Connect with DPE Staff

The office of Diversity Programs in Engineering (DPE) is a national award-winning and recognized leader in engineering diversity and inclusion. DPE strives to inspire the community and challenge conventional boundaries. We accomplish this by broadening participation compositionally as well as through engagement, inclusion, and achievement. 

Leading and supporting DPE’s comprehensive programmatic portfolio is a team of committed professional staff, graduate student coordinators, and several undergraduate student employees.

We invite you to meet our core team!

Cornell University is located on the traditional homelands of the Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫ' (Guy-yo-KO-no), the Cayuga Nation. The Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫ' are members of the Haudenosaunee (ho-dee-no-SO-nee) Confederacy, an alliance of six sovereign Nations with a historic and contemporary presence on this land. The Confederacy precedes the establishment of Cornell University, New York state, and the United States of America. We acknowledge the painful history of Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫ' dispossession, and honor the ongoing connection of Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫ' people, past and present, to these lands and waters.

Jose Martinez portrait

José F. Martínez, Lee Teng-hui Professor in Engineering 

Senior Associate Dean for Diversity and Academic Affairs

José Martínez is Professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He graduated in Computer Science & Engineering (“Licenciado en Informática de Sistemas”) from the Universidad Politécnica de Valencia (Spain), and earned MS and PhD degrees in Computer Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign. His research is in computer architecture—how to design faster, more energy-efficient microprocessors and computer systems based on them. José enjoys music of all kinds, audiobooks, and travel. He used to play the drums (terrible) and compete in autocross racing (decent), but hasn’t found much time to do either lately.

martinez@cornell.edu

Preferred Pronouns: He/Him/His

Sonya Cunningham portrait

Sonya Cunningham

Director of Diversity Programs in Engineering

Sonya Cunningham has over 20 years of success in higher education leadership - directing, managing, and supporting critical initiatives while working with diverse student populations, colleagues, and academic departments.  Serving as Cornell Engineering’s newest Director of Diversity Programs in Engineering, she hopes to continue to envision, design, assess, refine, and expand cutting-edge approaches for supporting students from historically underrepresented backgrounds.  Deeply passionate about equity, access, and inclusion, most of her higher education experience has involved supporting students from underserved backgrounds and helping institutions improve in this area.  Sonya previously held positions at the University of Washington, the University of Kentucky, and the University of Colorado. She received her B.S. in English from St. Lawrence University and an M.S. in Higher Education Administration and Policy Studies from SUNY-Albany. Here in Diversity Programs in Engineering, she is striving to cultivate inclusive excellence throughout the community.

p. (607) 255-7514

e. sgc95@cornell.edu

Preferred Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

Cindy Mosqueda Campbell portrait

Cindy Mosqueda Campbell

Associate Director 

Director of Inclusive Graduate Pathway Programs

Cindy Mosqueda Campbell has dedicated her career to diversity issues in higher education, specifically in STEM fields. Cindy was born and raised in Los Angeles. She earned a B.A. in Chicana/o Studies and Sociology from the University of California, Los Angeles. Cindy also earned a M.A. in Education from the UCLA Graduate School of Education & Information Studies. Outside of work, Cindy enjoys cheering for the LA Dodgers, writing, running after her toddlers, and discussing books, movies, and music with her husband.

cmm522@cornell.edu

Preferred Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

Nadine Porter portrait

Nadine Porter

Associate Director

Director of Inclusive Academic Student Success

Nadine Porter has over 14 years of experience in advising students in her former role as the Undergraduate Coordinator for Civil and Environmental Engineering at Cornell.  Her career is dedicated to helping students achieve their goals while at Cornell and beyond.  She strives to provide a safe space where students are heard and can freely express themselves without any judgment.  Born and raised in St. Croix, the largest of the three US Virgin Islands, she is the oldest of five children. At age 18 she left home to attend Wesley College in Dover, DE where she earned a Bachelors in Business Management and an Associates in Spanish. She was the first in her family to attend college.

ndp5@cornell.edu

Preferred Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

Dora Penavic

Dora Penavić

Program Coordinator

Dora received her BA in Chemistry & Chemical Biology from Cornell University, after which she served in AmeriCorps where she led the creation of a community based experiential training program in Waterbury, CT. Here with DPE, she manages the CURIE program and supports DPE Student Leaders. She is also spearheading program development for supporting women in Engineering. 

Jo Shoemaker portrait

Jo Shoemaker

Office Coordinator

Jo Shoemaker has worked as an administrative staff member at Cornell University for four years, since earning their B.A. at Ithaca College in the Class of 2017. Their goal is to foster and maintain the respectful and compassionate space in the DPE office, 146 Olin Hall. 
 

Contact Diversity Programs in Engineering

Schedule a meeting with a staff member.

Office
607.255.6403
Fax
607.255.2834
Email
Address
146 Olin Hall
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY 14853

Student Employees

Job openings at DPE for student employees are announced on our Newsletter blog.

Graduate Student Coordinators

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The DPE Graduate Student Coordinators are current Cornell graduate students who work part-time in the DPE office and take on the day-to-day responsibilities of running many of our programs for undergraduate and prospective students.

DPE Office Graduate Coordinator

Samavi Naser

LSAMP Graduate Coordinator

Katie Randolph

CU EMPower Graduate Coordinator

Dominic Diaz

CUES Tutoring Graduate Coordinator

Shola Onissema-Karimu
cuestutoring@cornell.edu

Ryan Scholar Graduate Coordinators

Tibra Wheeler
Chinasa Okolo
 

Undergraduate Student Staff

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DPE employs several undergraduate student staff members part-time each semester and during the summer to assist with administrative tasks, organizing events, and maintaining the DPE facilities. We would like to thank our current undergraduate employees for their contributions to our office and programs:

  • Adigun Olusola
  • Ave Kludze
  • Daisy Huang
  • Safiyyah Franklin
  • Steven J. Sinchi