How would you describe your role to someone unfamiliar with what you do?
My role has a few different dimensions: I manage the youth programming that is run through DICP. COVID-19 drastically impacted these programs, so this year we are focused on reestablishing our in-person learning and youth employment programs. I am also identifying areas where we can potentially expand efforts and forge new partnerships to create more equitable opportunities for young people in Boston and Cambridge.
The community engagement aspect of my position begins with creating opportunities for the HMS community to better understand the assets and aspirations of residents in our local communities. From there we can create bridges where HMS faculty and staff can contribute their expertise and enthusiasm. I would describe it as an ‘inside-outside’ role, and there is tremendous potential to contribute to long-term change. Working collaboratively with departments across the HMS and Harvard community is key in this role.
What do you like best about your job and working at HMS?
My position at HMS engages three things I’m passionate about: education and career development opportunities for young people underrepresented in the STEM fields; engaging community members and organizations in shaping strategies to create the conditions for more equitable health outcomes; and ongoing learning and innovation.
On a personal note, I have found people who work at HMS and our hospital affiliates to be extremely welcoming and very enthusiastic about engaging with issues that are very important to our local communities — issues such as economic mobility and inclusion, housing instability, and mental and behavioral health. I welcome hearing from others at HMS and the wider Harvard community about what we can do together.
If you could meet any fictional character, who would it be and why?
This is tricky for me, as I have become more of a nonfiction reader. Mimi Ma in Richard Powers’ The Overstory, and Hiram Walker in The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates, are two powerful characters who experience deep pain in their life and manifest it into power and compassion and a forge a new way of being in the world. They also both tap into a deep well of spiritual power and their ancestral wisdom. Both are great books —check them out!