2021 NIEHS Diversity Speaker Series: Growing Pains: The Journey to Being My Authentic Self

Launched in February 2018, the Diversity Speaker Series is designed to recognize and acknowledge the Special Emphasis Portfolios, as designed by the Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI), and to place special emphasis on positive, equitable, and inclusive employment experiences for federally identified and underrepresented groups. Through this speaker series, we hope to provide educational and cultural/sensitivity awareness opportunities for NIEHS and surrounding communities.

Each group has a traditional month for recognition. Speakers are invited to present their work and/or their story with a focus on the identified portfolio during the associated month.

For Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, NIEHS is introducing Caroline Goon:

Meet the Strategist for the NIH Special Emphasis Portfolio for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI). Caroline Goon, MS, MBA, is an experienced higher education growth strategist who recently transitioned to the Office of Research on Women's Health at NIH where she was a Career Development Program Lead that helped to research, develop, and support opportunities to recruit, retain, and advance women in biomedical research careers.

Prior to NIH, Caroline was the Assistant Dean of Strategic Initiatives and Marketing within Georgetown University Medical Center - Biomedical Graduate Education. In that role, she helped to guide the strategic direction and special initiatives, recruitment, fundraising, and communication efforts of 33 different degree-granting programs in the areas of interdisciplinary basic and health science, data science, policy, and industry science.

Throughout her career, Caroline has recognized the paramount importance of diversity and inclusion to go beyond the typical "check the box" initiative. She established a portfolio of merit-scholarships to support students who are uniquely able to contribute to the diversity of the university community, and launched the first peer-mentoring program for underrepresented pre-health students, conducted in conjunction with Georgetown University's School of Medicine.

Caroline graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park, with a B.S. in Biology, and a minor in Community Health. She then completed her M.S. in Biohazardous Threat Agents & Emerging Infectious Diseases and her Master of Business Administration at Georgetown University.

Visit NIEHS for more information about the series and to watch previous speakers.

Do you have a story idea for us? Do you want to submit a guest blog? If it's about equity, diversity, or inclusion, please submit to edi.stories@nih.gov.

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