So far, this Hispanic Heritage Month, we’ve celebrated a musician, a career-advocate, and a community partner, all of whom demonstrate extraordinary success and appreciation for their community. This week, we add another to their ranks, whose influence and impact on the Hispanic and Latino American Community is made within the world of education, an area we hold dear in our work at NHCOA as a pillar of what Latino Empowerment means.
Dr. Britt Rios-Ellis, is the President of California State University, Stanislaus. With more than 35 years of experience in the world of higher education, Dr. Rios-Ellis has become a paragon of cultural and community-based activism through the power and resources of the many positions she has worked hard to achieve. She began her studies at the University of Oregon, where she earned Bachelor’s degrees in both Political Science and Spanish, followed by a Master’s degree in Health and Fitness Management, and a doctorate in Community Health. Since the completion of her own education, Dr. Rios-Ellis has held a litany of positions with various academic institutions, including working as a professor of health sciences at California State, Long Beach (CSULB) for 20 years, during which she founded the Center for Latino Community Health, Evaluation and Leadership Training. She also created an applied research center that implements community outreach into its work, called Centro Salud es Cultura.
Following her time at CSULB, Dr. Rios-Ellis became the founding dean of Cal State Monterey Bay’s College of Health Sciences and Human Services. She was only there for six years, and yet was able to double the amount of minority tenure-tracked faculty, and created several Master’s programs and new academic departments.
In working with such notable institutions as the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Education, the Office of Minority Health, U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Institutes of Minority Health and Health Disparities and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), and more, Dr. Rios-Ellis has directed more than $59 million worth of funding to such areas of research as Latine HIV/AIDS, nutrition, maternal health, chronic diseases, and mental health.
The National Hispanic Council on Aging is thrilled to shed light on such an achievement. Public Health is an area that requires immense research to better understand the issues and circumstances, both cultural and systemic, that obscure proper care from Hispanic and Latino communities. Amongst her work in these subject matters of public health, Dr. Rios-Ellis has even considered practices of promotores de salud in the implementation of relevant research and trainings. It is no wonder that her accolades include the Henry Montes Presidential Award from the American Public Health Association’s Latino Caucus.
This long list of accomplishments spanning her 35 years of experience in higher education demonstrate a keen awareness of her position and the power she holds following her educational journey. Every step of the way, Dr. Rios-Ellis made incredible use of her expertise, experience, and leadership to empower others, and to give back to her community, to an extent that is truly staggering.
Congratulations on an influential, impactful, and impressive ongoing career, and happy Hispanic Heritage Month, Dr. Rios Ellis! The National Hispanic Council on Aging is proud to site you as an example of Latino Empowerment.
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