Juntos Senior Director Diana Urieta Joins Friday Institute Advisory Board

RALEIGH, N.C. —  The Friday Institute for Educational Innovation added a member to its advisory board this month—Juntos Senior Director, Co-Developer and Extension Specialist Diana Urieta. Urieta manages the program development, implementation, evaluation, training and coaching, and sustainability efforts nationally for Juntos, a program that helps Latino students achieve high school graduation and attend a higher education institution by uniting community partners to provide 8-12th grade students and their parents with the knowledge, skills and resources they need. 

“Diana brings programmatic diversity expertise to the Friday Institute advisory board,” said Hiller A. Spires, Ph.D, Friday Institute executive director and associate dean with the NC State College of Education. “She will be extremely valuable to help us address our organizational impact area of cultivating equity through equity mindedness, and we look forward to her joining the advisory board.”

The Friday Institute advisory board is composed of leaders from schools, universities, businesses and the government who share a deep commitment to educational innovation. Board members meet annually to discuss the strategic directions of the Friday Institute as well as provide consultation and advice throughout the year. 

Urieta holds a Master of Social Work and brings experience working with underserved populations in the areas of health, 0-12 education and parenting education. She has also served as a United States Department of Agriculture Children, Youth and Families at Risk (CYFAR) coach. Urieta’s approach to her work is focused on building bridges within communities, resourcing the family unit and celebrating the assets that bicultural and bilingual identity brings to the U.S.