ASU faculty, staff members join esteemed '40 Hispanic Leaders under 40' club


Five Arizona State University faculty and staff members have been named to the “40 Hispanic Leaders under 40” award winner list published in Latino Perspectives magazine’s August 2013 edition.

The honorees from ASU are Jesus Cisneros from the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, Gabriel Escontrias from the Learning Sciences Institute, Stacey Flores from the College of Public Programs, Bianca Lucero from Barrett, the Honors College, and G. Adriana Perez from the College of Nursing and Health Innovation.

Launched in 2007 by Univision Radio-Phoenix and Valle del Sol, a nonprofit organization that invests in health and human services to strengthen families in Arizona, the award series honors young leaders nominated from across the state who have made impactful contributions to their communities.

Award winners will be honored during a luncheon Sept. 26, at the Arizona Biltmore Resort and Spa in Phoenix.

Jesus Cisneros, ASU Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College

Cisneros, a research assistant and doctoral student at Teachers College, is a member of the DREAMer Research Initiative, an on-campus group comprised of students, faculty and staff that lobbies for support to meet the social, cultural and academic needs of undocumented students at institutions of higher education.

The initiative led Cisneros to co-found DREAMzone, a comprehensive professional development workshop at ASU that provides students, faculty and staff with knowledge, skills and resources necessary to effectively respond to the presence and needs of undocumented students. The aim of the program is to help student affairs practitioners and higher education professionals develop intercultural competencies for working with and improving the campus culture for undocumented students. DREAMzone was a featured winner of the Clinton Global Initiative University “Sweet 16” Commitments Challenge held earlier this year.

Gabriel Escontrías, Jr., ASU Learning Sciences Institute

Escontrías, an ASU alum, was nominated for his leadership in advancing issues faced by underrepresented groups at ASU and in the larger community. Escontrías’ personal work has centered on advocating for LGBT and Latino issues through service on panels, presenting talks and raising scholarship funds to help students. He was awarded the 2013 Excellence in Diversity Award in the staff category from the Committee for Campus Inclusion at Arizona State University.

He has worked for the university in various capacities, including director of academic personnel for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, coordinator for the Memorial Union Programs and Activities, and as office and project specialist for the Hispanic Research Center. Among his many roles on campus, Escontrías serves as a mentor in the President Barack Obama Scholars Program and development chair of the ASU Chicano/Latino Faculty and Staff Association. He is also a member of the Committee for Campus Inclusion and the president of the LGBT Devils’ Pride Chapter of the ASU Alumni Association.

Stacey Flores (College of Public Programs)

Flores, recruitment coordinator at College of Public Programs, works with community colleges to build relationships with faculty and staff, and helps transfer students to make a smooth transition to ASU. She was nominated for her work in mentoring students and student leaders, and fostering success of minority students.

In one of her former roles at ASU, she served as an academic success specialist at the School of Life Sciences and founded the student chapter of the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Natives Americans in Science to provide support and leadership opportunities for students pursuing science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields. She also created an outreach program designed to increase the number of minorities interested in the sciences.

Flores has served as a mentor and advisor to multiple fraternities, sororities and athletes over the years. She currently serves as a mentor in the President Barack Obama Scholars Program and a member on the board of University Career Women, an on-campus organization that focuses on personal and professional development of women at ASU.

Bianca C. Lucero, Barrett, the Honors College at ASU

Bianca C. Lucero, a proud ASU alumna and die-hard Sun Devil fan with a master’s degree in nonprofit leadership and management, is currently the director of events at ASU’s Barrett, the Honors College.

She serves as a liaison on many campus-planning committees and ensures Barrett plays an integral role in key ASU events, such as Fall Welcome, Family Weekend and Homecoming. Additionally, she helps to facilitate key trademark programs, featuring noted diplomats, scientists, playwrights and authors, that have become some of ASU’s premiere intellectual occasions.

Prior to joining Barrett, Lucero worked as a community relations coordinator for ASU Public Events in the Office of Cultural Participation for six years. Her efforts enabled her to connect communities to innovative arts programs, world-class artists in residence and provide children and adults throughout the valley access to cultural initiatives.

Lucero currently serves on the advisory committee of the ASU Cesar Chavez Leadership Institute and is a previous recipient of the Chicano/Latino Faculty and Staff Association Cesar E. Chavez Community Service Award.

G. Adriana Perez, ASU College of Nursing and Health Innovation

An assistant professor of nursing, Southwest Borderlands Scholar and co-director of the Hartford Center of Gerontological Nursing Excellence at the College of Nursing and Health Innovation, Adriana Perez has devoted much of her research and time to studying cardiovascular health promotion among older Hispanics. Using various approaches to address the complexities of culturally relevant, community-based research, her technique emphasizes cultural strengths, resources and social networks to reduce cardiovascular health disparities in the population.

Perez has also developed and tested a motivational intervention, funded by the National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Nursing Research and the National Hartford Centers of Gerontological Nursing Excellence post-doctoral fellowship, to promote physical activity among older Hispanic women in the Phoenix metropolitan area. She was selected as a 2011-2012 Congressional Health and Aging Policy Fellow, funded by the Atlantic Philanthropies and Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. The program is designed to build a cadre of geriatric and gerontology professionals who can help shape a positive and healthy future for older Americans by contributing valuable science and practice knowledge to the health care policy arena, as well as bringing greater awareness and sophistication in health policy to the clinical and scientific communities.

Perez, a Yuma, Ariz. native, is an active member of the National Association of Hispanic Nurses-Phoenix Chapter Executive Board and is founding chair of the National Hartford Gerontological Nursing Leaders.

Article source: Latino Perspectives magazine

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