Greater Dallas Healthcare Diversity Summit

Dr. Gibbs is an Associate Professor of Medicine and Cardiovascular Disease and is the Vice President for Institutional Diversity at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. In this capacity, he serves as the director of institutional programs and initiatives related to diversity issues. He has designed, developed, and produced workshops and seminars, both internal and multi-center, focused on minority faculty and staff development. His work includes diversity initiatives for organizational advancement, mentoring, and cross-cultural communications. He is the Chairman of the Diversity Council and the Affirmative Action Officer at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. He has served as a member of the Chancellor's advisory task force on the status of minority faculty and staff at The University of Texas, and is a member of The University of Texas System Committee on the Status of Women and Minorities. In his present role as Vice President for Institutional Diversity he directs the Workforce Diversity, Outcome Measures and Compliance, Recruitment and Representation, and the Diversity and Cancer Disparities programs at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. He also serves on the Board of Advisors for the University of Houston's International Institute for Diversity and Cross-Cultural Management. Dr. Gibbs received his Bachelor's degree in biology from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and his M.D. degree from Harvard Medical School. He has also received postgraduate training at the John E. Anderson Graduate School of Management at UCLA, and the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Gibbs is someone who has impacted the outlook of diversity, not only in the workplace but also in the community.

CAPT Hernan Reyes, M.D. is the Deputy Regional Administrator of the Office of Regional Operations, Health Services and Resources Administration (HRSA), Region VI in Dallas, Texas. Dr. Reyes is Board-certified in Internal Medicine and has served in the United States Public Health Service for 17 years, in addition to 15 years in private practice. His Public Health Service experience includes practice in a community health center in Puerto Rico, an Indian Health Service Unit in Acoma, New Mexico and almost ten years in the Federal Bureau of Prisons. In the latter, he was a Clinical Director at both male and female Federal Medical Centers. Dr. Reyes is a member of HRSA's National HIV/AIDS Workgroup and is involved in activities in support of the implementation of the National HIV/AIDS strategy, with an interest in disseminating its importance at the Community Health Center level. His other interests include Primary and Behavioral Health Care Integration and the implementation of Mental Health First Aid training in the community.

Ms. Kini directs and advances the Multicultural & Community Health culture, strategies and initiatives for the Texas Health Resources system, one of the largest faith-based, nonprofit health care delivery systems in the United States and the largest in North Texas serving communities in 16 counties in North Central Texas, home to more than 6.2 million people. In her work, Mina is focused on growing workforce diversity as well as designing culturally and linguistically appropriate strategies to provide effective care for the culturally-diverse multilingual communities receiving care at Texas Health Hospitals. Prior to her current position, Mina served in several organizational development/change agent roles in various industries from higher education, community building, human service organizations and social science research. With over 20 years of professional experience in international and US settings, Mina holds two Masters Degrees – one in Social Work from Tata Institute of Social Sciences in Mumbai, India and the other in Organizational Development & strategy from Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas.

Dresdene Flynn-White accepted the position of Vice President for Human Resources at John Peter Smith in 2010, and assumed the role of the organization’s first Diversity Officer in 2012. As CDO she is responsible for the execution of the Hospital District’s diversity strategies, relating to the provision of culturally competent care for patients, the education and retention of a diverse workforce, and expansion of engagement with Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) vendors. A native New Yorker, Dresdene has interacted with industry partners across the country in the areas of education and healthcare. She is involved with several community and professional organizations, including Georgia 100 Mentors, Society for Human Resources Management, and Governor George W. Bush’s Council on Healthcare Information, to name a few. Dresdene has received numerous awards including the 2002 President’s Award for Women of Color in Health, Science and Technology; Action’s 2006 Business Woman of the Year; and 2006 Stevie Award finalist for Mentor of the Year. She earned a Bachelor of Sociology from Lincoln University, and a Master of Adult and Higher Education from Columbia University. She is a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives and has completed the Step Toward Academic Research (STAR) Fellowship Program at UNT Health Science Center for Health Disparities. Dresdene serves on several community boards including the Fort Worth Metropolitan YMCA, The North Texas Chapter of ACHE, and the Tarrant County Cancer Disparities Coalition .

Dr. Jillian M. Duquaine-Watson—known simply as “Dr. Jillian” to her students–received her BA in Social Change and Development with a minor in Women’s Studies from The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay in 1997. She completed her MA in American Studies from The University of Iowa in 2000. In 2005, she became one of the first students to earn the PhD in Women’s Studies at The University of Iowa. During her doctoral training, she specialized in the areas of pedagogy and theories of motherhood and reproduction. Dr. Jillian joined the faculty at The University of Texas at Dallas in 2008 in the School of Interdisciplinary Studies. Dr. Jillian is an award-winning educator who has taught a broad range of undergraduate and graduate courses, in the areas of Women’s and Gender Studies, American Studies, Political Science, Anthropology, and Sociology. Her teaching and research interests include poverty and public policy, international development, social change and activism, the family in America, educational practices and policies, motherhood, and reproductive technologies. Dr. Jillian has been published widely. She is currently at work on two book projects including a monograph, Mothering by Degrees: Single Mothers and the Pursuit of Post-Secondary Education, and an edited volume tentatively titled, The Technological Baby Boom: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Higher Order Multiple Births.