGBT health, reproductive health, coalition building and community partnership development.
Marla McBride, MS, CRC. Assistant Director of Health Promotion and Harm Reduction. Areas of expertise include health promotion and harm reduction campaigns, college drug and alcohol education, certified rehabilitation counselor, women's substance abuse issues, sexual health, health advocacy for persons with special needs, Pilates.
Janice Cochran, MS, RD, CDN. Nutrition and Physical Activity Promotion Coordinator. Registered dietician, Certified Areas of expertise include general wellness, non-diet weight management, sports nutrition, eating disorders, vegetarian nutrition, environmental nutrition, cancer prevention and cardiovascular health.
Pedro Sotelo. Program Coordinator/Exercise Specialist. Men's Group Leader and Co-Founder. Certified Heartsaver CPR and First Aid. Areas of expertise include exercise science, exercise prescription, strength and conditioning, men's health, and men as allies in preventing violence against women.
James Bowman, Ed.M. Special Populations Outreach Coordinator. Areas of expertise include program design and implementation, LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning/Queer) student outreach, sexual health education, and social justice and health education.
Anna Peryea, MUP. Resource and Planning Coordinator, Violence Prevention Specialist. Areas of expertise include gender violence prevention, gender issues, women's health and reproduction issues, peer mediation, urban planning, environmental design and strategic and long-range planning.
Office Assistants...
Cindy, Louise, Carla and Nate.
Student Leaders...
Ashley, Andrew, Evan, Steve, Tom, Vincent, J.J., Jamie and Ryan.
Who should use our services?
Students
WES programs are open to all University at Buffalo students. On both campuses, students participate in our programs and help us to create and implement new programs to reach more diverse students. Our services include: peer education internships, late-night activities, classroom lectures, residence hall programs, Life&Learning Workshops, outdoor adventures, a health & wellness resource suite located in the Student Union, and media campaigns.
Join with us and let us support you in your personal efforts to maintain and improve your health, your academic success and to fulfill your personal dreams. And, we challenge you to do your part to assure the health of our campus community.
Faculty & Staff
The professional staff of Wellness Education Services are available for classroom lectures, classroom projects, campus health research, and health related internships. The following topics are the main focus areas for our campus health promotion efforts:
- Alcohol and other drugs
- Nutrition and physical activity
- Rape, sexual assault and violence prevention
- Sexual health
- Stress management
- Tobacco control
- LGBTQ resources
In addition, faculty and staff can refer students dealing with alcohol and/or drug issues to our UB-SAFER (Students Avoiding Further Exposure to Risk) program.









