Professional Biography
Raquel M. Arredondo is the inaugural Assistant Dean for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education. In this role, Raquel drives School-wide DEIB initiatives and strategies in order to promote an inclusive learning and workplace environment. She creates and drives best practices among DEIB policies and procedures, implementing training and development to enhance cultural competencies and increasing global mindset for students, faculty, and staff.
Raquel brings to her role vast experience in consulting, human resources, and higher education. She has worked at institutions such as Penn State University, Rutgers University, and most recently Drexel University, delivering educational, professional, and diversity programming and initiatives. Raquel transitioned into corporate human resources as a training consultant, facilitating professional and leadership development workshops, and later was appointed to establish and lead the university relations recruitment team, creating successful strategies to develop diverse talent pipelines from regional colleges and universities.
Raquel has been recognized by the Association of Latino Professionals-Prospanica with the 2018 Brillante Award, and in 2017, AL DÍA News Media recognized her as a Woman at the Top. She serves as a board member for City Year Philadelphia and PHL Diversity, a division of the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau. She was appointed to Drexel University’s Anti-Racism Task force and was a collaborator for the University’s Enterprise Learning Module on Diversity and Inclusion, an initiative to institutionalize diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging training for members of the university’s faculty and staff. In addition, Raquel led the Drexel University LeBow College of Business DEI Action Group, charged with assessing and providing strategic and actionable recommendations to the dean in the areas of curriculum and research, recruitment and retention, learning and professional development, transparency and accountability, and creating an inclusive culture at the college.
Raquel is a first generation Cuban-American whose educational background includes a B.A. in Psychology from George Mason University, an M.A. in Higher Education from Rowan University, a Professional in Human Resources (PHR) designation from The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), a certificate in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Higher Education from the University of Michigan, and a Diversity & Inclusion certificate from Cornell University.
