Seira Santizo Greenwood
Seira Santizo Greenwood, B.A. currently serves as the Chief of Staff at UCLA’s Center for the Study of Latino Health and Culture (CESLAC) at the David Geffen School of Medicine. She also serves as Director of the UCLA Medical Preparation and Education Pipeline program (MEDPEP). Originally from Guatemala, her path to UCLA was that of a non-traditional, undocumented, transfer student from Santa Monica College whose lived experiences have shaped her research and leadership style. During her 12-year career at UCLA, she has advocated for, empowered, and inspired students and healthcare providers to continue to develop their research and leadership careers. Her expertise in developing a personal, academic, and leadership curriculum has led to bringing together community and institutional partners to increase opportunities for underrepresented minority students to succeed in higher education and beyond.
Additionally, she serves as a convener for the University of California Office of the President, supporting alumni engagement efforts focused on diversity, inclusion, and equity. Her strategic vision rooted in elevating the U.S. Latino historic narrative inspired her to involve the international dance troupe, Ballet Folklórico Flor de Mayo to help tell the academic story of the real origins and significance of Cinco de Mayo in a publicly accessible way. Her research interests focus on the health outcomes of racially ambiguous populations and on the uses of the Latino Double Impostor Syndrome in health care leadership and equity.
