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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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 @ Rosette, LLP

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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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Senior Scientist & Merck

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Assistant Professor of Extension & Outreach and Director @ University of Guam Center for Island Sustainability and Sea Grant

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Program Director, National Science Foundation

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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 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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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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Assistant Vice Provost, International Affairs and Interim Co-Director, International Support Services @ the University of Kansas

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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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