In 2017 the Maryland Center for Developmental Disabilities (MCDD) at Kennedy Krieger Institute welcomed Jen Chen as its diversity fellow.
The diversity fellowship is made possible through a National Training Initiative grant from the Administration on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, a part of the Administration for Community Living. The purpose of the award is to develop diversity fellowship programs to support recruitment and retention of diverse trainees, and to build cultural and linguistic competence within MCDD and its partners.
Chen is currently enrolled as a full-time student at The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, where she is pursuing a master of science degree in public health. Chen received her undergraduate degree from the University of California at Berkeley, where she majored in public health and minored in disability studies.
During her fellowship, Chen will work with People On the Go (POG) to assess and increase the number of individuals with disabilities from underrepresented groups and disadvantaged backgrounds served by POG. Across MCDD, she will work to build cultural competence capacity with MCDD leaders and staff members. POG staff member Ken Capone is serving as her mentor.
