Sanchez Named Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer
6/24/2020 1:38:00 PM | General, Academic Services & Student Development
EVANSTON, Ill. – Maria Sanchez has been named Northwestern Athletics' Senior Associate A.D./Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer, Combe Family Vice President for Athletics & Recreation Jim Phillips announced Wednesday. As a part of the senior leadership team, Sanchez will guide the Wildcats commitment to build a more diverse and inclusive organization through education and action.
"Over nearly a decade at Northwestern, Maria Sanchez has been a catalyst for positive change and a passionate, determined champion of diversity," said Phillips. "Creating an inclusive culture and community is a foundational priority for our entire department. If our locker rooms, meeting rooms, classrooms and conference rooms are not a world-class environment for all, they cannot be world-class for any of us. Maria has built deep, trusting relationships with staff, coaches and student-athletes alike, and her leadership will help guide our Wildcats family toward a better future."
The newly created position will report directly to the Vice President for Athletics & Recreation. Sanchez will oversee the department's Justice, Equity Diversity and Inclusion Task Force, responsible for ongoing staff education, as well as the Engage program, which seeks to create an inclusive culture within the student-athlete community through intentional conversations and meaningful programming. She also will support the King Community P.R.I.D.E. Program serving as a liaison to flagship programs, spearhead the Wildcat Education Initiative and assist with reports of discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or disability within Athletics & Recreation with the University Office of Equity.
"I'm honored and humbled by the faith Dr. Phillips has shown in me with this opportunity," said Sanchez. "Northwestern Athletics is a remarkable place filled with exceptional people. I have been afforded many opportunities to grow in what has become one of the driving purposes in my life, advocating for and supporting some of the best and brightest student-athletes in the country, while building relationships with incredible colleagues in athletics and within our greater Northwestern community. As I begin the next chapter of my journey in Northwestern Athletics, I look forward to leading, empowering, lifting and standing alongside our amazing community members as we drive towards meaningful and lasting change. There is work to be done. Through the commitment of Dr. Phillips, our executive staff and our entire department, we must - and we will - reach a better destination."
The Atlanta, Illinois, native joined the Northwestern family in February of 2011, and was elevated to Phillips' senior staff in 2013 as Assistant Athletic Director for Academic Services & Student Development. She served as an academic advisor and was a primary liaison to a number of campus departments including New Student and Parent Programs, Center for Awareness Response and Education, and Health Promotions and Wellness, and represented the department on committees including Hazing Prevention Task Force, Campus Coalition on Sexual Violence and the Community Alcohol Coalition.
In 2017, Sanchez was tabbed to spearhead the diversity and inclusion efforts within the athletic department. In this role, she has been Northwestern's liaison to the Big Ten Advisory Commission and the primary contact to NU's Office of Campus Inclusion and Community. She also has served on a number of task forces including The African-American/Black Student Experience Task Force and the GQNBT (Gender Queer, Non-binary and Transgender) Task Force.
She has served as director of Northwestern's King NU P.R.I.D.E. Program, a student development initiative designed to help Wildcats find personal success through service to the campus and their community while enhancing their leadership skills, celebrating diversity, and promoting student-athlete well-being. In this role she has supported the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), the P.U.R.P.L.E. Peer Mentoring Program, the First-Year Experience Program, the Engage Program, as well as the King NU P.R.I.D.E. leadership institute.
Sanchez came to Northwestern after previously working as the director of athletics academic services at Western Michigan University. Prior to her time at WMU, Sanchez was an assistant basketball coach at her alma mater, Millikin University, and served in Millikin's residence life office.
She was a member of Millikin's women's basketball team as an undergraduate where she earned degrees in biology and secondary education. After Millikin, Sanchez graduated from Ball State University with a master's in sports and physical education, with a specialization in sports management.
"Over nearly a decade at Northwestern, Maria Sanchez has been a catalyst for positive change and a passionate, determined champion of diversity," said Phillips. "Creating an inclusive culture and community is a foundational priority for our entire department. If our locker rooms, meeting rooms, classrooms and conference rooms are not a world-class environment for all, they cannot be world-class for any of us. Maria has built deep, trusting relationships with staff, coaches and student-athletes alike, and her leadership will help guide our Wildcats family toward a better future."
The newly created position will report directly to the Vice President for Athletics & Recreation. Sanchez will oversee the department's Justice, Equity Diversity and Inclusion Task Force, responsible for ongoing staff education, as well as the Engage program, which seeks to create an inclusive culture within the student-athlete community through intentional conversations and meaningful programming. She also will support the King Community P.R.I.D.E. Program serving as a liaison to flagship programs, spearhead the Wildcat Education Initiative and assist with reports of discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or disability within Athletics & Recreation with the University Office of Equity.
"I'm honored and humbled by the faith Dr. Phillips has shown in me with this opportunity," said Sanchez. "Northwestern Athletics is a remarkable place filled with exceptional people. I have been afforded many opportunities to grow in what has become one of the driving purposes in my life, advocating for and supporting some of the best and brightest student-athletes in the country, while building relationships with incredible colleagues in athletics and within our greater Northwestern community. As I begin the next chapter of my journey in Northwestern Athletics, I look forward to leading, empowering, lifting and standing alongside our amazing community members as we drive towards meaningful and lasting change. There is work to be done. Through the commitment of Dr. Phillips, our executive staff and our entire department, we must - and we will - reach a better destination."
The Atlanta, Illinois, native joined the Northwestern family in February of 2011, and was elevated to Phillips' senior staff in 2013 as Assistant Athletic Director for Academic Services & Student Development. She served as an academic advisor and was a primary liaison to a number of campus departments including New Student and Parent Programs, Center for Awareness Response and Education, and Health Promotions and Wellness, and represented the department on committees including Hazing Prevention Task Force, Campus Coalition on Sexual Violence and the Community Alcohol Coalition.
In 2017, Sanchez was tabbed to spearhead the diversity and inclusion efforts within the athletic department. In this role, she has been Northwestern's liaison to the Big Ten Advisory Commission and the primary contact to NU's Office of Campus Inclusion and Community. She also has served on a number of task forces including The African-American/Black Student Experience Task Force and the GQNBT (Gender Queer, Non-binary and Transgender) Task Force.
She has served as director of Northwestern's King NU P.R.I.D.E. Program, a student development initiative designed to help Wildcats find personal success through service to the campus and their community while enhancing their leadership skills, celebrating diversity, and promoting student-athlete well-being. In this role she has supported the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), the P.U.R.P.L.E. Peer Mentoring Program, the First-Year Experience Program, the Engage Program, as well as the King NU P.R.I.D.E. leadership institute.
Sanchez came to Northwestern after previously working as the director of athletics academic services at Western Michigan University. Prior to her time at WMU, Sanchez was an assistant basketball coach at her alma mater, Millikin University, and served in Millikin's residence life office.
She was a member of Millikin's women's basketball team as an undergraduate where she earned degrees in biology and secondary education. After Millikin, Sanchez graduated from Ball State University with a master's in sports and physical education, with a specialization in sports management.
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