By Manuel Valdez
he Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) recently announced the participants in their esteemed Enlace Mid-Level Leadership Program and ¡Adelante! Leadership Institute. The participants include two staff and 10 students from The University of New Mexico.
UNM staff members Donna López and Brandi Stone were selected to participate in the Mid-level Leadership Program, designed to help increase the number of Latino/Latina talent for leadership roles in higher education. Mid-level leaders are academic or non-academic support personnel within higher education organizations. Examples include academic department chairpersons, education program directors, student support directors and coordinators, and team leaders.
This six-month program consists of two seminars and a webinar, during which the fellows will discuss various subject areas such as Academic and Student Affairs Management, Regional Institutional Accreditation, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, High Education Advocacy, Effective Data Utilization Methods, and Global Affairs and International Education.
López, the project manager for DEI Programs in the Division for Equity and Inclusion, says this program supports UNM’s effort to become a more inclusive university.
“I think that the Enlace Mid-level Leadership Program does provide very diverse programming that aligns perfectly with UNM’s mission to foster a more inclusive and supportive environment,” said López. “I believe that the knowledge and strategies I will gain through the program will definitely help bolster DEI’s efforts in these areas by providing new frameworks and tools that can be applied directly to our work on campus, ultimately improving the experiences and outcomes for students, faculty and staff alike.”
Lopez is honored to have been selected for this year’s cohort and looks forward to how it will prepare her for a future in leadership. She states that her support comes from the administration.
“I am very grateful to President Stokes and Vice President for Equity and Inclusion Assata Zerai for supporting me and providing strong references,” said López. “I am very honored to be a part of this year’s cohort, as I know the experience will be invaluable in terms of professional growth.
“As the project manager for DEI Programs, I’m excited about how the Enlace program will equip me with advanced leadership tools that can really enhance my ability to manage and coordinate DEI initiatives at UNM,” said López. The focus on leadership development and higher education advocacy is especially valuable, as it will help me lead diverse, multi-faceted projects while making sure everything aligns with institutional goals and compliance standards.”
Stone, who is the director of African American Student Services and the president’s special advisor on African American Affairs, agrees with López that the program provides UNM with the opportunity to solidify its commitment to inclusion, especially in Hispanic-serving institutions.
“This leadership academy creates an opportunity for our university to affirm the commitments we have made to promoting DEI and student support through the intentional framing of doing so as a Hispanic-Serving Institution,” said Stone. “So often, higher education leadership opportunities are provided outside of the specific context of minority-serving, Hispanic-serving institutional designations. The investment UNM has made to support staff to develop with this as the priority will only continue to enhance our ability to intentionally serve our UNM community through culturally responsive approaches.”
Stone looks forward to how this program will help her expand her department’s services and reinforce her understanding and dedication to UNM’s mission of serving as an HSI.
“I am really excited about this opportunity. As an ethnic center director, it allows me to stretch the boundaries of Blackness within African American Student Services,” said Stone. “Because racialized spaces such as our ethnic centers are often perceived as serving singular or monolithic experiences related to identity, I am excited about the ways that I can continue to incorporate intentional intersectional programming and resources to students. I also believe that the Enlace program will allow me to strengthen my understanding and commitment to our “serving” commitment as an HSI.”
The program began in September with its first webinar. An in-person session will be held on Oct. 31 prior to HACU’s Annual Conference in Aurora, Colo. The program will end in Washington, D.C., at HACU’s Annual Capitol Forum next spring. To learn more about the program, visit the Mid-level Leadership Program.
In addition to the Mid-level Leadership Program, 10 UNM students will work on their leadership skills through HACU’s ¡Adelante! Leadership Institute is a three-day career leadership & development networking symposium designed to build undergraduate students’ career & leadership skills.
Over 700 students from the U.S. and Puerto Rico will attend presentations, workshops, luncheons, and a town hall meeting and meet with conference exhibitors and recruiters. These students represent a wide range of academic disciplines. They arrive with resumes, eager to discuss career, internship, research and advanced education opportunities.
UNM’s selected students include: Monice Aguilar, Julian Angel, Reiana Ayers, Rylee Brachle, Zandria Ellis, Gabriella Gonzales, Mariel Leon-Lazcano, Rosa Loya Ozaeta, Jazmin Rodríguez López, and Esperanza Wells.
“We are so proud of our undergraduate students whose excellence shines through every day,” said Vice President for Equity and Inclusion. “We look forward to the ways that the HACU Leadership Institute will guide them to hone their dynamic skills and as they rise to higher levels of success in the future.”
¡Adelante! Leadership Institute will be held in conjunction with HACU’s 38th Annual Conference held in Aurora, Colo., Nov. 1-3.
Manuel Valdez, University of New Mexico Multimedia Journalism Student & Public Service Minor.
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