UCI Diversity Affinity Groups

Faculty and staff diversity affinity groups foster cross-departmental social interaction, professional networking, cultural competencies, recruiting and mentoring.  Diversity affinity groups also offer the UCI community at large an opportunity to consult with group members as an information resource.

The following is a list of faculty and staff diversity affinity groups at UCI:

• Asian American and Pacific Islander Staff Association
  Contact: Daniel Park, danielkp@uci.edu
  Mission: To raise awareness of the unique opportunities and challenges facing Asian American and Pacific Islander students, faculty, and staff; sponsor cultural events and professional development activities; promote opportunities for community engagement; and administer student scholarships. 

• Black Faculty and Staff Association 
  Contacts: Kevin Bradford, kdbradfo@uci.edu; Niobe Duke, nduke@uci.edu 
  Mission: To promote a sense of kinship for BFSA members and the Black community at the University of California, Irvine. 

• Black Womxn United
  Contacts: Adrian Williams, Adrian.Williams@uci.edu
  Mission: To provide a safe space for Black womxn to grow, reflect, support one another, and holistically develop. We foster and cultivate the magic that is Black womxn.

• Chicano/Latino Staff Association
  Contacts: Michelle Foley, avilesm@uci.edu; Joanna Hernandez, joannmh1@uci.edu
  Mission: To create a network and to work with administration on issues relating to the Chicano/Latino community at UCI.

• Iranian-American Faculty/Staff Association at UCI
  Contact: Rameen Talesh, rtalesh@uci.edu; Neda Moayedi,nedam@uci.edu
  Mission: To build an atmosphere of positive engagement and promote a sense of community for Iranian-American faculty and staff at UCI. 

• Native American Faculty and Staff Association
  Contact: Maggie Bowman, maggie.bowman@uci.edu
  Mission: To grow a resilient and engaged critical mass of American Indian tribal member faculty and staff able to provide guidance and support to Indigenous students and their cultural communities.

• Staff and Faculty Pride Collective (formerly Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Staff and Faculty Network) 
  Contact: Deejay Brown, deejay.brown@uci.edu
  Mission: To address LGBT concerns on campus and to organize activities to meet the needs of UCI’s LGBT faculty and staff. 

• Faculty and Staff Veterans
  Contact: Tomas Figueroa, tfiguero@uci.edu
  Mission: To support the recruitment, retention, and networking of veterans in the UCI workforce.

• • Academic & Professional Women of UC Irvine 
    Contact: Tanya Zabalegui, tanyaz@uci.edu; Alyssa Sanchez, alyssa.sanchez@uci.edu
    Mission: To develop awareness by faculty, staff and other campus constituencies of the contributions of women to the mission of UCI; To provide activities and to support other campus constituencies that contribute to the advancement of women at UCI; To serve as a networking and communications channel among women employees at UCI; To serve as an enabling body for women to input collectively to the decision-making process on campus and community issues affecting women at UCI.

• • Women in Technology at UCI (WiT@UCI)
    Contact: Shohreh Bozorgmehri, shohreh@uci.edu
    Mission: To create a supportive community that recognizes and brings awareness to gender imbalances surrounding women with careers in technology, and to develop innovative approaches and solutions by connecting, empowering, and developing women together. Open to faculty, students, and staff. All individuals are welcomed. 

Faculty and staff interested in joining any of the groups above are encouraged to email the contact(s) for the organization directly. Faculty and staff interested in forming a new diversity affinity group are encouraged to contact Gwendolyn Black at (949) 824-5594 or gwen.black@uci.edu.  All UCI employees who want to learn about events and opportunities for all of the diversity affinity groups may subscribe to the Diversity-Affinity-Groups mail list.

The Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity is available to support faculty and staff diversity affinity groups* that are registered as campus organizations at UCI. Diversity affinity groups are independent campus organizations that may or may not choose to affiliate with OEOD. Faculty and staff diversity affinity groups are eligible for limited administrative and financial support, including listing on the OEOD website.

* Students interested in joining or forming a diversity-related student affinity group are encouraged to contact Campus Organizations at campusorgs@uci.edu or (949) 824-5181.