Stony Brook Magazine | Advocating for Others

Read the original story in the Stony Brook University Magazine. 

Since 2011, Diana Acosta ’06,’ 07 has advocated for marginalized populations around the world to ensure they have access to quality and equitable social services and that their human rights are protected and promoted.
And it was the help she received from Stony Brook that gave her the skills and confidence to chart a career in foreign affairs and global health. As a student, she quickly learned the importance of community, finding support in a dedicated network of mentors and professors. After facing some challenges with her chosen course of study, she sought guidance from her mentors, who helped her find a way to marry her love of healthcare with her desire to help others. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in health science and a master’s degree in public policy, she has found a more fulfilling — and wildly successful — career than she ever could have imagined — deputy division chief of the Empowerment and Inclusion Division at the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Acosta’s work has not gone unnoticed. In addition to her being a member of the inaugural class of the Stony Brook’s 40 Under Forty program in 2014, last year she was named a 2020 Latino National Security and Foreign Policy Next Generation Leader by the Diversity in National Security Network and New America.
“If there’s anything 2020 has taught me, it’s that being nimble and flexible is key,” she said. “My resolve to promote and protect the human rights of often-marginalized populations is stronger than ever.”
For this story and more, check out Stony Brook University’s Fall 2020 Magazine “Transformation” here.