Paola Molina (she/her) | Director of EDI | pmolina@omni.org

Dr. Paola Molina is a Director at OMNI Institute and serves as OMNI’s Director of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. Dr. Molina has more than a decade of applied research experience, with a specialization in qualitative and mixed-methods research projects (particularly with communities of color).

At OMNI, Dr. Molina has overseen projects at the federal, state, and local levels, designing and executing projects with both formative and summative components. For example, she has provided senior-level expertise on projects such as interviewing deported migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border, examining direct service and policy advocacy strategies for improving women’s economic security, and leading a community-based participatory assessment in communities of color across the state of Colorado to better understand and elucidate racial/ethnic disparities in child well-being.

Dr. Molina is an expert in equitable evaluation best practices and spearheaded the development of OMNI’s internal EDI Action Plan.

Prior to joining OMNI, Dr. Molina worked for Pima Prevention Partnership as the lead evaluator on a statewide assessment for the Arizona Department of Economic Security (DES), Refugee Resettlement Program. Her book Re-Immigration after Deportation: Family, Gender, and the Decision to Make a Second Attempt to Enter the U.S. examines the re-immigration intentions of 70 deported migrant women and men.

When not at work, Dr. Molina spends her time enjoying the antics of her pet tortoise, Percy, or gardening at her home in Tuscon, AZ.

“I love to work on research that makes a positive change in our communities, lifting up community voice through qualitative data and having the opportunity to support OMNI’s change management and EDI efforts.”

FEATURED VIDEO

CONTENT EXPERTISE

Community Health

Children and Families

EDUCATION

University of Arizona
Ph.D., Sociology

Georgia State University
B.A., Sociology

+ Certifications, Memberships, Awards, and Service

  • National Science Foundation Dissertation Improvement Grant (2010)
  • Tinker Grant from the Latin American Studies Department at the University of Arizona (2010)
  • Social and Behavioral Sciences Research Institute Research Grant at the University of Arizona (2009)
  • The Women’s Studies Advisory Council (WOSAC) Travel Grant at the University of Arizona (2009)
  • William K. Bunis Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Instruction from the Department of Sociology at the University of Arizona (2009)
  • Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) Qualified Administrator

+ Selected Publications

  1. Martínez, D. E., Slack, J., Beyerlein, K., Vendervoet, P., Klingman, Molina, P., Manning, S., Burham, M., Walzak, K., Valencia, K., & Gomboa, L. (2017). The Migrant Border Crossing Study: A Methodological Overview. Population Studies.
  2. Molina, P. (2014). Re-Immigration after Deportation: Family, Gender, and the Decision to Make a Second Attempt to Enter the U.S. El Paso, TX: LFB Scholarly Publishing LLC.

+ Selected Presentations

  1. Molina, P. (2023, September). Improving Health Care Practices for Patients of Color during the Prenatal, Peripartum, and Postpartum Periods. Session presentation for the Public Health in the Rockies Conference by the Colorado Public Health Association. Keystone, CO.
  2. Crow, Ona., Molina, P. (2023, September). Health Equity: Culture and Capacity Building with the Salt Lake County Health Department. Session presentation for the Public Health in the Rockies Conference by the Colorado Public Health Association. Keystone, CO. Molina, P. Larson, R. (2021, June). Using a Health Equity Lens for Understanding Disparities in Rural Communities. Session presentation for the Ohio Prevention Conference by Ohio State University. Columbus, Ohio.
  3. Crow, O. Molina, P. (2021, June). Advanced Virtual Facilitation for Inclusion and Equity. Virtual Workshop for the Shared Risk and Protective Factors Conference by the Center for Public Health practice, Colorado School of Public Health. Aurora, CO.
  4. Crow, O., Molina, P., Grody-Patinkin, I., Turetsky, R., Hardy, T., and Gelman, K. (2019, August). Developing a Toolkit for Rural Health Equity. Program/Research ‘Showcase’ session presented at the annual Public Health in the Rockies Conference by the Colorado Association of Public Health, Keystone, CO.
  5. Molina, P., & Hughes, S. (2018, April). 2017 KIDS COUNT in Colorado: Elevating Equity. Podium presentation at the annual Culture of Data Conference by the Colorado Association of Public Health, Arvada, CO.
  6. Martinez, D. E., Molina, P., & Beyerlein, K. (2010, April). Neither Here Nor There: An Analysis of Undocumented Migrants’ Decisions Upon Repatriation. Paper presented at the annual meetings of the Pacific Sociological Association, Oakland, CA.
  7. Martinez, Daniel E. & Molina, P. (2009, August). Factors Contributing to Migrant Women’s Decision to Attempt another Unauthorized Border Crossing: Evidence from the Arizona-Sonora Border. presented at the annual meetings of the American Sociological Association, San Francisco, CA.
  8. Molina, P. (2009, April). Gendered Repatriation: The Effects of Gender and Family on Intentions to Further Migrate among Repatriated Migrants. Paper presented at the annual meetings of the Pacific Sociological Association, San Diego, CA.
  9. Beyerlein, K., Martínez, D. E., Klingman, K., Vandervoet, P., Valencia, K., Molina, P., Slack, J., Manning, S., & Walzak, K. (2009, April). Migrant Border Crossing Survey (MBCS): Descriptives. Paper presented at the Social Justice in Health Symposium at the University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ.
  10. Molina, P. (2008, May) How Gender Shapes the Strategies Unauthorized Migrants Employ When Deported to A Mexican Bordertown. Paper presented at the “Lives on the Border Workshop” at the University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ.
  11. Beyerlein, K., Martínez, D. E., Klingman, K., Vandervoet, P., Valencia, K., Molina, P., Slack, J., Manning, S., & Walzak, K. (2008, April). Migrant Border Crossing Survey (MBCS): Preliminary Findings. Paper presented at the Social Justice in Health Symposium at the University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ.
  12. Galaskiewicz, J., Molina, P., Inouye, J., Black, J., and Savage, S. (2007, August). Does Sector Matter? Government, Nonprofit, For-profit Use of Formal Mechanisms of Evaluation and Screening. Paper presented at the annual meetings of the American Sociological Association, New York, New York.
  13. Galaskiewicz, J., Inouye, J., Molina, P., & Jacobs, M. (2006, August). The Spatial Distribution of Organizational Resources. Paper presented at the annual meetings of the American Sociological Association, Montreal, Canada.
  14. Galaskiewicz, J., Inouye, J., Molina, P., & Jacobs, M. (2005, August). Pattern of Accountability and Control Among Nonprofits, For-profits, and Government Providers. Paper presented at the annual meetings of ARNOVA, Chicago, IL, November 2006. “Spatial Effects in the Market for Youth Services.” Joseph Galaskiewicz, Olga Mayorova, Paola Molina, Joy Inouye, and Sara Lauro. Paper presented at the annual meetings of the American Sociological Association, Philadelphia, PA.
  15. Fernandez, C., & Molina, P. (2004, April). Window Dressing and Tokenism: A Case Study of the Creation of a Hispanic Serving Institution. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Pacific Sociological Association, San Francisco, CA.