From the EDI Director: 2021 Hispanic Heritage Month
Over the next 30 days, I am excited to join the NIH community in celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month. This year's theme, Esperanza: A Celebration of Hispanic Heritage and Hope, is a reminder to each of us to reflect with great excitement on where we have come from and where we are yet to go.
Fewer than 4% of individuals in the NIH Workforce identified themselves as Hispanic, and their representation in senior leadership roles is under 3%. Though we have not identified solutions to all the challenges in the employment experience of individuals who identify as Hispanic or Latino/a in the NIH workforce, we continue to ask questions and seek improvement. Our hope is to see complete and equitable representation in all workforce categories and grade levels across the agency.
I am pleased to share and welcome our new Executive Sponsor for our Hispanic Engagement Committee, Mr. Jose Lopez. Mr. Lopez has been a part of the NIH family for 30 years and currently leads the Information Resources Management Branch at the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS). He has collaborated with EDI many times by participating in our campaigns, outreach efforts, and mentoring activities. In his role as Executive Sponsor, Mr. Lopez will serve as an advisor to Mr. Gerard Roman, our Hispanics Portfolio Strategist, as we plan our next steps for this portfolio over the coming year. We are also in the process of welcoming several new members to the Hispanics Engagement Committee. I am excited to hear new perspectives and voices as we seek to create a more diverse and inclusive work environment for Hispanics at the NIH. Lastly, we continue to partner with Hispanic organizations, such as the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), as well as our partners in the NIH Office of Human Resources, to provide leadership training and resources to the NIH workforce and local college students—our future NIH leaders.
As we celebrate this observance together, I join Dr. Collins in inviting you to explore the online campaign celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month on our website. In addition, if you are interested in learning how you can support the Hispanics Portfolio and the work we are doing to highlight and promote diversity, inclusion, equity, and accessibility at the NIH, please contact Mr. Gerard Roman, EDI's Hispanics Portfolio Strategist, at 301-827-4677 or roman@od.nih.gov.
Sincerely yours,
Treava Hopkins-Laboy
Acting Director
NIH Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
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