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April 3, 2025

UMass Memorial eliminates chief DEI position, reorganizes diversity & inclusion efforts

A man with in a blue suit jacket, a white and blue striped shirt, and a blue tie. Photo | Courtesy | UMass Memorial Health Care Brian Gibbs
By Mica Kanner-Mascolo

UMass Memorial Health in Worcester has eliminated its chief diversity, equity & inclusion officer position as part of a reorganization the health system says strengthens its commitment to DEI.

“This step will support a better caregiver experience and improved care delivery across the diverse communities we serve,” Shelly Hazlett, UMass Memorial spokeswoman, wrote in an email to WBJ.

Chief DEI Officer Brian Gibbs will exit the role and leave UMass Memorial on April 11. Gibbs was hired as the system’s inaugural vice president and chief diversity, equity & inclusion officer in December 2020 following the murder of George Floyd and the subsequent rise of the Black Lives Matter movement.

“I am encouraged by the organization and believe its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion will continue,” Gibbs said to WBJ.

With the role’s termination, UMass Memorial has rebranded its diversity, equity, and inclusion department to the department of community health and caregiver belonging, combining the system’s DEI and community benefits departments.

“We are grateful to Dr. Brian Gibbs for all he has done to establish our DEIB office, create training programs for caregivers and enhance our talent acquisition outreach to immigrant populations throughout Central Massachusetts. We thank Dr. Gibbs for his lasting influence on the UMass Memorial community and wish him continued success,” Hazlett wrote.

UMass Memorial’s expanded department will be led by Mario Florez, UMMH’s new vice president of community health and caregiver belonging. Florez joined the system in 2023 and most recently served as its senior director of community benefits.

“We are taking important steps to more intentionally align our community benefits and DEIB programs in support of our health system’s broader caregiver- and community-facing equity goals,” UMass Memorial wrote in an unsigned internal memo announcing Florez as the new leader of the system’s DEIB efforts.

Before coming to UMass Memorial, Florez served as regional director of community health and well being at Trinity Health of New England in Connecticut, managing community initiatives and programs including using a DEIB lens to work with local, regional, and national teams, according to the memo. Previously, he worked as director of equity and inclusion at South Windsor Public Schools in Connecticut. 

Since taking office in January, President Donald Trump has launched aggressive anti-DEI efforts, signing a number of executive orders and threatening to sever federal funding for institutions that continue their DEI initiatives, although those efforts have been slowed by the courts.

Central Massachusetts institutions have reacted differently to Trump’s demands. UMass Chan Medical School in Worcester, which has already implemented a hiring freeze and planned layoffs in anticipation of federal cuts to science research, has assembled a working group to navigate the Trump Administration’s anti-DEI demands, led by Marlina Duncan, vice chancellor for diversity and inclusion. 

UMass Memorial’s reorganization of its DEI efforts is not a result of Trump’s demands, Hazlett wrote.

“These changes are unrelated to the federal government,” she wrote.

Mica Kanner-Mascolo is a staff writer at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the healthcare and diversity, equity, and inclusion industries.

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