About DICE at Heinz College
Dareen Basma, Ph.D., LPC (she/her/hers)
Associate Dean of Diversity, Inclusion, Climate and Equity
Cassandra Rios (she/her/hers)
Assistant Director of Diversity, Inclusion, Climate and Equity
Interests: Recruitment & retention of diverse populations to higher education, mental health & well-being, and celebration of unique identities.
![Sarah Malone](/heinz-shared/_files/img/diversity-and-inclusion/sarah-malone-bio.jpg)
Sarah Malone, M.ED. (she/her/hers)
Senior Administrative & Events Coordinator
Interests: Disability education and accessibility, LGBTQIA+ advocacy, inclusive retention policies and understanding intersectionality to cultivate a community that celebrates student differences.
![Vedantika Chaudhary](/heinz-shared/_files/img/staff-bios/tartan-wave-bio.jpg)
Vedantika Chaudhary (she/her/hers)
Interests: Representation of all communities in cinema, advocating LGBTQIA+ rights and ethical media & journalism.
![Jordan Fields](/heinz-shared/_files/img/diversity-and-inclusion/jordan-fields-dice-2023-bio.jpg)
Jordan M. Fields (she/her/hers)
Interests: Civic and political education, empowering Black students and communities, and combating misinformation targeting Black and Brown communities.
![Meriem Fouad](/heinz-shared/_files/img/diversity-and-inclusion/meriem-fouad-bio.jpg)
Meriem Fouad (she/her/hers)
Interests: Advocating for DEI practices, making sure that students of all identities feel welcome at Heinz, and celebrating cultural events.
![Rupali Kavale](/heinz-shared/_files/img/diversity-and-inclusion/rupali-kavale-bio.jpg)
Rupali Kavale (she/her/hers)
Interests: Increasing women representation in STEM fields, tackling gender inequality and promoting inclusivity across all forums.
![Grace George Sam](/heinz-shared/_files/img/diversity-and-inclusion/grace-george-sam-bio.jpg)
Grace George Sam (she/her/hers)
Interests: Enhancing the international student experience, making spaces inclusive for those with invisible disabilities, understanding lived experiences of women and leveraging technology at the polity-policy nexus.
![Vedantika Chaudhary](/heinz-shared/_files/img/staff-bios/tartan-wave-bio.jpg)
Bryan Hernandez Benitez (he/him/his)
Interests: Understanding and supporting the undocumented and DACA student experience
![Laila Tasneem Bera](/heinz-shared/_files/img/diversity-and-inclusion/laila-tasneem-bera-bio.jpg)
Laila Tasneem Bera (she/her/hers)
Interests: Exploring the Diaspora experience, advocating for Women of Color and celebrating cross-cultural exchange as international students.
![Arvind Thever](/heinz-shared/_files/img/diversity-and-inclusion/arvind-thever-bio.jpg)
Arvind Thever (he/him/his)
Interests: Building a student community, enhancing international student experience, spreading information about DICE across communities.
![Chinmay Vivek](/heinz-shared/_files/img/diversity-and-inclusion/chinmay-vivek-bio.jpg)
Chinmay Vivek (he/him/his)
Interests: Enhancing student experience, mental health, using data to solve DEI issues, advocating diversity across teams, celebrating all identities.
Email our office at heinzdiceoffice@andrew.cmu.edu and follow us on Instagram!