Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander

EDI strives to advance diversity and inclusion at the National Institutes of Health, and ensure that the civil rights of all employees are protected. The Asian American, Native Hawaiian, & Pacific Islander (AA and NHPI) Employment Portfolio is directed at ensuring that this constituency remains a successful part of a broader diversity and inclusion strategy for the NIH. This portfolio is federally mandated, having its authority grounded in Presidential Executive Orders.

THE PORTFOLIO

Asian American, Native Hawaiian, & Pacific Islander employees are an integral part of the NIH community and we are committed to ensuring that every member of this constituency are supported, given the tools needed to be successful, and encouraged to contribute their ideas and perspectives to tackle challenges at the NIH. We are responsible for designing rich programming and outreach initiatives, our goal being to ensure positive experiences at every level of employment. We count on the commitment and support of leaders and managers from all NIH Institutes and Centers to sustain this important work. EDI works in partnership with the Office of Human Resources (OHR), the Chief Officer for Scientific Workforce Diversity (COSWD), and NIH leadership to support the AA and NHPI Portfolio. Together, we develop collaborations to advance the representation of our AA and NHPI employees in all occupations of the NIH workforce and support this constituency in achieving their fullest potential.

At NIH, we understand that our responsibility to diverse groups extends well beyond federal mandates. We define diversity broadly to include all elements of our human identities and to encompass every aspect of difference. Within EDI, we are interested in leveraging the ideas of each NIH employee to fuel innovation and drive health discovery. The AA and NHPI constituency is a critical piece of our overall diversity strategy.

MEET THE STRATEGIST

Bela Mistry Gosine

Bela Mistry Gosine

Bela Mistry Gosine is the Asian American, Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Employee Strategist for the Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Bela comes to us with over a decade of experience in marketing, where she formed collaborative teams to help clients to work through complex, metric and revenue driven challenges. Working for a range of companies and leaders from Fortune-500 companies including Walmart and Target, and non profits like AARP, Northwell Health and the National Foundation for Cancer Research, Bela was able excel in developing operational rigor, while building collaborative teams not only within her department but across entire organizations.

Taking this experience, Bela pivoted her career to her passion and joined dentsu, a global media agency, as their DEI Program and Community Manager, after serving as a volunteer leader for the company’s Multicultural Business Resource Group. In this role, she served Business Resource Group leaders across 10+ groups in the US and Canada, including communities for Asian, Hispanic, African American, Middle Eastern, Disability, Military, Wellness, Religion, Parents, Women and several other employee groups.. At dentsu, she led the transformation of the Business Resource Groups to focus on impact, measuring and reporting qualitative and quantitative outcomes, developed new ways of working and collaborating and ensured intersectional perspectives were at the heart of every initiative. As a part of her role, she worked with global counterparts to create events across North and South America, Europe and Asia and is a noted contributor to the company’s annual DEI report, which was the first report of its kind to launch in the advertising industry.

Centering on the power of community, Bela strives to focus this power on doing good and doing more work together. For Bela, collaboration and allyship are critical factors to success in inclusion and belonging work, and she is excited to bring her experience to the EDI team and continue this critical work from one of the nation’s highest regarded Institutes.

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