The Team | Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

Immediate Office of the Director

Treava S. Hopkins-Laboy

Acting Director

Treava Hopkins-Laboy has over 30 years of experience with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Before serving as the Acting Director of the Office of Equity Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) at the National Institutes of Health, Treava served as the Deputy Director of EDI for eight years. Treava work as the Director of EEO Compliance for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), where she was responsible for the direct supervision of the Complaints Processing Staff and the Reasonable Accommodation Team. Treava also served as the Acting Director of the Conflict Prevention and Resolution Staff, overseeing alternative dispute resolution and conflict intervention programs.

Treava started her career with HHS in the FDA's Office of Regulatory Affairs as an Education Specialist for the Education and Training Division. In this role, she was responsible for providing training for Field Investigators and Laboratory Personnel. She later transitioned to the Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) as a Workforce Diversity Specialist. She oversaw student intern outreach programs, graduate student intern research programs, special emphasis programs, and workforce analysis. During this time, Treava also served on the HHS Recruitment Council and the HHS Disability Council and is credited with the development and implementation of the FDA Recruitment and Retention team. Treava holds a Masters Degree in Management in Human Resources from the University of Maryland, a Bachelor of Science from American University, and an Associate of Arts Degree in Paralegal Studies from Montgomery College. In addition, she received her EEO Studies Certification from Cornell University and Mediation Certifications from the Atlanta Justice Center.

Outside of her work and academic studies, Treava is a scuba diver, author, music DJ, aerobics instructor, actress, and podcast co-host. In her spare time, she enjoys playing the drums, reading books, and traveling.

Kendrick T. Gibbs

Acting Deputy Director

Kendrick is the Acting Deputy Director. In this role, he is responsible for providing managers and employees the tools necessary to guide them through the complexities of EEO. He is also responsible for ensuring accessibility requirements are met for the NIH . He works diligently to ensure the communication of the EDI mission and vision is conveyed to all NIH employees.

Mr. Gibbs began his government career with HHS in 1999 as a secretary with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). While at the FDA, Kendrick also served as an administrative officer, an employee resource specialist, an information technology specialist, an investigations program manager, and an equal employment specialist. Mr. Gibbs also served as the Director of Equal Employment Opportunities (EEO) for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of the Secretary and was responsible for developing, implementing, evaluating, and directing a comprehensive program in accordance with Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 29 CFR 1614, and other applicable laws, regulations, policies, Executive Orders, and White House initiatives related to EEO. He has also served as the Director of the HHS, Office of Human Resources (OHR), Rockville Field Office.

Prior to joining the NIH in 2012, Mr. Gibbs was the Director of the HHS, OHR, Diversity Opportunities, Outreach, and Recruitment Division where he ensured enhancements to the HHS compositional diversity profile and inclusion of all populations within the workforce. He helped to develop, direct, and evaluate an enterprise-wide effort that achieved the goals for diversity identified in the Departmental Strategic Plan and Departmental Diversity and Inclusion

Plan. Mr. Gibbs also provided policy guidance, program direction, and staff leadership in the area of workforce analysis, barrier analysis, outreach, retention, and training for HHS. A strong advocate for employee development and mentoring, Mr. Gibbs continues to coach and mentor employees as well as youth through his affiliation with Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. in his spare time.

Originally from Hyattsville, Maryland, he received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Operations from South Carolina State University with a dual concentration in Marketing and Management.

Stephon L. Scott

Senior Policy Advisor

Stephon has over 20 years of federal government service (military & civilian). He currently serves as Senior Policy Advisor to the Director of EDI; in this role, Mr. Scott assists in the development of comprehensive and strategic approaches to addressing racial and social inequities at the NIH. In addition, he assists in developing, reviewing, modifying, or removing NIH policies or procedures that may perpetuate those inequities.

He has served as Acting Director for the Guidance, Education, and Marketing Division in EDI, where he provided leadership on effective EEO and D&I marketing and communication strategies, as well as equitable access for all NIH employees and applicants. In addition, he has served as Branch Chief of EDI’s Access & Equity Branch. There, he has led the EDI Accessibility Consultancy at NIH, whose portfolio of services includes Language Access, Reasonable Accommodation, and EEO Guidance. Additionally, he has served as the Team Leader and Subject Matter Expert for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Reasonable Accommodation Program (RAP), Office of Equal Opportunity & Civil Rights (OEOCR).

Prior to CMS, Mr. Scott served the State of New Mexico, the University of New Mexico, and Albuquerque Public Schools (APS) as an educator, community outreach coordinator, project coordinator, diversity trainer, language access facilitator and collaborator, and higher education academic advisor.

While at APS, Mr. Scott served as the organization’s content expert on Critical Race Theory and Social Cultural Studies and applied that expertise toward developing data-driven trainings and equitable policies and curriculum.

Mr. Scott's Master of Public Administration (MPA) professional paper, entitled “‘WHITES ONLY’ Racially Restrictive Real Estate Covenants: Albuquerque, New Mexico, 1940-1948,” earned him the Ferrel Heady Award for Most Outstanding Professional Paper, 2007-2008. That research has led to two investigative news reports and county commissioners collaborating to remove racist language from New Mexico property deeds (Dec.2020). Mr. Scott has also been invited to speak on racial/social injustice to youth at the Boys and Girls Club of America and high schools. In addition, as a Ronald E. McNair Scholar—and throughout his studies—Mr. Scott has conducted extensive research on the construction of race and whiteness, and how they are used to oppress racialized minorities.

As a law student, Mr. Scott served as a legal intern with the Office of General Counsel, Office of the Governor, Chief Counsel, State of New Mexico. He also worked as a law clerk with The Pueblo of Laguna Tribal Courts, Office of the Prosecutor, and with the Bernalillo County Attorney’s Office, Bernalillo County, New Mexico.

Presently, in addition to pursuing his Ph.D. (ABD) in Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies, with an emphasis on Critical Theory and Critical Race Theory, Mr. Scott works as a consultant with private-sector threat assessment professionals to address social injustice in policing and schooling.

Mr. Scott’s watch-phrase is “where there is will and opportunity, advancement is sure to follow!”

Mr. Scott is also a United States Army combat veteran. He is married to his “North Star” and is the father of three children and three step children, all of whom are blessings.

Resolutions & Equity Division

Kenrick Small

Acting Director, Resolutions and Equity

Kenrick worked at the Food and Drug Administration since 2014 as a Formal Complaints Specialists and served as the Acting Director for Compliance and the Team Lead of the Compliance Team. He directed the coordination of assignments for all duties of the Compliance team including the preparation of accept/dismissal letters, issuance of reports of investigation, and transmittal of EEO complaint files, the processing of and the coordination of all appeals and remanded cases. From 2009-2013 Kenrick worked at the Department of Health and Human Services, as a Senior EEO Specialist. There he perform the full range of EEO services including, but not limited to complaint processing and adjudication functions, administering diversity management initiatives and administering affirmative employment and special emphasis programs. Kenrick’s EEO experience continues back to include Civil Rights Specialist, Attorney at Law, Probation Officer, Correctional Counselor, etc.

Kenrick earned his J.D., at Western New England College School of Law, Springfield, MA, and his Bachelors in Sociology at Springfield College in Springfield MA.

Chinara Brown

Acting Branch Chief, Formal Complaints

Chinara A. Brown currently serves as the Acting Branch Chief of the Formal Complaints branch. She started her federal career as a clerk typist with the National Institutes of Health’s Student Temporary Employment Program in the Office of Research Services, Equal Employment Opportunity Office, and became a permanent NIH employee in 2001. Chinara was promoted to serve as the Program Support Assistant for the Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, and is now serving as an EEO Counselor. Chinara began her undergraduate studies at Strayer University in Washington, DC, where she continues to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Accounting. Over the years, she has enjoyed providing support to the Resolution and Equity staff, and prides herself on learning all aspects of the federal EEO complaints process. In her spare time, Chinara enjoys spending time with her family and friends, and traveling.

Eric Hebron

Branch Chief, Informal Complaints

Eric joined EDI as the Branch Chief for the Informal Complaints Branch in March 2014. He brings a variety of talents to this position with a keen eye towards alternative dispute resolution (ADR). In 1999, Eric was offered a job as the Internal Ombudsman for the Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority providing confidential resolution of internal disputes between employees and management. He also provided training to managers and employees on various topics ranging from Conflict Coaching, 360-degree feedback surveys, and Interpersonal Skill Development.

In 2008, Eric was offered a position at the U.S. Pentagon Force Protection Agency (PFPA) as an ADR specialist. At PFPA, he served as an EEO liaison to the Director, the EAP Coordinator, and an employee relations specialist. In 2010, Eric began working at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as a Conflict Prevention and Resolution Specialist. Certified as an EEO Counselor, he has extensive experience with EEO informal complaints and has tirelessly worked to resolve complaints of discrimination before they become formal complaints.

Born in Annapolis, Maryland, Eric earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology at Morgan State University in 1988. Interested in continuing his education in the field of Counseling, he enrolled at the University of Maryland, School of Social Work specializing in Employee Assistance Program Counseling (EAP). Eric obtained a Master of Social Work in 1992, and has also received certifications in Organizational Development from Georgetown University and the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD). In 2007, Eric also obtained a 40-hour certification in Mediation from the Center for Conflict Resolution.

Guidance, Education, & Marketing Division

Kimberly Kirkpatrick

Acting Director, Guidance, Education, and Marketing

Kimberly Kirkpatrick is the Acting Director of the Guidance, Education, and Marketing Division. Since her arrival in March 2011, she has invigorated internal and external partnerships that support and provide reasonable accommodations to the disability community. Prior to joining NIH, Kimberly served as the Senior Equal Employment Opportunity Specialist at the Department of Health and Human Services. In addition to monitoring EEO complaints and processing reasonable accommodations, she executed the Management Directive 715 for the Office of the Director and the Administration for Children and Families.

An alumnus of the University of Maryland, University College, Kimberly started her federal career in 1992 at the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC). Since then, she has served as an EEO Counselor and Investigative Contracts Manager, and Co-Chaired a highly successful Special Emphasis Program. She has over 20 years of government service, including 15 years in the PBGC, Office of the General Counsel, Appeals Division. There, she was influential in implementing the use of the Workforce Recruitment Program for Students with Disabilities and directed the Organization’s first Job Shadowing Day and Diversity Day Observance. She also served as the Disability Program Manager and the Federal Women’s Program Manager. Kimberly is known for her ability to quickly assess issues, her strength in creative resolutions, and her forte in adapting to challenges.

Jessica Center

Acting Branch Chief, Access & Equity

Jessica Center is an enthusiastic professional with a personal mission to help others. Ms. Center has been a federal contractor for over 4 years, providing Personal Assistance and Program Support to the Reasonable Accommodation Program under the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). In this work she has served a diverse, nation-wide, federal population by coordinating requests for accommodation and the provision of direct service accommodations.

Ms. Center is a graduate of West Virginia University where she worked with different groups to identify barriers for women, people with disabilities, and LGBT individuals. In this work she helped to raise community awareness and supported planning and implementing inclusion projects in the community and with the state government of West Virginia.

Ms. Center is a Maryland resident and enjoys spending time with her family and friends.

Jenn Pumphrey

Acting Branch Chief, Technology, Marketing, & Communications

Born and raised in Gaithersburg, MD, Jenn has 14 years of integrated marketing experience. She is passionate about helping others find their voice and amplifying it over the clutter in today’s marketplace.

She began her career in Bethesda, MD, working with the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) as a communications specialist, helping lead initiatives to raise the social footprint for the Association and its members. She returned to the area after an 11 year stay in Chicago, IL and San Diego, CA. While in Chicago, she worked in the nonprofit sector with the Alzheimer’s Association and in entertainment and media with Viacom’s Black Entertainment Television (BET) Networks. As a marketing strategist for BET Networks, Jenn played an integral role in broadcast and digital media sales enablement as well as brand solutions for major tentpoles including award shows and live events.

Upon the completion of master’s coursework in Cultural and Educational Policy Studies at Loyola University Chicago, Jenn relocated to San Diego, CA where she led business development and brand marketing in digital media, fintech, and the mortgage industry. Throughout her career, Jenn has positioned herself as a diversity specialist helping to establish brand marketing strategies that represent multicultural perspectives and elevate the voices of cultural minorities in vital national industries.

Jenn has served on several committees throughout her career, being selected by the Alzheimer’s Association, BET Networks, and Guild Mortgage Company to represent her department in corporate employee satisfaction efforts, which led to the restructuring of internal practices and procedures, limited turnover, and in the case of Guild Mortgage Company, recognition for “San Diego’s Best Place to Work” in the San Diego Tribune, two consecutive years.

Jenn attended Towson University where she studied Mass Communications and holds several certifications for Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Web Development, and Training.

Data Analytics & Customer Outreach Division

Shelma Middleton Little, Ph.D.

Director, Data Analytics and Customer Outreach

Dr. Little became the Director of the Division of Data Analytics and Customer Outreach on June 30, 2013. In this role she provides leadership for the production of data used to inform the NIH’s diversity and inclusion strategies; customer outreach to the NIH institutes, centers, and offices; and EDI employee development.

Shelma's previously served as EDI’s Branch Chief for Analysis, Planning, Evaluation, and Reports. In this role she was responsible for leading the NIH’s Management Directive 715 initiatives; providing oversight for evaluation of all EEO events and training; and developing Affirmative Employment Reports.

Dr. Little has over twelve years of equity, diversity, and inclusion experience serving as a program analyst and supervisory EEO specialist. During her career, she has coordinated a student training program designed to increase the pipeline of racial and ethnic minority students pursuing research careers; developed tools to evaluate EEO sponsored programs and trainings; piloted and implemented a process for collecting demographic information from tenured and tenure track scientists to evaluate the diversity of NIH’s applicant pool and outreach efforts; and led the resurvey of the NIH workforce resulting in an update to the disability status of employees.

In addition, Dr. Little has also served as an adjunct instructor for the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute as well as an HHS loaned executive for the Combined Campaign Fund. She is a graduate of the NIH Management Internship Program.

Prior to entering the EEO arena, Dr. Little worked as a clinical social worker at the NIH Clinical Center. In this capacity, she provided a wide range of treatment and consulting services for participants in clinical trials and their families. Dr. Little received a Bachelor of Science Degree from the College of Charleston, and an MSW and Ph.D. from Howard University.

Lynn Morin

Acting Branch Chief, Customer Outreach & Employee Development

Prior to her research career Lynn Morin worked at both Kelly Services and Booz, Allen & Hamilton as a consultant on various projects such as running a cryogenics laboratory for the Physics Department at a major Texas University and developing databases for the Navy Industrial Improvement Program.

Lynn received her undergraduate degree from George Mason University’s (GMU) Industrial/Organizational Psychology Program in 1994 and continued in a graduate program in neuropsychology studying pre- and perinatal cocaine exposure in an animal model of learning as well as changes in brain connectivity.

Lynn started her NIH career in 2000 as a Program Analyst for the National Institute on Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and joined the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) in 2011 where she served as the Training Director until her move to the Career Development and Workforce Gender Diversity section in the Office of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH) in 2019.

Lynn has a background in project/program evaluation and management from her work at Booz-Allen and did a dual stint as a computer programmer while at the university in Texas. Lynn considers herself a hobbyist as she loves mastering new challenges both professionally and personally.

Diversity & Inclusion Division

Danny Dickerson

Director, Diversity and Inclusion

Mr. Danny Dickerson is the Director, Division of Inclusion and Diversity, for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). He is primarily responsible for overseeing the administration of the Affirmative Employment Programs and managing a robust Diversity and Inclusion Portfolio. Mr. Dickerson has also served as the EDI Senior Policy Advisor, as well as a Reasonable Accommodations consultant.

Mr. Dickerson is also a member of the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) training cadre, where he is responsible for conducting training in the areas of Anti-Bullying, Equal Employment Opportunity Compliance, Civil Treatment, and LGBTI training (Safezone).

Previously Mr. Dickerson was a Senior Equal Employment Opportunity Specialist (EEO) at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Mr. Dickerson retired from the United States Air Force after twenty years of service. He is married to his high school sweetheart and the father of two wonderful children.

Jennifer Gioffre

Branch Chief, Strategic Diversity and Inclusion

Ms. Jennifer Croft Gioffre is a Branch Chief within the Diversity and Inclusion Division at the National Institutes of Health (NIH’s), Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI). Jennifer has been in this role since April of 2013, leading a team of strategists who consult with the NIH’s 27 Institutes and Centers on how to advance diversity and inclusion within their respective organizations and across the agency. We provide practical tools, training, and problem solving; synthesizing all available data to analyze and evaluate agency policies, procedures, and practices, taking into full consideration complex legislative, programmatic, and management issues and problems.

In collaboration with NIH and HHS stakeholders, we are implementing EEOC’s updated instructions to create "Model EEO Programs" as required by Management Directive 715 (MD-715), the policy guidance which the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) provides to Federal agencies for their use in establishing and maintaining effective programs of equal employment opportunity (EEO) under Section 717 of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended. Through these activities and initiatives, we have been impactful in moving the needle toward weaving equity, diversity, and inclusion into the fabric of the work we do every day at the NIH—building on the framework of the "EDI 365" vision and the EEOC’s vision of a "Model EEO Program".

Prior to joining NIH, Jennifer has held a myriad of key leadership roles in the Civil Rights, EEO, and D&I federal space, and especially in the disability employment arena. In 1995, Ms. Gioffre began her government service with the EEO Office at the Food and Drug Administration, and she has also worked for the Department of Commerce, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Jennifer’s original background is American Sign Language interpreting. She achieved top certifications from the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf in 1991 and 1994.

Jennifer recently completed a Masters’ Degree from The George Washington University, majoring in Public Leadership in a Multi-Sector Environment. Coursework focused on how to work across the public, private, and social sectors of society to resolve organizational issues and problems. It included an in-depth study of various management systems that are used to achieve high performance in organizations, especially Lean Six Sigma. (Green Belt Lean Six Sigma certification achieved in 2016.) Her undergraduate degree in Psychology was attained from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Dawn Wayman

Branch Chief, Special Emphasis Programs

Dawn M. Wayman is a graduate of Morgan State University and the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health where she earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and her Master of Health Science degree in Epidemiology, respectively. Ms. Wayman began her federal career at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as a research coordinator in the Social and Behavioral Research Branch at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI). There she worked with a team who researched physicians and nurses use of genomics and race in clinical decision making. In 2013, Ms. Wayman was selected to participate in the NIH Management Intern Program, a highly competitive program that offers a few outstanding NIH employees the two-year opportunity to rotate through different administrative career fields, gain invaluable insight into the NIH, and develop a vital network of administrative professionals across NIH. Upon completing the program, she served as a management analyst and HR Liaison at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). In 2017, Ms. Wayman joined the NIH Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) as a Diversity and Inclusion Strategist. In this role, Ms. Wayman serves as a consultant to multiple Institutes and Centers providing assistance to them in developing and executing their representational diversity and inclusion strategies.

Outside of work, Ms. Wayman enjoys spending time with family, listening to live music, writing, and baking.