Congratulations to HELI 2012 alumna Carmen Valdez, PhD, on her promotion to Chief of the Division of Community Engagement and Health Equity at the University of Texas at Austin!
Dr. Valdez joined the faculty at UT in the Steve Hicks School of Social Work and Dell Medical School in Fall 2018 and after two years she is now leading the largest division in the Department of Population Health! As Chief of the Division, she oversees nearly 30 faculty and staff who conduct community-engaged research, build community partnerships and collaborations with community clinics, and train scholars and their community partners at UT in community engaged research. In parallel, she also directs the Community-Driven Initiatives Program which supports Austin residents’ ideas for improving community health.
Dr. Valdez is a community-based participatory researcher with a special interest in mental health promotion and intervention with Latinx immigrant families. She is also interested in understanding the role of social policy, neighborhood and family factors on immigrant health. She aims to address health equity through partnerships, community-grounded research and mentoring of health equity scholars. Dr. Valdez shared that this new opportunity makes her feel like she’s found her dream job!
Prior to 2018, Dr. Valdez was an Associate Professor at UW-Madison and led the UW Collaborative Center for Health Equity’s Advancing Health Equity and Diversity (AHEAD) Program.
Congratulations, Carmen! Your HELI & Wisconsin family is thrilled for you!
Health Equity Leadership Institute 