Academic Faculty Scholars Program Kicks Off in 2025

The University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center (HSC) Office for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is proud to highlight the UNM Health Sciences faculty members who make up this year’s cohort of the Academic Faculty Scholars Program.

The year-long faculty scholars program is a joint effort facilitated alongside UNM Project ECHO, designed to advance the academic careers of under-represented minority junior faculty members. This happens through their participation in a community of practice, where they engage in structured mentor career development, networking and leadership activities.  

Each scholar in the program represents a different school or college within the HSC, which further generates collaboration across fields to better address health disparities and health outcomes within all population groups. The following are the scholars represented from each discipline:

• UNM College of Nursing – Sarah Llanque-White, PhD, APRN, FNP-C
• UNM College of Population Health – Claudia B. Pratesi, PhD
• UNM Comprehensive Cancer Center – Elba L. Saavedra Ferrer, PhD
• UNM School of Medicine – Nicole Lee, MD

During their cohort year, each scholar has access to a network of mentors. With that support, they select a personalized career development track in research, interprofessional education, medical leadership or teaching. They also complete a mentored scholarly project and participate in a weekly ECHO for FACULTY (Facilitating Advancement of Careers for Underrepresented Faculty Leveraging Technology) online sessions.

From left: Dr. Sarah Llanque-White, Dr. Claudia Pratesi, Dr. Elba Saavedra Ferrer and Dr. Nicole Lee

Each scholar shared what influenced them to participate in the Academic Faculty Scholars Program, and how they believed the program would support their goals:

Sarah M. Llanque-White, PhD, APRN, FNP-C, clinical educator and associate professor at UNM’s College of Nursing, expressed several factors that motivated her to apply for the program.

“As an Aymara Native American associate professor of nursing and a family nurse practitioner serving American Indian communities, I understand firsthand the importance of representation in both health care and academia,” Llanque-White said. “Throughout my career, I have witnessed the profound impact that culturally grounded care and mentorship can have on students and patients from Indigenous backgrounds. Yet, I also recognize the persistent lack of Indigenous voices in academic leadership roles, especially in nursing education.

“This program offers a powerful opportunity to strengthen my capacity to lead, mentor, and advocate within institutions that have historically marginalized Native perspectives. I am particularly drawn to the program’s mission to advance diversity in the professoriate and to support scholars who bring lived experience, cultural insight, and a commitment to equity into their academic roles. By participating, I hope to not only enhance my own leadership development but also help create pathways for more Indigenous students and faculty to thrive in higher education and health professions.”

Claudia B. Pratesi, PhD, is an assistant professor and the program director for the Master of Public Health program within UNM’s College of Population Health. She said she was excited to participate.

“I applied for and was thrilled to be selected for the Academic Faculty Scholars Program because I value opportunities for structured reflection, collaboration, and growth within a diverse community of educators,” Pratesi said. “As someone committed to advancing public and planetary health through teaching, research and service, I see this program as a meaningful way to strengthen my skills as an academic leader. It offers tools and mentorship that will support my goals of creating equitable learning environments, building interdisciplinary programs, and mentoring the next generation of public health professionals.”

 

I firmly believe that as a result of this program, I will enhance my academic networking and foster meaningful collaborations that will improve my success.

– Elba L. Saavedra Ferrer, PhD, 2025 Academic Faculty Scholar

For 20 years, Elba L. Saavedra Ferrer, PhD, has focused on community engagement and health equity research among Hispanic/Latine cancer survivors in New Mexico. She is a research assistant professor in the UNM School of Medicine Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Preventive Medicine.  She is also a member of the UNM Comprehensive Cancer Center, Cancer Control and Population Sciences, and the Office of Community Outreach & Engagement, as an assistant director of Patient Navigation programs.

“I sought to improve my ability to navigate the complexities of academia, overcome obstacles and achieve my professional goals,” Saavedra Ferrer said. “It was appealing to me to know that a program could provide this type of support and resources needed to thrive in an environment that may not always be equitable or inclusive.

“I firmly believe that as a result of this program, I will enhance my academic networking and foster meaningful collaborations that will improve my success.”

Much like fellow scholar Saavaedra Ferrer, Nicole Lee, MD, is an assistant professor in the Department of Internal Medicine, and has committed to serving New Mexicans throughout her career. She said the Academic Faculty Scholars program felt like a natural stepping stone in her journey.

“I learned about the Faculty Scholars Program from a superior in my division,” Lee said. “I am thankful that my place of work is supportive of an opportunity such as this. Particularly an opportunity that would provide protected time to not only learn and be mentored on career development, but to have the opportunity to collaborate with and learn from faculty from other schools across the health sciences campus. It is rare to have dedicated time to learn about topics pertaining to career development and being able to interact with faculty from other schools in a low stakes setting. I look forward to the conversations to be had through this program with the cohort selected this year.”

Building a Diverse and Equitable Future

The Academic Faculty Scholars Program is part of the New Mexico Workforce Diversity Center of Excellence and is made possible with funding by the Health Resource and Service Administration.

This program closely aligns with the third goal in the UNM 2040 Strategic Framework: Inclusive Excellence, in which the university will “focus on faculty and staff diversity, recruitment, retention, professional development, and career advancement and success, to address historical and current injustices and inequities.”

As of November, the 2025 cohort has completed their Mentoring Development ECHO Series where they received indirect mentoring from advanced level faculty members, as well as guidance on how to mentor students and colleagues who also are from underrepresented minority groups. 

The program is now in its third year and will be recruiting for the 2026-2027 cohort beginning in early 2026.