Celina Cunanan

Celina Cunanan, MSN, APRN-CNM, was appointed Chief Diversity, Equity & Belonging Officer in September 2022. In this role, Ms. Cunanan oversees the system-wide strategy to enhance diversity, equity and inclusion and champions strategies that promote a culture of equity and belonging internally within the organization, as well as in the many diverse communities that UH serves throughout the region. Ms. Cunanan is leading UH to develop and grow thoughtful, innovative signature programs such as the UH Health Scholars youth pipeline program, the UH Second Look and Satcher Clerkship programs for graduate medical education recruitment, the UH Food For Life Markets to address food insecurity, and UH LGBQT/Gender Services.

In her prior role as Director, UH Office of Community Impact, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (CEDI) and co-chair of the Social Justice & Equity committee, Ms. Cunanan made a tremendous impact by leading change within the UH system, as well as improving the health of Greater Cleveland. Under her leadership, UH's Food for Life Markets have expanded to four UH locations serving families suffering the health ramifications of living in food deserts. Additionally, she has expanded Cook Ross Bias Training and facilitated caregiver education on the topic of LGBTQ+ 101. Ms. Cunanan initiated the Departmental Equity Officers program and convened the underrepresented in medicine (URiM) faculty to cultivate a sense of belonging. Ms. Cunanan also helped advance the UH Health Scholars program, which engages Black and Brown high school students to consider careers in health care. And through UH’s Second Look program, she has increased the visibility of UH to URiM medical students.

An experienced clinician leader, Ms. Cunanan was UH’s inaugural Division Director for Nurse-Midwifery in the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology from 2007 through June 2022, and System Chief for Nurse-Midwifery since 2017. Under her leadership, UH Midwifery has grown to be the largest network of midwives in Ohio.