Eliza Yellow Bird named new director of Health Sciences OEDI

Francisco A. Moreno, MD, associate vice president of the University of Arizona Health Sciences Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, announced the appointment of Eliza Yellow Bird, PhD, as the new director.

Yellow Bird is from Mandaree, North Dakota, and is an enrolled member of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara nation. She has over ten years’ experience working in higher education advocating for marginalized students and challenging systemic barriers within academia. 

Well known to many at the UArizona, Yellow Bird joined the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in fall 2016 and formerly oversaw UAHS-EDI Student Services. Currently, she oversees the Arizona Health Opportunities Pathways to Excellence, or AZ-HOPE, Health Resources and Services Administration grant initiatives within the office and facilitates the AZ-HOPE Bridge summer transition program. 

Moreno expressed gratitude to former senior director Lydia Kennedy, MEd, who led the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion since its inception, contributing personally and overseeing the development of various programs of lasting impact.