As we approach the Juneteenth holiday on June 19, MassLive asked readers and staff to identify people who are emerging Black leaders throughout the state, working to make a difference in their own area of interest, be it politics, education, business or the arts.
These are people our readers have identified as inspirational, who may be doing good acts for their communities. They are being recognized for their accomplishments, leadership and commitment to inspire change.
Each day, we will introduce more leaders, and we’re always open to hear about more inspiring people. If you’d like to suggest someone else who should be recognized, please fill out this form.
Marlina Duncan
Age: 48
Community: Worcester
Her story: Marlina Duncan was named the vice chancellor for diversity and inclusion and chief diversity officer for UMass Chan Medical School, the only public academic health sciences center in the commonwealth, at the end of 2020. In her roles, she heads the Diversity and Inclusion Office and works with leaders across the institution’s three schools and business and administrative departments to ensure diversity, equity and inclusion goals outlined in UMass Chan’s Strategic Plan are met.
When the school announced its IMPACT 2025 Strategic Plan in Feb. 2022, it highlighted that DEI would have its own pillar. At the time, Duncan said: “having DEI as its own pillar makes diversity, equity and inclusion central to our vision. This project is an effective way to move from good intentions to intentional efforts in DEI.”
In her role she has worked to assist with hiring faculty and recruit students that are historically underrepresented in the medical field and to provide trainings and educational materials to improve campus climate and culture.
In January, Duncan received the Diamond Award for Education, Leadership, Diversity, Equality, Inclusion, Humanitarian Philanthropic and Community Engagement from Not Alone Foundation, Inc. which works to provide financial assistance and other resources to people suffering from Chronic Kidney Disease and End-Stage Renal Disease.
Duncan has spent several years working on diversity initiatives in academia. She worked as the Northeast Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate Program Director from 2007 to 2012, served as Director of Diversity Initiatives and Education and Outreach at the Broad Institute from 2015 to 2016 and acted as the Assistant Vice President of Academic Diversity and Associate Dean of Diversity Initiatives, Graduate School at Brown University from 2016 to 2020, among other positions.
In her words: “My role as vice chancellor is the culmination of previous experiences in teaching, research, program development and higher education administration, in the fields of science and diversity equity and inclusion (DEI). All my professional experiences are driven by the question, ‘How do I create spaces that are going to allow people from marginalized communities to thrive?’ I do this work to create opportunities to center the experiences of those on the margins.”
Advice she would give others pursuing her work: “Stand for what you believe in and the universe will take care of the rest.”
