Board of Directors

Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Officer, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

I am the inaugural Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI) Officer at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL), a biomedical research institute on Long Island, just east of New York City. Since 2019, I’ve been building the CSHL DEI Office from the ground up so it serves everyone at CSHL with programs and policies designed to ensure the working environment is accessible, equitable, inclusive, and just. In that capacity, I lead and manage structural change in areas such as faculty hiring, faculty development, campus communications, and professional development for staff members. My scientific training is in statistical and population genetics. I earned an undergraduate degree in mathematics from MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, a PhD from the Department of Genome Sciences at the University of Washington in Seattle, and I was an NIH IRACDA postdoctoral fellow in Genetics at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. To date, my career has spanned many aspects of science administration: from grant writing, program development, program evaluation, and scientific communication to postgraduate teaching and education. I am Haida & Tsimshian from Southeast Alaska on my mother’s side and, on my father’s side, I am Cajun from southern Louisiana. My professional style and approach is continually shaped by the fact that I walk in the space between worlds: Between the Pacific Northwest and American Southeast when it comes to my family; between computational science and bench science when it comes to my scientific training; and, most recently, between biological research and the social science that underpins DEI work.

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Professor and Associate Dean @ Arizona State University

I was born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where I went to public schools and university. I received a degree of Licenciado en Matemáticas in 1976 and went on to get a PhD from the University of Chicago. I love nature, animals and people, and enjoy reading, concerts, and the movies. I have been a SACNAS Lifetime Member since 2008 and I have been a judge for poster sessions and travel grants, organized and participated in professional development and in research sessions. I regularly mentor undergraduate and graduate students and am thankful for the opportunity to be in the Board of Directors.

Connect with Dr. Milner in the SACNAS Member Online Community >>

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Associate Professor of Pharmacology @ Howard University College of Medicine

Dr. Dávila-García received her PhD in Biology and Neurosciences from New York University in 1989. She is presently an Associate Professor in the Department of Pharmacology. Dr. Dávila-García’s is a Harvard Macy Institute Alumna in Health Professions Education. She has been re-elected for a second term to the Board of Directors of SACNAS, is a member of Executive Committee Neuroscience division and a member of the Mentoring and Career Development Committee for ASPET, and serves as an Executive Leader of the World Women in Neuroscience (WWN). Dr. Dávila-García devotes part of her time to mentoring students and young professionals, and promoting diversity, equity and inclusion at National and International organizations.

Connect with Dr. Dávila-García in the SACNAS Member Online Community >>

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Associate Vice President of Research and Innovation & Professor @ Department of Biological Sciences
University of North Texas

I am truly grateful and dedicated to the SACNAS community as shown by my 25-year association with the organization – from student member to current President. I am an active researcher and full Professor with a funded laboratory and have extensive experience as a teacher, mentor, and academic administrator. My current position is Associate Vice President of Research and Innovation and previous experience as an Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Students prepared me to work across disciplines and lead STEM initiatives. As a first-generation student from New Mexico, with Chicana and Indigenous roots, I understand the challenges one faces when seeking to persist and broaden participation within the STEM fields. Thus, my passion is helping others reach their goals within the STEM fields, advocating and obtaining resources for our community, and building collaborative STEM programs. When I am not working you can find me with my much-loved dog pack and family.

Connect with Dr. Padilla in the SACNAS Member Online Community >>

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Professor of Biology, University of Massachusetts Boston

Adán Colón-Carmona is a Professor of Biology at the University of Massachusetts Boston where he is a plant cell and developmental biologist studying growth control in response to internal and external environmental cues. Dr. Colón-Carmona leads university initiatives that include research education activities geared towards diverse student populations; focus on cancer and cancer disparities research, outreach and training; and address diversity, equity and inclusion within faculty ranks. A SACNAS member since 1989 and a mentor to 100s of undergraduates, graduate students and postdocs in his laboratory, Dr. Colón-Carmona is dedicated to social change in higher education as a vehicle to improving peoples’ lives.

Connect with Dr. Colón-Carmona in the SACNAS Member Online Community >>

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Beto is the youngest of four and was raised Barrio Logan, a Chicano community in San Diego, California. Once a high school dropout, his faith and education helped him overcome homelessness, incarceration and addiction and change the trajectory of his life. Beto has an Associate’s degree from San Diego City College, a BS and MS in biology from UC San Diego and a doctorate from San Diego State University in educational leadership – where he researched STEM faculty mindsets. As a proud transfer student, a father of four and as a community leader, he leverages his personal and professional experience to inform the work he is involved with. Dr. Vasquez has worked in the non-profit sector, local government & higher education. He is currently employed with UC San Diego's Center for Research on Educational Equity, Assessment & Teaching Excellence (CREATE) where he spearheads P-20 efforts to increase STEM diversity, access, and engagement to disenfranchised communities through advocacy, representation, and the development of culturally relevant lessons, events, and strategies.

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Associate Professor and Director of the University of Guam Center for Island Sustainability and Sea Grant 

Dr. Austin J. Shelton serves as an associate professor and the director of the University of Guam Center for Island Sustainability and Sea Grant. Shelton is an Obama Leader Asia Pacific and one of 50 Under 40: Emerging Leaders in the Government of Guam. He led the team that earned the University of Guam its designation as a Sea Grant Institute in 2022. Shelton works to revive island ecosystems and advance the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. He is the steering committee co-chair of Guam Green Growth (G3), the island’s most comprehensive public-private partnership ever created to achieve a sustainable and prosperous future. A native of Guam, Shelton grew up observing environmental degradation and was inspired to become a marine and environmental scientist. He now conducts research to revive island ecosystems and builds STEM capacity in Pacific Islander communities through the coordination of student research experiences and science fairs. Since starting his career at the University of Guam in 2016, Shelton and his collaborators built a portfolio of grants exceeding $44.8Million, created over 200 student research experiences, provided more than 50 full-time jobs, and delivered thousands of community-focused impacts. Shelton earned a B.S. degree in marine biology from Hawaiʻi Pacific University and both an M.S. and Ph.D. in zoology with a specialization in marine biology from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. 

 

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Program Director, National Science Foundation

I am a paleobiologist who uses the fossil record to study the evolution and ecology of insects. I earned my BA from the University of California at Santa Cruz in the departments of Biology and Environmental Studies and my PhD from the University of Arizona from the Department of Geosciences, with a minor in Entomology. I then worked for sixteen years at the University of Colorado in Boulder as the Curator of Invertebrate Paleontology in the CU Museum of Natural History and as a faculty member in the Department of Geosciences. I also served as the Executive Director of a US-based Earth Sciences Consortium, and I now work at the National Science Foundation, which is a federal agency. I am a long-time SACNISTA and first started participating in the annual conference in the early 1990s. SACNAS has been a guiding light for me through every stage of my career, from my undergraduate days to my mid-career shift out of academia and into the government. In addition to my personal experience as a Chicana, first-generation student, I bring a wealth of experience in STEM-related diversity and inclusion activities, including many years of experience and leadership in the training/mentorship of STEM scientists who are members of historically excluded groups. I am deeply committed to transforming culture and developing policy and practices that ensure that STEM spaces are both safe and inclusive.

 

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Office of Research Safety-Director @ The University of Georgia

First generation American and first of my family to graduate from college. Chicano/Zapotec Indian, B.S. U.C. Irvine-Biological Sciences, S.M. M.I.T-Toxicology. Twenty five years working in several disciplines within the field of Environmental Health and Safety. Currently, Research Safety Office-Director at The University of Georgia. Interests: Biosafety, Industrial Hygiene, Health Physics, Environmental Management, STEM education, hiking, biking, history, gaming and paying it forward for the next generation of SACNAS thinkers and leaders.

Connect with Mr. Barrera in the SACNAS Member Online Community >>

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Professor Department of Chemistry, University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras Campus

Dr. Ingrid Montes-González, received her Ph.D. in organic chemistry at the University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras Campus. She has two current areas of research: organometallic chemistry and chemical education. Through her research and volunteer service, she has contributed to Chemistry, Chemical Education, and Community outreach in Puerto Rico, Latin America, and the world. She has been extremely active at the national, state and local level in the chemistry profession, active in leadership, governance, and programming. She is Director-at-Large, ACS Board of Directors. She is the founder of the Chemistry Festivals, a program adopted by ACS and that has been held around the world. She is also co-founder and coordinator for the Spanish webinar series of the American Chemical Society and Mexican Chemical Society. She is an American Chemical Society and IUPAC (International Pure and Applied Chemistry) Fellow. She has received many recognitions In Puerto Rico, USA and internationally. Last year, she was selected as one of the 100 inspiring Hispanic /Latinx scientists in America.

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Regents’ Professor in the Chemistry & Biochemistry Department, Northern Arizona University

Jani C. Ingram, PhD is a Regents’ Professor in the Chemistry & Biochemistry Department at Northern Arizona University. Her research focuses on investigating environmental contaminants with respect to their impact on health in at risk populations. A critical aspect of her research is to foster collaborations with the Native American community and leaders to build trust and gain insights into their health concerns. She works with a diverse group of students in her research. This diversity represents students with different ethnic backgrounds, academic disciplines, and sexual orientations as well as where they are in their academic careers (middle school to graduate students). She is a member of the Navajo Nation (born to the Náneesht’ ézhi clan) and has been involved in outreach activities for Native American students in K-12, undergraduate, and graduate research. She is the principal investigator of the Partnership for Native American Cancer Prevention and the director of the Bridges to Baccalaureate program. She was named the 2018 recipient of the American Chemical Society Award for Encouraging Disadvantaged Students into Careers in the Chemical Sciences. She received an associate degree from Yavapai College, a bachelor of science degree in chemistry from New Mexico State University, and a doctoral degree in chemistry from the University of Arizona. She was a staff scientist at the Idaho National Laboratory for twelve years before joining the faculty at Northern Arizona University in 2002.

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Graduate Research Assistant, Tulane University

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LeManuel Lee Bitsóí (Diné/Navajo), EdD, is a critical ethnographer and bioethicist who specializes in guiding institutions and organizations to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive for equity seeking students and scholars.  Dr. Bitsóí currently serves as Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Brandeis University.  In addition, he served as Associate Vice President for Diversity Affairs and Special Advisor to the President for Indigenous Affairs at Fort Lewis College.  He has served in administrative and faculty roles at Harvard University, Dartmouth College, Georgetown University, Rush University and Stony Brook University.  In addition, Dr. Bitsóí serves on various national boards and associations, including the Editorial Board for INSIGHT into Diversity and the Native American and Indigenous Affairs Committee for the Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS).

 

Admirably, Dr. Bitsóí has devoted his career to broadening the participation of underrepresented, underserved and unmentioned students to become scientists, researchers and scientifically-informed community members.  Dr. Bitsóí relies on indigenous epistemologies to guide his work and emphasizes that diversity is a constantly evolving interdependent ecosystem that requires mindful participation by everyone.  Dr. Bitsóí has been honored and recognized for his diversity, equity and inclusion accomplishments by various entities and institutions including the Navajo Nation, Harvard Medical School, University of Central Florida, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Northern Arizona University, North American Indian Center of Boston and SACNAS.

 

Dr. Bitsóí earned a bachelor of science degree from the University of New Mexico (Phi Beta Kappa), holds a master of education degree from Harvard University (Phi Delta Kappa) and a doctorate degree in higher education administration from the University of Pennsylvania.

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Dr. Lisa R. Treviño, PhD, joined Doctors Hospital at Renaissance January 2014 as Vice President of Research and Development. Dr. Trevino earned a doctorate in Molecular, Cellular and Development Biology from the University of California at Santa Cruz and did her postdoctoral training at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, TN. Prior to moving back home to the Rio Grande Valley, TX, Dr. Trevino was serving as scientific analyst for various adult and pediatric cancer projects at the Human Genome Sequencing Center at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, TX. Her research efforts have contributed to the understanding of the genetic and genomic landscape of human diseases which have resulted in manuscripts published in in top-tiered, peer-reviewed scientific journals including Nature and Science.  Dr. Lisa Trevino is an experienced life science and clinical executive committed to enhancing the biomedical and biopharmaceutical landscape to the medically underserved and under accessed.

She has spent over 9 years establishing and growing the research portfolio of DHR Health Institute for Research and Development with over 200+ ongoing research projects covering multiple therapeutic areas including, oncology, liver disease, genomics, cardiology, and infectious diseases for both therapeutics and devices. Dr. Trevino currently oversees all operations at the DHR Health Institute for Research and Development, the major clinical and translational institution serving the predominantly Latino/Hispanic population of the Rio Grande Valley.

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PhD Candidate @ University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio

Shaimar was born and raised in Puerto Rico, where she pursed a bachelor’s degree in biology at the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus. Following her interest in developmental biology, she moved to West Virginia to pursue a master’s degree in biological science at Marshall University. Although she knew about SACNAS from undergrad, it was not until her master’s studies that she attended her first SACNAS National Conference. When Shaimar started her PhD studies at UT Health San Antonio, she wanted to replicate the sense of community and support that she felt during that conference and therefore led the effort to re-instate a SACNAS chapter at the university, enabling students to attend the national conference free of charge through a grant that the chapter successfully secured, and making the chapter one of the most active organizations on campus. Shaimar is also working with different organizations on initiatives to increase diversity in STEM and to tackle health disparities.

Connect with Ms. González Morales in the SACNAS Member Online Community >>

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