Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility

I was born and raised in Lima, Peru. During my teen age years, I moved to the Netherlands with my family. This was a life experience that opened my eyes for the first time to the diversity of the world. I quickly realized that I enjoyed interacting with diverse people and learning about their countries, cultures, customs, and religions. After completing my undergraduate degree in Lima, I was fortunate to attend graduate school in the United States. Having all the resources needed to perform scientific research that I did not have access to in my country, taking graduate level courses in a foreign language, and being part of an underrepresented minority group brought into mind issues of equity and inclusion.

After completing my doctoral studies and starting a career in academia in STEM I soon realized there were very few Latinas like me. In fact, Latinas made 3% of all assistant professors in the United States in 2020. The percentage of STEM professionals and those in health care careers coming from underrepresented groups does not match the national demographics. My research interests include learning more about the barriers students from underrepresented groups face entering and persisting in higher education, the importance of sense of belonging on student retention, the effects of pathway programs developed to increase the diversity in these fields and investigating the contribution of legislation to these disparities.

I am committed to increasing the diversity in STEM and the healthcare professions through my teaching, scholarly work, and community involvement. I am an inclusive educator and strive to provide an equitable environment for learning and accessible to students of different backgrounds. I regularly seek professional development opportunities to grow in these areas and others that I may not be as knowledgeable. I am involved in the DEIA work at my institution, professional societies, and the community.

Community Roles Promoting Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging:
2011-2022 Healthcare Spanish Interpreter, Dane County Medical Interpreter Coalition
4/2018 Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning (CIRTL) Includes Panel, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, Role: Panelist
7/2021 “Club de Ciencias del Verano”, Edgewood College Summer Science Camp for Latinx Elementary School Students, Role: Instructor
10/2021 “Latinx Women in STEM”, The Institute for the Empowerment of Latinx Women, Edgewood College, Madison, WI, Role: Presenter

Institutional Roles Promoting Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging:
2019-2020 Higher Education Faculty Teaching and Learning for Equity and Inclusion Program, Edgewood College, Madison, WI, Role: Participant
2021-2022 STEM Teaching Brown Bag Series, Edgewood College, Madison, WI, Role: Leader
2023- Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Committee, Boston University Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, Role: Member
2023- Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Accessibility Committee, Department of Pharmacology, Physiology & Biophysics, Role: Member

National Roles Promoting Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging:
5/2018 “Anatomy Language Learners (ALLs): Introducing the language of anatomy through best practices used to support language development in English Language Learners (ELLs)”, Human
Anatomy & Physiology Annual Meeting, Columbus, Ohio, Role: Workshop presenter
2018-present Member, Human Anatomy and Physiology Society (HAPS)
2020-present Member, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee, Human Anatomy and Physiology Society (HAPS)
5/2020 “The Potential Life Experiences of a Second-Generation Latina in STEM”, Synapse HAPS! Inclusive Education in Anatomy and Physiology, Human Anatomy & Physiology Annual Meeting,
Virtual Conference, Role: Presenter
11/2020 Academic Sense of Belonging-What is it and why does it matter? Human Anatomy & Physiology Society, Diversity Equity, and Inclusion Committee Webinar, Role: Co-presenter
5/2021 “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in the Classroom Part 1: Faculty Perspective Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in the Classroom Part 2:
Student Perspective”, Human Anatomy &
Physiology Annual Meeting, Virtual Conference, Role: Workshop co-presenter
7/2022 AAMC Pathway, pipeline, and Bridge Programs (PPB) 1st Annual Meeting, Role: Participant
2022-present Pathway Programs and Bridges (PPB), Southern Group on Educational Affairs (SGEA), American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC), Role:
Member
2023 Association of STEMM Pathway and Bridge Programs (ASPBP), Justice, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion (JEDI) Committee, Role: Member
2023 “Assessing multiple-choice questions based on language precision and best practices to promote equity in the Dental Physiology course”, American
Physiological Society Summit, Role: Presenter

• List
• Timeline Graph
• Timeline Data

In addition to these self-described keywords below, a list of MeSH based concepts is available here.

diversity, equity and inclusion
accesibility
Hispanic
pathway programs
medical education
sense of belonging
linguistic minority students
policy
education research
educational disparities

Available to Mentor as: (Review Mentor Role Definitions):

• Diversity Mentor
• Education Mentor