My name is Flor Araujo, and I proudly serve as the Director of the Center for Student Success. In my current role as the Director at the Center for Student Success, I lead a dedicated team in delivering comprehensive student services. We work in the development and implementation of innovative programs aimed at promoting retention initiatives and students academic success.
For over 15 years, I've been immersed in the realm of higher education. Most of this journey was at Hostos Community College, a place close to my heart due to its strong Latino community. Also the place where I first obtained an Associates Degree. Throughout my career, I've had the privilege to support a variety of students, each with their unique challenges and aspirations. From first-year students taking their initial steps into higher education to ESL learners striving to bridge language barriers, from those who might be momentarily underachieving to those in need of developmental courses, I've been honored to guide and advocate for them all.
My academic journey continued with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Hunter College, laying the foundation for my continued exploration in the field of education. Subsequently, I pursued a Master's in Public Administration from CUNY John Jay College. My unwavering belief in the transformative power of education drives my commitment to making a lasting impact. Guided by the principles of education, justice, and equity, I continuously seek personal growth and endeavor to serve the Latino community to foster our growth and success.
Diana Castellanos serves as a Talent Acquisition Specialist at Binghamton University, with the focus of hiring high quality, diverse staff members. With over 10 years of higher education experience, she has held various roles in Residential Life, Student Transition and Success and Student Empowerment. In addition to her current role Diana also serves as the Student Affairs Divisional Diversity Officer, moving forward divisional and university-wide Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion efforts. Diana’s interest and focus has always been in support and advocacy of marginalized student and staff populations.
Diana completed her B.A. in International Studies and an M.Ed. degree in Student Affairs Administration from the University at Buffalo. Diana was also a member of the US Army Reserve and an Operation Iraqi Freedom Veteran. In her free time Diana has sought leadership opportunities outside of the University; she has been actively involved in NASPA, having served on the region II Latino Knowledge Community leadership team, and currently serves on the board of directors of the Broome Catholic Charities. Outside of work, Diana enjoys spending time with family and traveling.
George W. Contreras began his role as Dean of the School of Health Sciences and Wellness at SUNY Westchester Community College on October 17, 2022. He is a Fellow of the Center for Disaster Medicine and Assistant Professor at The Institute of Public Health within the School of Health Sciences and Practice at New York Medical College. Prior to his current roles, he served as Assistant Director of the Center for Disaster Medicine, tenured Associate Professor and Director of Allied Health at Kingsborough Community College at CUNY. Under his leadership, he created and implemented the first college-based paramedic program in Brooklyn, New York, which received national accreditation in March 2017- the highest honor for a college-based paramedic program, and the first and still only associate-degree Polysomnographic Technology Program in New York City which also received initial national accreditation in July 2018.
Contreras is a healthcare professional, established educator and administrator with over thirty-three years of experience in the fields of emergency medical services (EMS), disaster management, public health, higher education, international disaster response, hospital administration and consulting. He is also a seasoned paramedic in NYC EMS with more than three decades of service. He is New York State Department of Health certified EMS Instructor, a FEMA-certified Master Exercise Practitioner (MEP) and Certified Emergency Manager (CEM) credentialed by the International Association of Emergency Managers.
Contreras holds faculty appointments in undergraduate and graduate programs in public health, emergency management and emergency medical services (EMS) at Metropolitan College of New York, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, New York Medical College, Universidad CES School of Medicine in Medellin, Colombia, and the University of Malaga in Spain.
His professional career combines frontline direct clinical experience with education and administrative skills which allow him to collaborate and communicate with stakeholders at all levels from the public and private sectors alike. His research interests include international disaster response, curriculum development, simulation, and collaboration as tools in the fields of higher education, health services, simulation, EMS, and disaster management.
Contreras started his career in healthcare as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) with the Central Park Medical Unit, became a Paramedic, and eventually rose through the ranks to become Director of EMS at St. Clare’s Hospital in midtown Manhattan. He then served as the first Senior Emergency Manager (within the Bureau of Emergency Management) for the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene until he left for a position as Director of the first Office of Emergency Management at NYU Langone Medical Center- one of the largest healthcare systems in New York City.
Contreras is a frequent speaker at national and international conferences regarding EMS, disaster management, mental and public health, and simulation. He has authored and co-authored several articles, book chapters and manuals on topics such as EMS, mental and public health, and disaster management. As part of Hispanic Heritage Month 2023, he received a Proclamation from New York City Mayor Eric Adams for his extensive contributions and public service to the city. He is a first-generation college graduate whose parents sacrificed everything when they came from Ecuador in the 1960s and is a strong advocate for higher education to improve health access and outcomes, job security and social injustice.
Contreras holds a bachelor’s degree in psychobiology from New York University, an MPH in Community Health Education from Hunter College, an MS in Health Services Administration (with honors) from Iona University and is currently a doctoral student in Health Policy and Management at New York Medical College.
Dr. Patricia Diaz, DDS, MSc, PhD. is Empire Innovation Professor and the Sunstar Robert J. Genco Chair in Oral Biology in the School of Dental Medicine and also serves as Director of the UB Microbiome Center at the University at Buffalo. She received her dental degree at CES University in Colombia and her Ph.D. in Microbiology at the University of Adelaide, Australia. She then completed a postdoctoral fellowship in oral microbiology at the NIDCR/NIH and went on to earn her Certificate in Periodontology and Masters in Oral Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Diaz’s research activities have been funded by the NIH and industry. Her laboratory studies the ecology of oral microbiome communities and microbiome-host interactions in health and disease utilizing an integrative approach that couples clinical studies, animal models, high throughput assays and bioinformatics. Her work has led to a better understanding of the role of the microbiome in periodontal disease and in oral comorbidities of cancer treatment including oral mucositis and candidiasis.
Dr. Adam Gonzalez is a licensed clinical psychologist, an Associate Professor, and the Vice Chair of Behavioral Health in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Health at the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University (SBU). He is the Founding Director of the Stony Brook Mind-Body Clinical Research Center and the Co-Director of the SBU Consortium Training Programs in Psychology, which includes a pre-doctoral externship, a doctoral internship accredited by the American Psychological Association, and a post-doctoral fellowship program. Dr. Gonzalez earned his PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Vermont, and he completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School. He is an expert in cognitive behavioral treatment for mood and anxiety disorders, relaxation and mindfulness-based treatments and behavioral medicine. Dr. Gonzalez’s research, including work focused on evaluating stress management and resilience training programs, has been supported by over $5 million dollars in federal funding. He has published 75 peer-reviewed manuscripts and has represented Stony Brook Medicine in over 70 media interviews. Dr. Gonzalez is also actively involved in diversity, equity & inclusion work, serving as the Chair of the Faculty Diversity Ambassadors Council for Stony Brook Medicine and Co-Chair of the Stony Brook Medicine LGBTQ* Committee and the Graduate Medical Education Diversity and Inclusion Committee. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Gonzalez led Stony Brook’s Employee Support Team, which developed wellness resources to support the mental health and well-being of employees. He continues to serve as the Director of Physician/Faculty Wellness for the Renaissance School of Medicine at SBU.
Juan P. Hinestroza, a U.S. Fulbright Scholar and a PMP®, is the Rebecca Q. Morgan ’60 Professor of Fiber Science & Apparel Design, and directs The Textiles Nanotechnology Laboratory in the College of Human Ecology at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY.
Professor Hinestroza has extensive experience in a variety of research environments, including academia, the military, non-profit organizations, start-ups, and large corporations. He has worked in institutions across Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and well as North and South America. Professor Hinestroza's main research efforts aim at understanding fundamental phenomena at the nanoscale that are of relevance to Fiber and Polymer Science.
Hinestroza is an inventor of more than 51 granted international patents, an author of over 100 peer-reviewed articles and 6 book chapters, and an editor of a book on cellulose-based green composites. Professor Hinestroza's innovative work has given rise to three start-up companies, and he has served as a consultant to some of the largest Fortune 500 corporations and investment banks in the field of smart and interactive textiles and fibers.
Professor Hinestroza obtained a Ph.D. from the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Tulane University and B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from Universidad Industrial de Santander. Prior to pursuing doctoral studies, Professor Hinestroza worked as a process control engineer for The Dow Chemical Company. Hinestroza has received over 8.8 MM USD in funding (Federal and State agencies as well as Industrial Consortiums) for his research in understanding and exploring new pathways for creating multifunctional fibers via manipulation of nanoscale phenomena.
Professor Hinestroza has been the recipient of a myriad of awards including the National Science Foundation CAREER Award, the Young Investigator Award from NYSTAR, the Educator of the Year Award from the Society of Professional Hispanic Engineers, The Humanitarian Award from the National Textile Center and the Academic Innovation Award from Cornell Class of 72.
Professor Hinestroza has lectured worldwide at universities and research centers in Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bhutan, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Peru, Philippines, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, The Netherlands, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and Vietnam.
Professor Hinestroza’s scientific work has been featured in Nature Nanotechnology, MRS Bulletin, Materials Today, C&E News, National Geographic, ASEE Prism as well as mainstream media outlets such as CNN, Wired, TechReview, The Guardian, Popular Science, ABC News, NY Times, Reuters, PBS, NPR and BBC. In addition to his scientific endeavors, Professor Hinestroza and his research group are actively involved in community outreach activities aimed at increasing the number of members from underrepresented minority groups in science, technology, engineering and mathematics as well as engaging senior citizens in collaborative and inter-generational learning experiences.
Dr. Virginia Meléndez serves as Executive Director of Strategic Initiatives at SUNY Rockland Community College. In this role, she supports and expands on what it means for RCC to be a Hispanic Serving Institution working closely with the Title V Grants Teams. Virginia had the opportunity to serve as a member of the third Title V Grant Committee, which successfully received $3 million dollars to assist with increasing accessibility and learning outcomes for RCC students. Statewide, Dr. Meléndez represents RCC at SUNY-wide initiatives, collaborating with organizations that support the work of the College such as the 100 Hispanic Women Scholarship Program in Rockland County. At the national level, Dr. Meléndez serves as the campus liaison to the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) and Excelencia in Education, and actively explores opportunities to partner and collaborate. She leads organizational development and planning efforts while amplifying RCC's message, and serves as RCC's Accreditation Liaison Officer for the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.
Prior to joining RCC, Dr. Meléndez served in various roles in the public and private sectors in Higher Education. With more than twenty years of experience in Higher Education Administration and as a Board Professional, her work includes Strategic Planning, Student Success Initiatives, Diversity Taskforce, Middle States accreditation, Budget Management, Board Liaison, Project Management and much more. Dr. Meléndez is committed to professional development and being a lifelong learner. She was selected to participate in the second cohort of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) Leadership Academy, La Academia de Liderazgo, and served as part of the inaugural class of the Emerging Leaders Program of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU).
Dr. Meléndez holds an Ed.D. in Higher Education Administration from Saint Peter’s University, a master’s degree in Urban Education from New Jersey City University, and a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and associate’s degree in Office Systems Management from Berkeley College. Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, Virginia calls Jersey City home with her husband Carlos and son Kyan.
Dr. Montenegro's work focuses on colonialism in Latin America and the Caribbean which draw on her interdisciplinary interests in German Studies, Cartography, Ecocriticism and Visual Culture. Her research has been supported by a number of external fellowships including Fulbright, the Newberry Library, the Herzog August Bibliothek, the Omohundro Institute, and the American Association of University Women. In 2019 she received the Latin American Studies Association-Venezuela Section- Best Article- Humanities prize for "The Welser Phantom”: Apparitions of the Welser Venezuela Colony in Nineteenth and Twentieth-century German Cultural Memory." Previously as Assistant Professor she also taught the following for the Spanish program: Grammar; Advanced Reading and Interpretation; Cultura de España y América Latina; España Contemporanea; and Perspectivas de la naturaleza en España y Latinoamérica colonial. In 2016 and 2017 Professor Montenegro also led a service-learning study abroad course in Cuzco, Peru.
Julio Olaizola is currently the SUNY ATTAIN Project Manager. Over the last several years, he has served in multiple roles of expanding responsibility within SUNY ATTAIN, a program that ensures upward mobility opportunities for communities in need of educational opportunities and social equity. He currently leads a network of 35 computer labs across New York State providing workforce development training through academic, occupational, and employability self-paced learning resources.
He is a champion for students and adult learners, focusing on their success by enhancing the programs and services provided by SUNY ATTAIN. Through research and by establishing partnerships with a diverse array of software learning vendors, he successfully led the expansion of learning content available in Spanish for Hispanic communities, enriching areas such as high school equivalency, digital literacy and English as a second language.
Olaizola’s innovative approach to collaboration with multiple host agencies where the ATTAIN Labs are housed encourages community engagement and builds awareness of ATTAIN programs and services. He has pioneered initiatives with partners, delivering support in both English and Spanish, to reduce barriers for communities and help them gain access to critical learning and training resources such as computers, laptops, and internet service.
Olaizola has over 16 years serving SUNY and various communities across New York State. Raised in Washington Heights, NYC, he holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication from Villanova University, and an Executive Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Baruch College.
Pablo Salinas is the Director of Capital Budgets at the Fashion Institute of Technology. He earned his bachelor's degree in Accounting from Kean University before pursuing a master's degree in Information Systems from Stevens Institute of Technology.
Over the past twelve years at FIT, Pablo has served in various capacities, demonstrating his versatility and expertise. Currently, in his role he oversees the funding and budget for numerous construction and renovation projects. He acts as FIT's primary liaison with both The State University of New York (SUNY) and the New York City Office of Capital Budgets. Through strategic planning and collaboration with city and state entities, he has secured crucial funding that significantly benefits the school's comprehensive capital master plan. Pablo's contribution extended beyond the realm of the capital budget, he has played a pivotal role in managing the operational and capital budgets of FIT's Information Technology group, as well as in similar roles within the private sector. He is recognized for his ability to successfully steer finances toward the fulfillment of operational and capital objectives. He remains committed to ensuring the continued growth and success of the institution he serves, employing his multifaceted expertise to drive impactful results. Pablo migrated from Lima, Peru to the States at the age of 15 and has been a resident of New Jersey ever since.
Dr. Christina Seado Vasquez is a higher education professional with over 15 years experience in working with student success support. In her current role, Christina serves as the Director of the SUNY Oswego Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program. In this role, Christina supports a program with over 100 diverse students through programming, advising, and operational coordination. She has been in this role since the grant was awarded to SUNY Oswego in September of 2020.
Prior to working at SUNY Oswego, Christina worked for several schools in the state of Florida in a variety of student support roles. In her most recent position, she served as Assistant Dean of Students at the Loxahatchee Campus of Palm Beach State College. During her career, she has had the opportunity to build and redesign several programs focused on student success and support.
Christina earned her doctorate of education from Grand Canyon University in March 2023. Her area of study was focused on organizational leadership within higher education. In addition, she has earned an M.A. in Business Communications and a B.S. in Biology. In 2018 she was named a National Community College Hispanic Council Fellow.
Through her experience and education, Christina leads and supports her students with both empathy and innovative solutions. She enjoys seeking answers and the success of her students is its best reward.
Christina relocated to upstate New York in 2019. She is a native Floridian having been born and primarily lived there her entire life. She has been married for 17 years and together they have two sons. In her free time, she enjoys reading, movies, spending time with her children, and enjoying the beautiful nature of Upstate New York. Christina is very honored to have been selected as a 2024 Hispanic Leadership Institute Fellow and looks forward to learning and building connections with colleagues.