A coterm student, an associate dean at Stanford Law School, a medical professor and Stanford Medicine’s Critical Consciousness and Anti-Oppressive Praxis Certificate Program have each received a 2021 President’s Award for Excellence Through Diversity.
Stanford established the awards in 2009 to honor individuals and programs that have made exceptional contributions to enhancing and supporting diversity within the university community.
This year’s winners are:
- Kendall Nicole Beache, a coterm student who graduates this weekend with a bachelor’s degree in computer science and is pursuing a master’s degree in computer science with a specialization in human-computer interaction in the School of Engineering
- Diane Chin, associate dean for public service and public interest law, acting director of the Stanford Center for Racial Justice and a lecturer at Stanford Law School
- Yvonne “Bonnie” Maldonado, senior associate dean of faculty development and diversity, the Taube Professor of Global Health and Infectious Diseases, and a professor of pediatrics (infectious diseases) and of epidemiology and population health at the School of Medicine
- The Critical Consciousness and Anti-Oppressive Praxis Certificate (CCP&AOP) Program in the School of Medicine
President Marc Tessier-Lavigne congratulated Beache, Chin and Maldonado last week for winning individual awards. Tessier-Lavigne also congratulated two people affiliated with the CCP&AOP Program: Shaila Kotadia, director of justice, equity, diversity and inclusion in the Human Resources Group of the School of Medicine; and Brenda Flores, research and program officer in the Office of Faculty Development and Diversity in the School of Medicine.
The other members of the program’s administrative core team are: Eamon Byrne, a postdoctoral research fellow in neuroscience and bioengineering in the Deisseroth Lab in the Department of Bioengineering; Taylor E. Jones IV, a doctoral candidate in chemistry in the School of Humanities and Sciences; Deb Karhson, a basic life sciences research scientist in the Autism and Developmental Disorders Research Program and assistant director for justice, equity, diversity and inclusion initiatives in the Bioscience Grant Writing Academy; and Jesse Isaacman-Beck, a postdoctoral fellow in neuroscience at Stanford from 2016-2020. For more information on CCP&AOP, visit the program’s website.
The citations honoring the recipients are posted on the website of the Office of Faculty Development, Diversity and Engagement.
Citation honoring Kendall Nicole Beache
Kendall Nicole Beache (Image credit: Adele Reding)
The award citation honored Beache “for focusing on specific and meaningful action to improve the culture of Computer Science, leading to departmental reforms, an effective structure for the work of the diversity committee and a road map toward a new standard of accountability.”
She was commended “for ensuring that student voices were central to the process, and for inspiring and leading her peers in a spirit of impassioned pragmatism and effective compromise.”
She was also recognized “for fostering an inclusive and welcoming community for Black students interested in computer science at Stanford through her leadership of Black in Computer Science.”
Finally, Beache was commended “for being a true leader, an agent of transformation and a force for good, and for achieving real change with lasting impact for future generations of computer science students at Stanford.”
Citation honoring Diane Chin
Diane Chin (Image credit: Jennifer Paschal)
The citation honored Chin “for mentoring countless low-income students, first-generation students and students from underrepresented communities in deeply impactful ways, and for supporting their well-being and success.”
She was commended “for championing students pursuing public interest work in positions that are both deeply meaningful and difficult to land, and for supporting all law students in acquiring the skills needed to act for the public interest.”
Chin was also recognized “for developing an innovative pipeline program to attract diverse students to a career in law, and for supporting the leadership training of diverse mid-career leaders working in social justice.”
Finally, she was commended “for playing a key role in launching the new Center for Racial Justice at Stanford Law School, a university hub for policy-focused, action-oriented racial justice research and education.”
Citation honoring Yvonne “Bonnie” Maldonado
Yvonne “Bonnie” Maldonado (Image credit: Steve Fisch)
Maldonado was honored “for championing diversity, inclusion and equity efforts across the university, including through her leadership of the Stanford Medicine Diversity Cabinet, Office of Faculty Development and Diversity and IDEAL Faculty Advisory Council.”
She was commended “for launching the Health Equity Action Leadership Network, making it easier for faculty conducting health equity scholarship to share research and funding opportunities, foster mentorship and accelerate collaboration.”
She was also honored “for working to mitigate health disparities throughout the region during the pandemic, and for launching and co-chairing the Stanford Medicine Health Equity Committee to support equity efforts in our patient communities.
Finally, Maldonado was recognized “for supporting efforts to protect vulnerable populations and promote health equity in a post-pandemic world through the School of Medicine’s Commission on Justice and Equity and the Recover, Restore and Re-Open (R3) framework.”
Citation honoring the Critical Consciousness and Anti-Oppressive Praxis Certificate Program
The award citation honored the School of Medicine program “for preparing students and postdoctoral scholars with the necessary skills to navigate their lives and careers from a position of knowledge, empathy and justice.”
The program was also commended “for creating a curriculum that emphasizes critical understanding of identity and positionality; explores current and historical oppressive infrastructure; and leads to the development of a culturally aware praxis to shape and realize transformative change.”
The citation recognized the program “for providing the space and framework for students and trainees to interrogate their own beliefs, have vulnerable conversations and grapple with difficult topics around race and bias.”
Finally, the citation commended the program “for inspiring cohort members to respond with empathy and action to the uncertainties of 2020, including developing a mutual aid program for those who are home-bound and acting in solidarity with the racial justice movement.”