The struggle for 股本 was something 利亚戈登 recognized as a young child, well before anything was called 多样性, 股本, 和包容, 或者一些. It was core to her father’s work as commandant of the Soldiers’ 首页 in Chelsea, Massachusetts.
“Making sure veterans got their fair and equitable share of good health care and access was so important to him,戈登说。, an Afro-Latina whose mother immigrated from Panama. “Seeing his commitment to veterans resonated with my family and our world as people of color.”
Gordon joined the 康奈尔护理学院 in January as associate dean for inclusive excellence, 多样性, and belonging after serving as director of 多样性 for Mass General Hospital’s Nursing and Patient Care Services Department. As associate dean, Gordon provides leadership and vision for CSON’s 多样性 和包容 efforts. She is a central resource and advocate for CSON students, 教师, 和工作人员, and leads the Diversity in Nursing and Action Committee (previously known as the Diversity Advisory Board). She is also developing training programs, events, and activities geared toward
整个CSON社区.
Gordon sees a sense of belonging as a crucial first step in 多样性 efforts. “We need to create an environment that makes people feel like they belong—where their identities are ac知识d and they can be their authentic selves. It’s essential groundwork for building and maintaining a diverse 教师 and student body,戈登说。.
One of her priorities is to deepen CSON’s connections with community partners, who bring a “highly developed understanding of the communities and patients we serve and help us bridge the gaps caused by social determinants of health.她还发起了一个
monthly healing circle where “the CSON community comes together to hold an open conversation about outside events that are affecting them in an atmosphere of respect and concern.” Participants offer and receive support and listen without question or judgment.
Gordon said that CSON Dean Katherine 格雷戈里’s support has been invaluable. “在DEI工作中, if you don’t have leadership support, it’s very difficult for these initiatives to thrive,”她说。. “I came to BC because I saw the level of support around the idea of creating community and a commitment to DEI work.”
“We need to create an environment that makes people feel like they belong—where their identities are ac知识d and they can be their authentic selves. It’s essential groundwork for building and maintaining a diverse 教师 and student body.”
利亚戈登, associate dean for inclusive excellence, 多样性, and belonging
Gordon is also an associate professor of the practice who is currently co-teaching Advanced Health Assessment to CSON graduate students who are preparing to be advanced practice clinicians. 近20年来, the focus of her clinical practice has been caring for oncology patients, and she continues to work one day a week as a radiation and oncology nurse practitioner at MGH.
因为护士以同理心来领导, Gordon sees them as natural leaders in making health care more equitable and just. She wants Connell to be a place where the seeds of 股本 are planted.
“我们可以提供培训, 知识, and preparation to create stewards who will call out bias, 种族歧视, or any ‘ism’ or ‘phobia’ in health care settings, 帮助解决问题, 并提供解决方案.”
被关注和重视
Gordon knows how transformational a sense of belonging can be. 在她职业生涯的早期, she worked at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in multiple support roles, engaging with patients and supporting nurses and physicians. During that time, she met nurse practitioner and CSON alumna Kim Noonan, M.S. ’88, who felt Gordon belonged in the nursing profession.
“What are you doing with your life?” Gordon recalls Noonan saying to her. “I see qualities in you to be a nurse.”
莉亚·戈登和金·努南
而护理对戈登很有吸引力, the journey to earn a college degree and become a nurse practitioner seemed daunting. 当时, she was a single mother to a toddler and would need to work full time while going to school. After years of hard work, she graduated from Regis College with an M.S. in nursing around the same time her daughter graduated high school. 2017年，戈登获得了D.N.P.
Gordon and Noonan have remained good friends since those early days at Dana-Farber. “There have been lots of changes and struggles on this journey. The nursing profession saved my life. And it’s a profession that I absolutely love.
“All it takes sometimes is one person to just say, ‘I believe in you. 去做吧.’”