Dr. Bianca DeJesus (she/her) serves as the Director of First Year Programs in the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh. Prior to the University of Pittsburgh, she worked at Carnegie Mellon University as the inaugural Associate Director of Student Outreach and Support. She is a higher education advocate and champion for students from marginalized backgrounds. Her current professional role and research interests focus on centering inclusion, equity and belonging in the creation, implementation, and facilitation of high impact practices within higher education. As an Afro-Latina and first-generation college graduate, she seeks to elevate the experiences and voices of low-income, first-generation college students of color throughout academia. With over ten years of experience as a practitioner, Bianca has worked at numerous institutions where she could be an agent in the monumental task of eliminating barriers to high quality education and degree attainment. In addition to her work as a practitioner, Bianca has had the opportunity to publish research and speak at local, national and regional conferences to share her experiences with diversity, equity, inclusion and justice work. After undergrad, she graduated from the University at Buffalo with a master’s degree in higher education administration and a doctorate degree in social and comparative analysis of education from the University of Pittsburgh.
