Ana Mari Cauce

“There is no reason your place of birth should determine the likely date of your death, or that your race or ethnicity should predestine you to greater suffering,” Ana Mari Cauce said in a 2016 speech at the University of Washington. Cauce was discussing the university's Population Health Initiative, a 25-year research project she launched in 2016 aimed at improving the health of all the world’s people. According to Bill Gates, who has given the program $210 million through The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, her initiative has "incredible potential to unlock the power of health research and data for the benefit of all." Cauce has been a member of the University of Washington faculty since 1986, and in 2015, became its first female, Latino and openly-gay president. She is a professor of Psychology and American Ethnic Studies and maintains an active research program, focusing on adolescent development, with a special emphasis on at-risk youth. Cauce has received numerous awards for her teaching, scholarship and advocacy, including the Distinguished Teaching Award, given to faculty members for their work with students in and outside the classroom. Updated July 2018