Alana Cheeks-Lomax (S 2008, HNZ 2012)
2021 Alumni Service Award
Bio
COMPASS Founders:
- Denise Asafu-Adjei, M.D. (MCS 2008)
- Alana Cheeks-Lomax (MCS 2008, HNZ 2012)
- Tamara Hamilton (MCS 2008)
- Betty Mbom, Ph.D. (MCS 2008)
- Mariela Zeledón, Ph.D. (CMU 2008)
Mellon College of Science 2008 alumnae Denise Asafu-Adjei, Alana Cheeks-Lomax, Tamara Hamilton, Betty Mbom and Mariela Zeledón saw a need to guide first-year historically excluded and underrepresented MCS students through their CMU experiences. And with an idea and leadership from Betty, they founded COMPASS Group in 2007 and have dedicated their time and energy to nurture the student-generated program’s success ever since. Their strong COMPASS commitment for the last 13 years includes speaking with individual students, serving on advisory boards and meeting the current class.
And each alumna also has built a successful career alongside their mentorship contributions to future generations of Tartans. Denise is a urologist, director of male reproductive medicine and assistant professor at Loyola University Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois. Alana is the head of Inclusion & Diversity for Cash App at Square, where she is responsible for the strategic development of the business unit’s global strategy focusing on the development of an inclusive culture and the employee experience. Tamara has spent the past decade in the public health and environmental protection sector in New York City and southern Florida. Betty is a cell & molecular biologist and vice president of applied experience at Syapse, a health care technology company generating real world evidence to improve cancer care. Mariela is a clinical social worker and human geneticist and was most recently with Unity Care, providing bilingual psychotherapy to low-income children and teenagers.
