Dr. Mark Kamimura-Jimenez is the Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Dean of the Center for Diversity and Inclusion at Washington University in St. Louis, where he is a strategic leader focused on developing an inclusive experience that embraces the intersectionality of identities on campus. He has led practice and research teams on identity, diversity, and inclusion initiatives for strengthening the connection culture of the college experience. Prior to WashU, he served as the Assistant Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs at Texas Christian University and Assistant Dean for Programs, Policy, and Diversity Initiatives at the University of Michigan. He has held leadership positions at Cal State Fullerton, UCLA, UCI, and Columbia University and has been awarded nearly $17M in federal and private partnership grants to strengthen diversity and access to college. Dr. Kamimura-Jiménez has held teaching appointments at several universities and authored chapters and articles on the topics of diversity, mentorship, and access within the educational pipeline, and co-editor and author of the Latina/o Pathway to the PhD: Abriendo Caminos.

He received his B.A. from the University of California, Irvine, M.A. from Columbia University, and Ph.D. from the University of Michigan.

Dr. Aurora Kamimura is the Assistant Provost for Inclusive Excellence and a lecturer in the Department of Education at Washington University in St. Louis. She has dedicated her 25-year career as an educator to broadening access and creating more equitable learning environments. She is a proud alumnus of the Center for the Study of Higher and Postsecondary Education at the University of Michigan. As a mixed methods researcher, her agenda focuses on broadening access and equity in the P-20/professoriate pathway. Most recently, Kamimura’s research has focused on diversifying the professoriate, which naturally stemmed from her prior research on enhancing equitable admissions practices in doctoral programs. She currently serves as on the Board of Directors for the American Association of Hispanics for Higher Education, and is involved in several national projects focused on the development of Latiné/x/a/o leadership.

Kamimura earned a BA in Social Sciences from UC Irvine, an EdM in Education, Administration, and Social Policy from Harvard University, an MA in Higher Education Management and Organizations, and a PhD in Higher Education and Organization Behavior at the University of Michigan.

Marco Kimimura is the son of Dr. Aurora Kamimura-Palacios and Dr. Mark Kamimura-Jiménez, grandson of Olivia Palacios-Butros and Manuel Palacios-Torres (maternal), Melody Kamimura-Jiménez and Michael Kamimura-Uesato (paternal), father of Keone Kamimura-Wilson, and partner to Carina Wilson. In 2021, he received his Bachelors of Arts in Biology from Grinnell College. As a child of higher education professionals, he chose to take after his parents and share in their passion for admissions and college access. He worked in higher education as Admissions Counselor and Inclusive Recruitment Coordinator for Luther College, and as Events Coordinator and Administrative Assistant for the Research for Indigenous Social Action and Equity (RISE) Center. Most recently, Kamimura has accepted an offer to return to his field of study as an Environmental, Health, and Safety Administrator for Ingenium. Additionally, he serves his community in outdoor education and conservation with Detroit-based organization Black to the Land Coalition as a program lead, Deer Management advisory committee member for the Michigan DNR, and Trout Unlimited. He also is an entrepreneur and owner of Xicanx Fly, a fly fishing outfitter. In doing so, Kamimura works to honor his ancestors and future generations.

Carina Wilson is a FGLI, mixed-lineage (Mexican, Spanish, Diné, Swedish, Norwegian, and Irish) mama scholar from Denver, CO. She is a QuestBridge alumnus and received her B.A. in Anthropology from Grinnell College in 2019. After, she and her partner celebrated and welcomed their first child, Keone, into the world. In 2021, she applied to the Institute for Recruitment of Teachers program and chose to pursue her Master's in Education at the University of Michigan's Marsal Family School of Education. Carina focused on epistemologies and pedagogies centered in trauma, healing, and restoration while also serving with Puentes as the Events and Logistics Co-chair and the Marsal Family School of Education's Educational Diversity Advisory Committee. She recently graduated in December of 2023 and continues to focus and pursue inter/multigenerational teachings of trauma, healing, and restoration in familial, communal, and schooling settings. Currently, she works with Girls Group, a non-profit centered on empowering young women, where she serves as a College and Career Specialist. Carina loves to spend time outside with community and family, and crochet.