Office of Equal Employment Opportunity

Over the years, the U.S. Congress has enacted a number of civil rights laws that guarantee the right of every American for equality of opportunity in the workplace. Under the authority of those laws, the NIAID Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Office manages a comprehensive EEO program to ensure that the Institute's work force reflects, to the greatest extent possible, the diversity of the American people. The EEO Office supports this goal in the following ways:

• By planning, implementing, evaluating, and monitoring programs and initiatives aimed at improving the representation of minorities, women, and persons with disabilities among the scientific staff engaged in basic and clinical research, and supportive administrative employees
• By developing initiatives that will enhance the biomedical research infrastructure at Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Hispanic-serving Institutions, Tribal colleges and colleges or universities with large populations of disabled students
• By coordinating all activities that implement the National Institutes of Health diversity programs and objectives that also relate in some way to the mission of NIAID

These goals are accomplished by the Office’s staff and through collaboration with the NIAID EEO Advisory Committee. In addition, the Office maintains a cadre of EEO Counselors who can be called upon to assist in the resolution of EEO complaints.

One of many programs supported by the EEO Office is The Partners in Education (Adopt-a-School) Program which introduces young students from the Washington-Metropolitan area public schools to the world of science at NIAID and NIH; the program also provides for student internships.

EEO Staff

Yvonne Hefley, previously NIAID’s EEO Specialist and Acting EEO Manager, is now with the NIH Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity Management. However, Yvonne continues to serve as NIAID’s EEO Specialist and first point of contact for EEO-related issues. She is located in the Fernwood Building, Suite 2SE63, and can be reached by email at yhefley@niaid.nih.gov or by phone at (301) 496-2938.