Meet Cayetana Navarro, Program Manager, Collaborative Excellence

I am the first and current Collaborative Excellence program manager. I work with Dr. Benjamin Mba to develop and support the implementation of projects that will help foster an inclusive environment for all.

I have been at YSM for almost 14 years, 10 of which were in the Office of Communications, first as a web project manager and ultimately as the deputy director of operations. At the time, the opportunity was an excellent next step in my career after I moved here with my husband, who came to do his training in the Internal Medicine Primary Care Residency Program. My professional experience prior to Yale was in workforce development, and I felt working in an academic medical institution was in line with my desire to be in a field that improves conditions for others.

I’ve always enjoyed work in which my primary role is to manage relationships. I love collaborating with people to address a problem or challenge they have in a novel way. Social justice has always been a big part of my family background and personal experience, so I looked for roles in which I could combine that personal interest with a professional career. Dr. Inginia Genao and the Office of DEI in Medicine came along at the perfect time!

Working with Dr. Mba on finding novel ways to tackle persistent challenges has been particularly rewarding. Personally, I’m proud of our Visiting Student Scholarship Program. I was able to take a very fragmented approach to helping medical students come to Yale for an away elective to help fill our residency applicant pipeline with talented students who might not otherwise get the opportunity to engage directly with Yale’s faculty, residents, and staff. I can’t express enough how much I appreciate all the faculty and staff throughout the school who have worked with me to build this program.

It’s the chance to be a part of the solution. As hard as some days are, especially right now, I am proud to tell people what I do.

Over the past few years, and especially the past few months, I have come to appreciate that I work at an institution that is committed to doing the right thing. We’re not perfect, and we may fall short at times, but I am confident that the people I work with are standing shoulder to shoulder with me. That’s priceless, and I hope I never take it for granted.

I just completed the first draft of a novel! Soon, I will start working on revising it and trying to get it published.

As many people know, I have a photo of my grandmother, the original Cayetana Navarro, with an anonymous quote below it that reads: “All that your ancestors had to go through for you to be here, and you doubt yourself? How dare you. You come from a legacy of survival that is to never be questioned.”

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