HHMI IE3 Description
The HHMI Inclusive Excellence 3 (IE3) initiative challenges U.S. colleges and universities to substantially and sustainably build their capacity for student belonging, especially for those who have been historically excluded from the sciences. IE3 is distinct from previous HHMI science education initiatives because it begins with a learning phase and, during that phase, learning communities envision how to move cooperatively into an implementation phase.
Nathalia Holtzman, PhD
Principal Investigator and Project 2 Leader
The goal of Project 2 is to make improvements to the current DEIJA climate on Queens College’s campus through data-informed practices. Queens College partnered with the Higher Education Data Sharing Consortium (HEDS) to deploy a campus climate survey in 2023. This survey of staff, students, and faculty at Queens College asked about the level of support for diversity and equity on campus, as well as personal experiences with discrimination and harassment.
Jerima DeWese
Project 1 Leader
Evaluate diverse, equitable, inclusive, just, and accessible (DEIJA) teaching and learning.
Kathleen Mangiapanello, PhD
Project 3 Leader
Design and implement professional development programs designed around DEIJA practices.
Advisory Board
Sally Izquierdo, PhD
Sally Izquierdo, PhD is a Board Certified and NYS Licensed Behavior Analyst. She graduated from Florida Gulf Coast University with a Master’s degree in Counseling and from CUNY Queens College and The Graduate Center with a PhD in Behavior Analysis. Dr. Izquierdo has over 30 years of clinical experience, providing support to individuals with developmental disabilities, families, and professionals in homes, schools, and in the community. Her work as chair of NYSABA’s public policy committee contributed significantly to the recent removal of the scope of practice restriction for licensed behavior analysts in New York. Dr. Izquierdo currently sits on the NYSABA board as Representative at Large and Chair of the Student Activities committee.
At Queens College, Dr. Izquierdo is responsible for the clinical training for all master’s programs in the psychology department and directs the Applied Behavior Analysis graduate programs. As Director of QC Project REACH, she has developed behavior analytic supports for autistic CUNY students, and workshops for neurodivergent students and faculty. Dr. Izquierdo, in collaboration with psychology graduate students, developed the Queens College Neurodiversity Hub, which is a faculty resource bank and collegial discussion forum on the Teams platform. Dr. Izquierdo is also an active member of the Psychology Department DEIA Committee and faculty advisor to the QC Neurodiversity Advocacy Club.
Dr. Izquierdo is dedicated to helping improve the practice landscape for behavior analysts in New York, experience opportunities for students, and inclusive support for neurodivergent college students.
Desiree Byrd, PhD
Desiree is a board-certified neuropsychologist and a nationally recognized leader in cross-cultural neuropsychology. She is working to bring critical approaches to neuropsychology training, science, and practice. Her research explores the roles of health disparities and culture in the expression of cognitive dysfunction in central nervous system disease. Her interests are in cultural identities, aging, dementia, HIV, substance use, and historically excluded populations. She is a board-certified neuropsychologist and a nationally recognized leader in cross-cultural neuropsychology. She is working to bring critical approaches to neuropsychology training, science, and practice. Her research has been supported by the National Institutes of Health and the Alzheimer’s Association. She has served in leadership positions for the American Psychological Association, the American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology, and the National Academy of Neuropsychology. She is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and the National Academy of Neuropsychology and a sitting member of the National Institute of Aging-Neuroscience study section. She has authored over 60 peer-reviewed publications and 10 book chapters. She teaches graduate and undergraduate courses on Culture, Neuropsychology, Psychopathology, and Decolonizing Psychology. As a first-generation scholar, pairing her research interests with a deep dedication to training and advocacy is a privilege that she has proudly, humbly, and enthusiastically devoted time to throughout her career.
Sara Alvarez, PhD
Sara P. Alvarez is Assistant Professor of English at Queens College, City University of New York (CUNY). Her qualitative research focuses on the multilingual and academic writing practices of self-outed U.S. undocumented young adults. Sara is also Interim Co-Principal Investigator with CUNY’s, first of its kind, Initiative on Immigration and Education (CUNY-IIE). Sara’s works have appeared in Literacy in Composition Studies, Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, among other journals and edited collections.
David Rivera, PhD
Dr. David P. Rivera is an associate professor and coordinator of the graduate programs in mental health and school counseling at Queens College, City University of New York (CUNY), where he is also the Founding Director of the CUNY LGBTQI Student Leadership Program. He holds degrees from Teachers College, Columbia University, Johns Hopkins University, and the University of Wyoming. His professional experience includes college counseling, higher education administration, and consultations on diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. Dr. Rivera has worked at a variety of institutions, including the University of Pennsylvania, Georgetown University, Prince George’s Community College, and the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation. A counseling psychologist, his research is guided by critical theories and social justice frameworks and explores cultural competency development and issues impacting the marginalization and wellbeing of people of color and oppressed sexual orientation and gender identity groups, with a focus on microaggressions. He has published books, journal articles, and book chapters in various areas of multicultural psychology, education, and social justice, and his latest co-edited books, Affirming LGBTQ+ Students in Higher Education and Critical Theories for School Psychology and Counseling: A Foundation for Equity and Inclusion in School-Based Practice were released in 2022. Dr. Rivera holds leadership positions with the American Psychological Association, The Steve Fund, and The Council for Opportunity in Education. Dr. Rivera is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and has received national honors from the American College Counseling Association, and the American College Personnel Association.
Lizandra Friedland, MA
(she/her)
Lizandra’s work at the College focuses on promoting inquiry and insight into students’ experiences and development. As Associate Director of Survey Research & Assessment, she supports program decision-making with data, evaluation studies, needs analysis, and other projects. Outside the Office of Institutional Effectiveness, she also serves as adjunct faculty in the Philosophy department where she has the best time teaching her students formal logic. A first-generation graduate and a QC alum, collaborating with fellow faculty and staff on student-centered initiatives is the highlight of her work. Lizandra’s background is in art, philosophy, and applied social research, and she has been with Queens College for over ten years.
Erica Doran, JD, PhD
Erica Doran is a Lecturer in Psychology at Queens College, City University of New York (CUNY), whose research has been published in The Psychological Record and the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior. She has presented papers at annual meetings and conventions of ABAI, The Berkshire Association for Behavior Analysis and Therapy, and The Eastern Psychological Association. She is also an attorney who assists asylum seekers, pro bono, in completing their applications and preparing for their Credible Fear Interviews. Additionally, she serves as a protest monitor and volunteer with NYCLU, was an original member of and served a legal counsel to The Women’s Diversity Network, and is a member of both the Hunter College High School Alumni Association Diversity Committee and the Queens College Psychology Department’s DEI Committee.
Grace Pai, PhD
Grace Pai is an Assistant Professor in the Elementary and Early Childhood Education department at Queens College in the City University of New York (CUNY). Her interdisciplinary scholarship examines educational equity across various fields ranging from mathematics education to international education through a combination of quantitative, qualitative, and historical research methods. Her current research focuses on culturally responsive and sustaining education, mathematics affinity, and fostering digital equity in computational thinking. Her research on out-of-school children in sub-Saharan Africa has been supported by the American Educational Research Association (AERA) and featured on NPR’s Academic Minute. Her public scholarship also includes writing op-eds on fighting anti-blackness and discrimination against the Asian community that have appeared in the Daily News and Inside Higher Ed, and she is an appointed member on CUNY’s University Advisory Council on Diversity (UACD).
Anisha Clarke, EdD
Anisha Clarke is a Lecturer (Doctoral Schedule) in the Department of Mathematics at Queens College, where she has been a faculty member since 2007. In addition, she teaches and mentors students in the Percy E. SEEK Program. Anisha completed her doctorate in mathematics education at Teachers College, Columbia University. She has a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and a master’s in mathematics education from Queens College. Her research interests lie in faculty development and, by extension, student success.
Norka Blackman-Richards
After decades of working in higher education, Norka Blackman-Richards is known to be a curator of anti-racist equity-needing spaces and movements. This work is aligned in her over twenty years of supporting student success in higher education at Queens College and in the City University of New York. Her role as a recognized advocate, curator, and leader, is further manifested in the achievement of the following: (2023) Presidential Staff Award for Diversity and Inclusion, (2019) Presidential Award for Excellence in Service, and (2014) The Jewel of Queens College Award. Educated under the British, Dutch, and Latin American educational systems, Norka has a deep respect for diversity of cultures, customs and people. A leader of a not-for-profit international grassroots organization for women, she is also a direct descendant of the builders of the Panama Canal, and the daughter of missionaries. Norka acknowledges that the intersections of her lived experiences and identities are ever-present in her many roles inside and outside of higher education. A published writer and presenter in topics on microaggression, JDEI (Justice, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion), Women of Color, and first generation student success in higher education, Norka is completing a degree in Higher Administration (Ed.D). She has completed degrees in Nonfiction Writing (M.F.A), English Language Teaching Education (M.Ed), and Business Administration with a minor in Personnel Administration (B. Sc). Norka is the director of the Percy E Sutton SEEK Program at Queens College, one of the oldest opportunity programs in the United States; she also lectures in English Composition.
Chris Rafinski
Christopher Rafinski is a mental health counselor and career coach with over twenty-five years’ experience cultivating young people in their exploration and creation of success on their distinct journeys. His aim is to spark curiosity, vision, self-efficacy, community and wellness through individual coaching and interactive presentations. His primary goal is to help guide individuals to a sense of their inherent value and purpose independent of accomplishment. His home-base has been CUNY for nearly ten years where he has principally focused on appreciative, prescriptive and developmental advising, while utilizing tenets found in both Design Thinking and Growth Mindset. Throughout his time at CUNY, he has worked individually with nearly 800 young people and moderated events for over 1300 students to explore their academic, personal and professional goals. Prior to his time at CUNY, he worked in international humanitarian aid which brought him to over 25 countries and produced corporate and non-profit events both domestically and internationally for audiences ranging from 15 to 15,000 people.
Duncan Faherty, PhD
Duncan Faherty is Associate Professor of English & American Studies at Queens College and The Graduate Center, CUNY. He is also a core faculty member of the Committee on Globalization and Social Change. Until recently he served at the Graduate Center as the founding director of the Early Research Initiative. He is the co-editor of the journal Studies in American Fiction and, along with Ed White, the co-director of the Just Teach One digital humanities project housed at the American Antiquarian Society. He is the author of Remodeling the Nation: The Architecture of American Identity, 1776-1858, and his work has also appeared in American Literature, American Quarterly, Early American Literature, and Reviews in American History. His most recent book The Haitian Revolution & the Early Republic of Letters: Incipient Fevers is forthcoming from Oxford University Press in the fall of 2023.
Soniya Munshi, PhD
Soniya Munshi is the Director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching, Learning, and Leadership and an Associate Professor of Urban Studies at Queens College; she is also an affiliate faculty in the CUNY Graduate Center’s Critical Social/Personality Psychology Program. Her research and teaching interests include illness, disability, carework, and reproductive justice in Asian America; gendered violence in migrant communities, the carceral state, and transformative justice; feminist theories, methodologies, and movements; and critical, accessible, and open pedagogies. Her work has been supported by the NEH, ACLS/Mellon, NYS Council for the Humanities, Lambda Literary, the Voices of Our Nation Arts Foundation, Monson Arts, and Blue Mountain Center. Soniya received her Ph.D. in Sociology with an Advanced Women’s Studies Certificate from the CUNY Graduate Center. She has a B.A. in Women’s Studies and Psychology from Macalester College.
Staff
Elena Sigman, ACC (2024 - )
Elena joined the HHMI Inclusive Excellence project in July 2024, bringing more than 30 years of experience in stakeholder engagement to drive equitable program design and program management. She was most recently the Director of Collaborative Learning at John Jay College’s Institute for Justice and Opportunity, where she developed a suite of workforce programs as part of the Institute’s commitment to increasing access to higher education and careers for people directly impacted by the criminal legal system. Elena is also an Associate Certified Coach with certifications from the International Coaching Federation and NeuroLeadership Institute.
Andrew Farrell (2022 - 2023)
(he/him)
Andrew Farrell is a master’s student in School Psychology at Queens College in the City University of New York (CUNY), in addition to an Office Staff member of the Associate Provost for Innovation and Student Success. He also serves as the Administrative Coordinator for the Howard Hughes Medical Institue Inclusive Excellence 3 (HHMI IE3) grant at CUNY Queens College. Through his master’s degree in school psychology, he continues to learn about and develop strategies for individualized student support in the school system through collaborative efforts and data-driven practices.