Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Council
Michael Alston, EdD, CCDP/AP- Chair
Associate Vice Chancellor for Inclusion, Equity, and Diversity
Chief Diversity Officer
Dr. Alston’s employment within The University of Tennessee System spans 30+ years with stints at UT- Martin, UT-Knoxville, and UT Health Science Center in Memphis, TN. Michael's work experience in higher education encompasses residence life administration, student recruitment and admissions, undergraduate instruction, employee relations, student conduct administration and equity and diversity.
He is an alumnus of The University of Tennessee at Martin earning a BS in Psychology and MS in Educational Psychology and Guidance. Michael also has an earned doctorate in higher education administration from Peabody College at Vanderbilt University in addition to a professional certificate/certification in Diversity Management from the School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University.
Michael is a native of Brighton, Tennessee in Tipton County and graduate of Munford High School.
Chandra Alston, EdD, SPHR, SHRM-SCP - Advisory Member
Associate Vice Chancellor
Human Resources
Dr. Chandra Alston is the Associate Vice Chancellor for Human Resources at UT Health Science Center with twenty (20) years of service. She earned her Bachelors of Business Administration from UT Martin, and M.B.A. from Union University, and an Ed.D. in Leadership from the University of Memphis. Dr. Alston has worked in several departments on campus interacting with faculty, staff and students. Developing, training, and encouraging employees are passions that she has cultivated throughout her career.
Sally Badoud, MBA - Advisory Member
Assistant Vice Chancellor
Communications and Marketing
Sally Badoud joined The University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) in September 2016 as the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Communications and Marketing. Before joining the UTHSC team, Sally spent six years at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) in three different roles: Director of Marketing, Student Recruitment; Interim Director of Admissions; and Assistant Director of Marketing and Media Services for the division of Professional and Continuing Studies. Prior to her time at UAH, she worked for nine years at StoneRiver, Inc., a marketing firm in Decatur, AL, where she was promoted from Graphic Designer to Art Director to Creative Director.
Sally holds both a BA in art and an MBA in management from The University of Alabama in Huntsville.
Jacque Bradford, EdD, DPT, MS, CHSE
Simulation Educator & Assistant Professor
CHIPS
Dr. Jacque Bradford, EdD, DPT, MS, CHSE is an alumna of UTHSC completing her Doctor of Physical Therapy degree in 2009. She also earned her Doctor of Education degree at University of Memphis in Instructional Design and Technology. She has experience teaching in the Physical Therapy Program at UTHSC beginning in 2014 and in 2019 she transitioned into her current role in the Center for Healthcare Improvement and Patient Simulation (CHIPS) to follow her passion in simulation-based education. Dr. Bradford completed the UTHSC OED Diversity Passport Program in 2020 and is interested in incorporating diversity in the simulation-based education delivered in CHIPS.
James Carson, PhD
Senior Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies
College of Health Professions
James Carson serves as the Senior Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies in the College of Health Professions at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis (UTHSC). Prior to moving to UTHSC in August 2018, he served on the faculty at the University of South Carolina (USC) in the Arnold School of Public Health for 19 years, where he held the rank of Professor, was Department Chair, and Associate Director of the Center for Colon Cancer Research at USC. His research focus examines biological mechanisms that regulate skeletal muscle mass and metabolism, which has implications for health outcomes that include frailty with aging and cancer patient survival. He has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed publications and received several million dollars in external research funding. Student mentorship in research has been a cornerstone of Dr. Carson’s career and a focus of his laboratory. He has actively worked to promote diversity in biomedical research trainees, spanning high school students to post-doctoral fellows. He has served as a member of the American Kinesiology Association Diversity Committee and the American College of Sports Medicine Diversity & Leadership Training Program.
Connie Childs, MA
Director, International Affairs
International Affairs
Connie Childs is the Director of International Affairs at The University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) in Memphis, TN. She first came to Memphis as an F-1 student from Denmark and obtained a BA in English as a Second Language and an MA in English Linguistics from The University of Memphis. She has worked with international students since 1993 at The University of Memphis and with international scholars and staff since 1997 at UTHSC. She has been involved with workshop curriculum development for NAFSA: Association of International Educators, where she has also served on the Policy and Practice Committee, as well as presented workshops and sessions at NAFSA conferences.
Cassandra Christensen, RDH, MPA, EdD
Director of School-Based Programs and Community Outreach
College of Dentistry, Dental Hygiene
Cassandra Holder Christiansen graduated with Associate of Science and Bachelor of Science degrees in Dental Hygiene from Tennessee State University/ Meharry Medical College in Nashville, TN; She earned both a Masters of Public Administration degree and Doctorate of Education from the University of Memphis. Cassandra has over twenty-five years experience in dentistry, which began as a high-school part-time job and has evolved into a lifetime vocation. She is dedicated to the prevention of oral diseases focusing in underserved populations.
Currently, Cassandra is a tenured Associate Professor at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis, TN where she is serving as the Director of School Based Programs and Community Outreach
Her teaching responsibilities include Aseptic practices and Infection Control, Prevention & Patient Education, and Oral Radiology. Cassandra is a member of the American Dental Hygienists’ Association, the National Dental Hygienists’ Association, Sigma Phi Alpha, and Delta Sigma Theta. She has published various abstracts, articles, and a series of dental health manuals for West Virginia school teachers. Cassandra has spoke and presented numerous scientific posters at local and national meetings. She serves as a dental consultant and provides continuing education in the area of Infection Control, Diversity in the Workplace and Dental Hygiene Practice Management.
Alicia Diaz-Thomas, MD, MPH
Associate Professor
College of Medicine, Pediatrics
I was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico and came to the continental US as a young child. As far as I can remember, I wanted to be a physician. I completed my studies at Tulane University and Medical School and became board certified in Internal Medicine and in Pediatrics. Later, I pursued a fellowship in Pediatric Endocrinology at the University of South Florida and am also board certified in Pediatric Endocrinology. I have been at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center since July 2011. I am fortunate to have a position that allows me to grow in my clinical work, to teach medical students, residents, fellows, nurses and other medical staff, to participate in clinical research and to work together with my colleagues to use all of these avenues to improve the care of our patients in Tennessee and the Mid-South.
Martin E. Donaldson, DDS, MS
Associate Professor
Pediatric Dentistry and Community Oral Health, College of Dentistry
My faculty appointments include being a Tenured Associate Professor in the College of Dentistry (COD), Department of Pediatric Dentistry and an Associate Professor in the College of Health Professions. I joined the faculty of the Health Science Center in 2003 after a two-year stint at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, and prior to that, I taught at the University of Detroit Mercy and was an associate dentist in a pediatric dental practice in suburban Detroit. My educational institutions include Northern Michigan (BA), Eastern Michigan University (MS), the University of Detroit (DDS) and the University of Pittsburgh (Certificate in Pediatric Dentistry). I have board certification by the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry and am a Life Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry. Currently, I am a member of the Pediatric Dentistry Review Committee of the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA), a site visitor for CODA and a clinical examiner for the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry. I have served on numerous committees in the COD, am currently one of the faculty advisors for Unite, have been Faculty Senate President twice and have served on several committees at the Health Science Center and for the UT System, including the President’s Diversity Advisory Council. I love the Blues, Motown and jazz, am a foodie, a craft beer lover, and a fan of bourbon, when the budget allows.
Andrea Franks, Pharm.D., BCPS
Associate Professor and Vice Chair for Education
Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Translational Science, College of Pharmacy; Department
of Family Medicine, UT Graduate School of Medicine
Dr. Andrea Franks is an Associate Professor and Vice Chair for Education in the Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Translational Science in the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Pharmacy. She is also an Associate Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine. Her clinical practice, teaching, and research site is in Family Medicine at the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville, Tennessee. Dr. Franks teaches throughout the Pharm.D. curriculum and serves as a preceptor in Family Medicine for Pharm.D. students as well as PGY-1 and PGY-2 pharmacy residents at UT Medical Center.
Charlie Folsom Jr. EdD - ABD
Admissions Manager
Student Affairs, College of Nursing
A native Memphian, Charlie grew up a son of educators. He attended The University of Tennessee in Knoxville for his bachelors and masters degrees where he worked with the Admissions Office hosting prospective students on campus and assisting them with their transition from high school to college. After a brief stint in media broadcasting and sales, he worked in higher education in various leadership capacities at various institutions – a community college, a private HBCU, and his alumnus UTK. He is a lifelong learner and has continued his education earning a graduate certificate from the University of Memphis in Community College Teaching and Learning, working on his doctorate in Learning and Leadership from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and was a participant in the inaugural class of the Diversity Certificate Program at the University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center.
Marlon Hall
Financial Coordinator
Internal Medicine, College of Medicine
Associate Professor & Audiology Director of Clinical Education
As a young adult, I discovered audiology and after completing my clinical training, I spent 13 years in private practice. I returned to school full-time to get a PhD at the University of Wisconsin – Madison. I started my first academic position in 2006 at the University of Tennessee as Audiology Director of Clinical Education. I received tenure in 2012. The focus of my research with students and colleagues involves hearing in children, specifically: spatial and binaural hearing; aided and prosthetic hearing; informational masking; and hearing loss prevention.
Stephanie Lancaster, EdD, OTR/L, ATP, CDP
Assistant Professor, Program Director
Department of Occupational Therapy, College of Health Professions
Stephanie is a graduate of the OT program at Washington University in St. Louis and has practiced as an occupational therapist since 1991. She has a specialty certification through RESNA as an assistive technology practitioner and as Certified Dementia Practitioner. In 2013, Stephanie joined the faculty at UTHSC and since that time has earned a Master's in Leadership & Policy Studies with an emphasis on Adult Learning and a doctorate in education (an EdD) in Instruction & Curricular Leadership with an emphasis on Instructional Design and Technology from the University of Memphis. The recipient of the UTHSC Faculty Diversity & Inclusion Award at UTSHC, Stephanie serves as Vice Chair on the Executive Board of the Coalition of Occupational Therapy Advocates for Diversity (COTAD) and is the host of the On The Air podcast.
Connor Lenihan
Medical Student/President of the Medical Spanish Forum and Small Group Leader of Cope
College of Medicine
Connor Lenihan is a medical student planning to graduate in May 2023. He is from Galveston, Texas and received his Bachelors degree from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. Before matriculating to UTHSC as a medical student, he spent two years volunteering with the Peace Corps in Guatemala as a Healthy Schools Coordinator. Since matriculation he co-founded the Medical Spanish Forum and is its current president, he volunteers at the student-run free clinic, Clínica Esperanza, and has joined and supported organizations that represent historically underrepresented groups such as the Student National Medical Association, UTHSC Unite, and the Health Justice Collective
Mark A. Miller, PhD
Associate Professor
Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Biochemistry
Office of Research
Research Integrity Officer
Dr. Miller is an Associate Professor in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Biochemistry (MIB) and the Department of Medical Education (MedEd). As a member of MIB, he is a basic science researcher with a focus on bacterial pathogenesis/vaccine development and serves as the interim Director of the Regional Biocontainment Laboratory and as the Chair of the Institutional Biosafety Committee. Dr. Miller teaches foundational immunology and serves as the Course Director for the 1st year medical school course known as Common Mechanisms of Disease, and he serves as the Chair of the Subcommittee for Evaluation and Assessment (SEA). Dr. Miller serves on a number of additional committees involving both the research and education missions at UTHSC.
Mukta Panda MD MACP FRCP-London
Professor and Assistant Dean for Well-Being and Medical Student Education; Past Chair
Department of Medicine
Department of Medicine UTCOMC and Medical Education UTHSC-COM
Dr. Mukta Panda is Professor of Medicine and the Assistant Dean for Wellbeing and Medical Student Education at the University of Tennessee College Of Medicine Chattanooga.
Her roles include physician, educator, scholar and administrator with a proven track record in clinical, educational and administrative leadership, teaching, academics, student, resident, fellow and faculty education and development, and in hospital and university administration. She is working nationally, regionally, and locally on her research interests of health and wellbeing, fatigue, stress and burnout prevention in health care professionals, acculturation and enculturation, spirituality, and empathy in healthcare. Her new book Resilient Threads: Weaving Joy and Meaning into Well-Being, will be launched in February 2020. This book is a narrative on her Journey to Champion Soul-Deep, System-Wide Self-Care. Dr. Panda gives voice to the exhaustion and gives courage for another way. She is also the author of the reflective and motivational book, “Rhythm of Our Hearts”, coauthored with her father, a retired surgeon, Dr. Shyam Parashar. She grew up in India and has studied and practiced in India, London, and Saudi Arabia. She is a proud mother and mother-in-law of Natasha and Rajas, and Nikhil and Anuja.
Eliane Pater, BA
Student Affairs Specialist
Student Affairs and Community Enagement
Eliane Pater was born in raised in Brazil. She comes from a very humble background and was first in her family to earn a college education. Through her college internship in Brazil, Eliane was granted the opportunity to come to the United States as an international student in 2002. Eliane is a fierce advocate for first-gen college students, as well as minority and international students. Throughout her immigrant journey in this country, Eliane has worked in many different areas, as a nanny, in hospitality, banking, and higher education. Eliane has a Bachelor’s degree in Tourism and Hospitality, and is earning a Master’s degree in Higher Education Leadership; she loves culture and languages and speaks three languages fluently.
Trenton Pitts, JD
Director
Office of Business Contracts
Trenton Pitts has worked at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center for more than 6 years. He worked in grants and research contracts for both St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and UTHSC, and currently serves as the Director of Business Contracts. Trent earned a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Oklahoma and both a masters of arts in teaching and a Juris Doctor from the University of Memphis.
Cierra Richmond, BS, CAP
Human Resources Recruiting Assistant
Human Resources
Cierra is a HR Recruiting Assistant for the Employment & Records Office of Human Resources. She began her career at UTHSC April 2017. During the first two years of her career, she was the HR Assistant supporting Benefits, Compensation, and Employee Relations. She obtained her degree from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. She’s currently pursuing her MBA with an anticipated graduation date of spring 2021. She aspires to be a HR Generalist.
Cynthia K. Russell, PhD, RN - Advisory Member
Vice Chancellor
Academic, Faculty, & Student Affairs
Dr. Russell holds a PhD in clinical nursing research from the University of Arizona in Tucson. She received a MSN in adult health nursing from West Virginia University in Morgantown and a BSN from Ohio University in Athens. The UTHSC Faculty Senate has honored Russell with three Presidential Citations, an Exceptional Meritorious Achievement Award, and the 2001 Faculty Senator of the Year designation. She has received Student Government Association Teaching Awards and nominations and was a member of the UTHSC Academy of Distinguished Teaching Professors.
Brad Terhune
IT Team Leader
Information Technology Services
Brad Terhune has lived in Memphis, TN since 1991. He obtained a B. A. in English Literature from Rhodes College in 1991, and earned his Master’s degree from the University of Memphis in 1998. During his time working at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Brad has been a Help Desk technician, an onsite computer repair tech and currently manages the UTHSC ITS Help Desk.
Brad enjoys learning about new technologies, and often helps friends and family with computer issues when he’s not in the office. He’s always ready to play a game of racquetball.
Orpheus L. Triplett, D.D.S., B.S.
Assistant Dean, Community Oral Health and Outreach and Associate Professor
Pediatric Dentistry, College of Dentistry
Dr. Triplett is an alumnus of Alcorn State University, graduating cum laude. He earned his DDS degree from Howard University College of Dentistry and completed a General Practice Residency with the University of Mississippi Medical Center School of Dentistry. He is the recipient of many honors and awards including the College of Dentistry Dean’s Appreciation Award in 2017, a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition from Congressman Steve Cohen in recognition of outstanding and invaluable service to the community in 2018, a City of Memphis Certificate of Recognition for Outstanding and Meritorious Contribution to Our Community in 2018, and a UT President’s Award Citation of Merit in 2019.
As the assistant dean of Community Oral Health and Outreach, Dr. Triplett will oversee, encourage, and support community engagement activities in the College of Dentistry. He will be involved in the development and implementation of new programs, and the establishment of new relationships as it relates to the college’s public service mission.
Ray West
Project Manager
Facilities Planning Services
Raymond “Ray” West is a Memphis native who has sent his entire life living in Memphis. He’s been in the Architecture Industry for over 20 years and has worked on many large projects throughout Memphis. Ray has been with the University of Tennessee for over 6 years.
Mona Newsome Wicks, Ph.D., RN, FAAN
Professor and Chair, Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Department
College of Nursing
Mona Newsome Wicks, Ph.D., RN, FAAN, a university educator for over 30 years, has participated in diversity, inclusion, health disparities, and cultural competence work for more than 20 years. Her research and scholarship in these areas include extramurally-funded research and invited presentations and peer-reviewed publications. In addition, she reviewed grant applications for the National Institutes of Health, Center for Scientific Review for two terms as a member of the Health Disparities and Equity Promotion Scientific Review Group. Dr. Wicks developed and taught a doctoral course and participated in webinar development focused on diversity and inclusion, and previously served as Lead Co-chair for the American Academy of Nursing Expert Panel on Cultural Competence and Health Equity. She remains an active member of this group.