Johns Hopkins Diversity Leadership Council chair appointed

To the Johns Hopkins Medicine community

Dear Colleagues,

Across its 17 years, the Johns Hopkins Diversity Leadership Council has had only two chairs. I am delighted to announce its third. Ashley Llorens, an assistant section supervisor at the Applied Physics Laboratory, has agreed to lead this institutions-wide body that brings together faculty, students and staff from both the university and the health system to help advance our aims on diversity and inclusion.

Ashley joined what is now the Force Projection Sector of APL in 2003 and is a recognized subject matter expert in machine learning and pattern recognition. Focused on advancing the state of automated target recognition for the Navy, Ashley has led project teams in releasing scholarly publications, executing technology demonstrations in government-funded field experiments and exercises, and transitioning advanced algorithms from research into Navy acquisition programs. His honors include APL's Government Purpose Innovation Award, being named a Modern Day Technology Leader at the Black Engineer of the Year Awards – and a No. 1 spot on college radio charts. Ashley is an internationally recognized hip hop artist whose music has appeared in video games, on TV and in the film The Blind Side.     

Throughout his time at Johns Hopkins, Ashley has championed diversity and inclusion. He has supported APL's recruiting efforts on college campuses and worked with the leadership of the laboratory to craft inclusive policies and programs, from the creation of a staff orientation program to the founding of the Diversity Advisory Forum, which bolsters the work of the Force Projection Sector in areas including hiring, promotion practices and staff mentoring. Five years ago, Ashley joined the DLC, participating with apparently inexhaustible energy. His contributions include helping to automate some of the statistical analysis of our university Climate Survey, and providing stewardship of the newly created DLC Diversity Innovation Grant program, which offers seed funding to short-duration projects that foster diversity and inclusion.

In short, Ashley brings an extraordinary collection of talents and experiences to this position, and I believe his evident enthusiasm and commitment to our shared goals will serve Johns Hopkins well. The DLC has been a critical force for our institutions, helping us advance initiatives ranging from the creation of the Latino Alliance to the hiring of the university's first director of LGBTQ life. I am extremely grateful for the interim leadership of Caroline Laguerre-Brown, our vice provost for institutional equity, over the past year, and look forward to working with Ashley and the rest of the DLC to ensure that Johns Hopkins remains a community that celebrates and thrives on the diversity of its members.

Sincerely,

Ronald J. Daniels
President
The Johns Hopkins University