Achieving health equity requires a collaborative, interdisciplinary approach that leverages expertise from multiple disciplines and sectors. Knowledge of medicine, public health and public policy are needed, but also fields such as finance/economics, history, and the social sciences. Advancing health equity also requires a diverse skill set, including coalition building, community engagement, data analysis, program development, and change management. And to Dr. Cené, it is a joy–a joy to make a difference by leading others within this complex and constantly evolving field.

In her current dual roles as both University of California San Diego (UCSD) Health Chief Administrative Officer for Health Equity, Diversity & Inclusion and Associate Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Cené is a physician executive, and a senior researcher. Her work to incorporate equitable policies and practices affects the entire UCSD community, including patients and employees, at the top-ranked hospital system in San Diego that’s also tied for first place among all of California’s hospitals (US News & World Report, 2024-25).

Dr. Cené has led efforts to serve the underserved by establishing and implementing the UCSD Health Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) Mobile Health Program. By securing $2M in grant and philanthropic funding, Dr. Cené and her team purchased two mobile clinics- one to provide general health care screenings and service and one to provide breast cancer screening (mammography) to take care directly to San Diego communities that need it most. Dr. Cené also serves as the executive sponsor for efforts within UCSD Health that screens all hospitalized adults for social needs that affect their health, such as food, housing, and transportation and helps connect patients to resources to address any identified needs.

Previously, Dr. Cené led a team as System Executive Director for Health Equity at University of North Carolina (UNC) Health–an academic health system with 16 hospitals across 20 campuses. In this role, she led the development and implementation of a strategy to improve care and outcomes for patient subgroups that have historically faced barriers to health and experience worse health outcomes. Dr. Cené was also a research leader at UNC, rising from assistant to associate professor of medicine with tenure. She served as the Director of the Program on Health Disparities and the Deputy Director of Research at the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research. In these roles, she served on the Center’s executive leadership team that provided oversight of all Center operations, in addition to providing strategic direction and oversight for the Center’s research programs and activities and specifically led collaborative health disparities research project teams.

In classrooms, boardrooms, lecture halls, and health clinics, Dr. Cené has committed her career to the vision of optimizing the health, equity, and values that create safer, stronger communities.