Lynn Hernandez

Dr. Lynn Hernandez, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) is Assistant Vice Chancellor for Diversity & Inclusion at the UMass Chan Medical School. She formulates and implements strategic plans for enhancing diversity, equity, and inclusion at the UMass Chan Medical School and develops metrics to assess the plan’s impact on its environment. She also provides guidance on empirically supported best practices to enhance the recruitment, retention, and advancement of students, staff, trainees, and faculty from underrepresented-in-medicine backgrounds and establishes professional development opportunities to foster a more structurally competent and equitable UMass Chan community.

Before joining UMass Chan in November 2021, Dr. Hernández was Assistant Dean for Diversity & Inclusion and Associate Medical Professor of Community Health & Social Medicine at the City University of New York (CUNY) School of Medicine. Dr. Hernández has experience utilizing data-driven and empirically supported approaches to foster a learning environment that promotes meaningful inclusion. She has been involved in delivering multicultural-competence training to healthcare practitioners, faculty, and students, and in developing anti-racist/anti-bias medical education curricula.

Previously, at Brown University, she was the Director of University Inclusion Programs in the Office of Institutional Equity & Diversity. Additionally, Dr. Hernández was an Assistant Professor (Research) in Behavioral & Social Sciences at the Brown University School of Public Health for more than 10 years where she developed an NIH-funded research program focused on addressing healthcare inequities impacting communities of color, particularly children and adolescents. She received her doctoral degree in developmental psychology and a master’s degree in mental health counseling from Florida International University.