Dr. Gabriel Escontrías, Jr., is the Director of Health Equity for the American Psychiatric Association. Over the span of his 20-year career, he has served in various higher education and public health professional capacities with a commitment to increase diverse, inclusive, and equitable pipelines to postsecondary education, health care, and workforce opportunities.
Most recently, Dr. Escontrías served as the Program Director for Outreach and Operations at the University of Arizona (UA) Cancer Center where he contributed toward a more just and equitable health care by leading the development of a culturally sensitive educational community outreach program targeting Hispanics/Latinos, American Indians, African Americans, and LGBTQ+; vulnerable communities disproportionately impacted by cancer related health disparities. As an educator and proponent for student success he is shaping our future servant leaders as a Faculty Associate at Arizona State University (ASU) Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College and an Adjunct Lecturer at the UA Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health. As a champion for diversity and inclusion, he has collaborated with partners such as President Barack Obama’s White House Council on Women and Girls and the Office of Science and Technology Policy to advance the National STEM Collaborative, a consortium of higher education institutions and non-profit partners focused on scaling research evidence based skills and knowledge, resources and practices on access, completion, and workforce development for women of color in STEM.
As an active member in the community, Dr. Escontrias is the Governing Board President of A Stepping Stone Foundation, the Development Chair for the Chicano/Latino Faculty & Staff Association at ASU, and as a Citizen Member of the Phoenix Police Department Use of Force & Disciplinary Review Board. His commitment to public service has been recognized through the MLK Diversity Award in Education by the Tempe Human Relations Commission (2014), as one of 40 Hispanic Leaders Under 40 in Arizona (2013), and awarded the 2013 Excellence in Diversity Award from the Committee for Campus Inclusion at ASU. He is an alumnus of ASU having earned his Bachelor of Arts (2003) in Sociology with a minor in Chicana/o Studies, a Master of Education (2006) and Doctorate in Education (2012). The principles of diversity and inclusion were well rooted in his academic research as his dissertation examined Enhancing the Math and Science Experiences of Latinas and Latinos: A Study of the Joaquín Bustoz Math-Science Honors Program at ASU.
