Guest Profile

Dr. Dakesa Piña

Dr. Dakesa Piña joined the College of Education (COE) in spring 2021 as the first college-level diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) officer at Illinois State. With a Ph.D. in marriage and family therapy from Texas Tech University, Piña joined Illinois State in 2010 as a counselor in Student Counseling Services (SCS) within the Division of Student Affairs. In 2014, as part of a Student Affairs initiative to assess the inclusivity across each of its departments, Piña was chosen to lead the DEI efforts in Student Counseling. Since then, she became heavily involved and fell in love with DEI work.