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BMB's Diversity & Equity Action Plan

One pillar of UMass Chan’s community-informed plan to guide the institution towards growth, development, investment, and change (IMPACT 2025) is dedicated to outlining deliberate steps to cultivate a truly diverse, equitable, anti-racist, and inclusive community. One of these steps is to establish Diversity & Equity Action Plan (DEAP) development committees in every department. The purpose of a DEAP is to create community-specific and community-relevant plans of action in pursuit of a more inclusive and equitable workplace. These plans are grounded in self-evaluations of each department. The BMB volunteered to be part of the first cohort of departments to form a DEAP committee in 2022. 

We welcome all suggestions, ideas, and comments as we continuously strive to be more equitable and inclusive. Please contact the BMB Outreach Office to access our suggestion collection form (suggestions are anonymous).

The five priority areas to be addressed in each DEAP are:

  • Culture and Climate: Integrate diversity, equity, and inclusion into the organization, ensuring that DEI is a priority; and develop and implement anti-racist and inclusive policies and processes across the institution.
  • Curriculum: Implement and integrate anti-racist curriculum, enhance inclusive pedagogy and practices, and increase opportunities for expanding awareness and knowledge on matters of racism and bias in medicine and the impact of structural racism in healthcare.
  • Education and Engagement: Increase DEI education, engagement and capacity through professional development, community building, and educational opportunities.
  • Recruitment, Retention, and Advancement: Establish a portfolio of programs that support recruitment, mentorship, and advancement of underrepresented and marginalized individuals.
  • Accountability and Quality Improvement: Create annual review processes for evaluation and assessment of ongoing DEI initiatives and programs.”

Each DEAP document also includes the following elements:

  • Departmental context and history;
  • A process for developing the departmental DEAP;
  • Goals and strategies;
  • An implementation plan;
  • An accountability and governance plan.

All DEAPs are reviewed annually by the DIO and revised by the department.


Meet the DEAP committee members!

Our DEAP committee is made up of students, postdocs, staff and faculty and has identified key areas of improvement for the BMB that include discrete action items paired with quantifiable outcomes.

  • Haley R. Barlow

    Haley R. Barlow , PhD

    Sr. Program Manager of Outreach

    Type: DEAP committee member

    she/her/hers
    Part of the BMB since 2023
    One-word description of diversity in science: Intricate

     
  • Kathleen Desevin

    Kathleen Desevin

    PhD Candidate

    Type: DEAP committee member

    Part of the BMB since 2022
    One-word description of diversity in science: Diversity in science is “progressing,” slowly getting better but unfortunately still a lot of work to be done.

  • Lauren Intravaia

    Lauren Intravaia

    PhD Candidate
  • Leonora Martínez-Núñez

    Leonora Martínez-Núñez , PhD

    Sr. Program Manager of Outreach

    Type: DEAP committee member

    she/her/hers
    Part of the BMB since 2017

    One-word description of diversity in science: Indispensable.

  • Mary Munson

    Mary Munson , PhD

    Professor and Vice Chair of Diversity & Inclusion of the Biochemistry & Molecular Biotechnology Department; Assistant Vice Provost for Health Equity at UMass Chan Medical School

    Type: DEAP committee member

    Part of the BMB since 2001
    One-word description of diversity in science: Vital

  • Samriddha Ray

    Samriddha Ray , PhD

    Sr. Research Scientist

    Type: DEAP committee member

    She/her/hers
    Part of the BMB since 2021 (also did her PhD at UMass Chan)
    One-word description of diversity in science: Prerequisite

  • Sy Redding

    Sy Redding , PhD

    Assistant Professor

    Type: DEAP committee member

    He/him/his
    Part of the BMB since 2021
    One-word description of diversity in science: Imperative

  • Emma Sedivy

    Emma Sedivy , PhD

    Post Doc Associate