Member

danielle.helberg@diacharter.org

Danielle’s roots are grounded in her early career as an Accountant serving her clients in cities all across the West. Five years into her technical role as a CPA, Danielle found her true passion in helping those around her navigate their careers as Accounting and Finance professionals. For nearly a decade Danielle has served both her clients and candidates needing help in their own respective job searches and her best days at work are when she is talking to candidates and connecting her clients with top talent.

In her free time, she has a passion for service, animals and the outdoors. She serves as the Financial Treasurer on two boards (Dual Immersion Academy and Canvas4aCause.org) and volunteers with the Dachshund Rescue of Utah where she and her own rescue dog foster dogs in need of a roof and lots of love! On the weekends you can find her at Snowbird, on her bike, or out on a run.

Member

alice.akunyili@diacharter.org

Dr. Akunyili received her Medical Degree from the Victor Babes University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Timisoara, Romania. She has worked in Medical Education as the Associate Director of Clinical Academics with Kaplan Medical and, more recently at the Florida International University – Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, where she led the creation of both asynchronous and synchronous online content for Basic Sciences courses.

Dr. Akunyili moved to Utah in 2020 and is currently the Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs at the Noorda College of Osteopathic Medicine in Provo. She speaks six languages and is passionate about multi-lingual education and pipeline programs to support underrepresented minorities in the STEM fields and Medical Education specifically.

Member

teresa.bagdasarova@diacharter.org

Tereza Bagdasarova is a proud Utah native who graduated from Westminster College. She spent two and a half years at the Salt Lake Chamber as the Northern Region Program Coordinator for the Women’s Business Center of Utah (WBCUtah). Working with inspiring female business owners gave her the entrepreneurial bug that led her to open Mosaic Bakery, a virtual Mediterranean and Middle Eastern baklava store, dedicated to celebrating the diverse community of Utah. Tereza is the co-founder of Canvas4aCause.org and the co-chair of the South Salt Lake Chamber Women in Business Committee.

In her spare time, Tereza delves into her passions in architecture, small business, urban growth, and design by volunteering on a number of small business committees and building out art programming for community youth in South Salt Lake.

Member

victor.jimenez@diacharter.org

Dr. Victor M. Jimenez Jr. is a researcher and professor at Noorda College of Osteopathic Medicine. Dr. Jimenez’s research and teaching focus are in the fields of immunology, microbiology, and pharmacology. With over a decade of experience in higher education, Dr. Jimenez also holds faculty positions at Roseman University of Health Sciences in South Jordan, Utah, and Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.

His family and career ties to Arizona and South Texas have provided lifelong partnerships and opportunities to mentor and assist students of minority backgrounds to focus on careers in STEM and medicine. Growing up in Southern California, his appreciation for, and study of, Mexican American history, the Chicano Movement (El Movimiento), and cultural diversity in education took root while living and studying in Fresno, California. He speaks, English, Spanish, and some Portuguese. Dr. Jimenez and his wife enjoy raising their five children in Utah and are passionate about serving various diverse communities of Utah. When not in the laboratory, in the classroom, or on assignments, Dr. Jimenez can be found in the garden, fishing, or at a sporting event. In another life, his dream job would be to become a rancher.

Member

mequette.sorensen@diacharter.org

When human beings feel and look different than the majority of those around them, it is not uncommon to feel devalued, insignificant, and often misunderstood. As a young Latina, my parents, in hoping to provide the best educational opportunity landed my sisters and I in Salt Lake City, Utah in the middle of a white, religious, suburban neighborhood. Growing up in SLC, my peers often looked very different than I. I also did not have a teacher of color until I was a junior in college and in spite of all these challenges – and often times filled with feelings of inferiority – I cultivated a sense of pride in my Latinx (more specifically, Mexican American) heritage, my brown-ness and in becoming a 1st generation College graduate.

Although I’ve worked within many different environments with various groups and people(s) in our community, I have always been a teacher at heart. Regularly, I feel the undeniable energy in being a catalyst for the expanding of thought, consideration of fresh ideas and examination of new concepts never before conceived. Being a board member of DIA is a perfect fit for me!

My educational background includes a B.A. in Political Science and an MSW in Community Organization and Administration from the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. I recently retired as a Professor in Social Work at Salt Lake Community College. I had the honor to be an instrument in educating and supporting students in developing activism skills in preparation for their transition to a bachelor’s level education. I champion opportunities to advocate for the disenfranchised and lead out in organizing events to celebrate diversity and in creating pathways for young children to be inspired to attend college.

Member

mac.newbold@diacharter.org

I am grateful to be a part of the DIA community since 2008, and have enjoyed multiple terms of service with the Board of Directors. My wife and I have ten children, all of whom have attended Dual Immersion Academy as an important and valued part of their education. I'm passionate about cultural diversity and language learning, and am grateful for opportunities that have allowed me to become fluent in Spanish and spend time in Spanish-speaking communities, and I appreciate DIA's role in helping me to provide similar opportunities to my children. My professional background is in computer science and software development, where I have the pleasure of applying technology to solve problems and work with wonderful teams and people. My first term on DIA's board started in 2010, and I have previously served as board president, and I'm excited about the school's mission and growth, and the bright future in store for DIA and its students. I love being involved in the friendly and strong community at DIA, who share my passion for educating children in a multi-cultural bilingual environment to prepare them for their future.

Member