URMC / Psychiatry / Culture / Office of Diversity, Inclusion, Culture, & Equity / Meet the Team

Meet the Team

Office of Diversity, Inclusion, Culture, and Equity (DICE)

With over 1500 faculty and staff members, we work to effectively and efficiently communicate and disseminate educational activities and training that contribute to the provision of culturally sensitive care and support a respectful, diverse and inclusive department environment.

Telva Olivares

Telva E. Olivares, MD is an internist–psychiatrist at the University of Rochester and the Associate Chair of Diversity, Inclusion, Culture, and Equity in the Department of Psychiatry. Since 1999, Dr.Olivares has overseen the delivery of comprehensive medical care to complex patients in both the inpatient Med-Psych unit (IMIPS) and its sister outpatient primary care practice, MIPS. She is Medical Director of Lazos Fuertes, providing mental healthcare to Rochester's Latinx population through a team of bicultural/bilingual professionals. She has extensive clinical and administrative experience in all aspects of acute services and is currently the Medical Director of Interventional Psychiatry Program, where she has established the very popular Interventional Psychiatry Certificate Course for psychiatric residents.

Zena Shuber

Zena Shuber, J.D., is the Director of Community Relations and a faculty member in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Rochester Medical Center. In this role, she assists the department and its chair with alumni relations, community events and conferences. She also implements outreach strategies that help disseminate our research and work in mental health and wellness for the benefit of the community. Ms. Shuber is also the Director of Community Engagement for Translational Sciences at the Laboratory of Interpersonal Violence and Victimization (LIVV). In LIVV, Ms. Shuber helps translate research on preventing violence in the home into practice and policy. She also serves as the co-chair of the Integrated Systems Delivery Work Group for the Monroe Country Systems Integration Project to improve the social, health, and education services for the community. Prior to joining URMC, Ms. Shuber worked closely with Congresswoman Louise Slaughter in her District Office as a special project assistant and a community liaison regarding women, children and education issues

John Walker

John Walker, MDiv, PhD, is a veteran, head pastor of Christian Friendship Baptist Church and a PRIDE Seminar co-Director, and an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry. He has worked extensively around the issue of child abuse and is the founder and leader of a community-wide child abuse prevention effort, Rochester Area Child Abuse Network (RACAN), and until recently he served on the Bivona Child Advocacy Center’s Board of Directors. He is a former adjunct professor at St. John Fisher College and was a professor in the History and Political Science department at Monroe Community College for 28 years. John completed his B.A.S. at Morris College and his Master’s of Divinity at Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School. He earned his Doctorate in Religion/Religious Studies and History from Syracuse University.

Amanda Lai

Amanda Lai, BA, is the Department of Psychiatry’s Arts & Communication Specialist. As part of her role, she curates the Bridge Art Gallery, an art space located in the Department of Psychiatry that focuses on diminishing mental health stigma.