Dr. Ivonne Díaz-Claisse is the founder and president of Hispanics Inspiring Students’ Performance and Achievement (HISPA), a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that mobilizes Latino professionals to serve as role models to introduce a diverse array of college and career opportunities and inspire students to pursue higher education.  Founded in New Jersey in 2008, HISPA expanded to Texas in 2011, to New York in 2013, and to Florida in 2015. Under her guidance, HISPA has recruited 2,500 volunteers reaching over 10,000 students to date. Díaz-Claisse was elected to the President’s Council of Cornell Women in 2017 and inducted into Trenton YWCA’s Women’s Hall of Fame in 2014. Other awards and recognitions include the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics’ “Bright Spot in Hispanic Education” (2015); New Jersey Hispanic Leadership Association Education Award (2014); Princeton University Service Award (2013); Latino Institute 2013 award; NJIT Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers Educator of the Year Award (2012); Verizon Hispanic Support Organization Community Service Award (2012); Save Latin America, Inc. Tres Próceres Award (2011); and New Jersey Hispanic Research and Information Center Distinguished Maria De Castro Blake Outstanding Community Service Award (2010).   

Díaz-Claisse’s professional background includes a 10-year career at AT&T as an Operations Research Analyst and seven years as an educational consultant. She holds a B.S. in mathematics from the University of Puerto Rico; a masters in engineering in operations research from Cornell University, a masters in mathematics from the University of Maryland and a Ph.D. in mathematics from Arizona State University.