Why I DEI: Nicole Eichenberg ’07

Nicole Eichenberg ’07 is a medical assistant at UC Davis Health and chair of Staff Diversity Administrative Advisory Committee (SDAAC)—the advisory committee that helps administer the annual Soaring to New Heights Diversity & Principles of Community Achievement Awards.

Eichenberg is also a member of the UC Davis Campus Council on Community and Diversity, and a team lead for UC Davis Health’s Initiative for Diversity, Anti-Racism and Equity (I-DARE). We had the chance to chat with Eichenberg and learn more about why she is passionate about DEI volunteerism and advocacy.

Q: How did you get involved with SDAAC?

A: Last academic year, I was interested in being involved with an academic advisory group. SDAAC was my first choice. I wanted to get involved with academic advisory committees because I haven’t always worked in diverse places, so it’s really important for me to champion diversity and help make some change out there the best that I can.

I ended up as chair this year because there was a big leadership change over last year. I was the last person in leadership who was still on the committee, so I took over as chair. 

Q: What motivated you to serve as chair?

A: I decided to serve as chair because last year we worked on a lot of important projects for SDAAC and with leadership leaving, if I hadn’t stepped up, there wouldn’t have been SDAAC this year. Mikael Villalobos essentially said, ‘once a committee goes away, it’s very hard to get it back.’ I didn’t want to lose all the work we’ve done, we’re doing a lot of great work with the community and I wanted to keep that going.

Q: You are also involved with I-DARE at UC Davis Health. What are you working on with that group?

A: We recently finished a big project, where we had five subcommittees—I was involved with the community trust-building committee—and so our goal is to create events to help members of the community get involved and find out what UC Davis is about and possible job opportunities.  

Q: What do you enjoy most about being involved with DEI within the UC Davis community?

A: I attended UC Davis as an undergraduate and was hired by UC Davis Health soon after graduation, so I’ve been tied to the university for a long time. I’ve always felt it to be a warm, welcoming place and very open place where people can discuss their ideas, feelings and emotions. So, UC Davis is a place where I’ve always felt encouraged to voice my opinion and be myself.

Q: Why do you DEI?

A: Diversity is something I’ve always been really passionate about. I’m biracial and it’s always a space where, I think, you don’t quite feel like you fit in anywhere. So, I wanted to create spaces for people where everyone feels like they have a place to belong.