Meet Dakota Douglas: Young Trustee Finalist Championing Inclusion

Duke University has selected three finalists for the Graduate/Professional Young Trustee position: Austin Beason, Dakota Douglas, and Keanu Valibia. These candidates will participate in a meeting on Monday, March 24, from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. ET, in the Holsti-Anderson Family Assembly Room (Room 153) of the Rubenstein Library. This session offers graduate and professional students an opportunity to engage with the finalists and provide feedback. (today.duke.edu)

The Young Trustee role is integral to Duke’s governance, allowing students to serve on the Board of Trustees for two-year terms. During their first year, they act as non-voting observers, gaining insight into university operations, and in their second year, they become voting members, contributing to strategic decisions that shape Duke’s future. (trustees.duke.edu)

Dakota Douglas, a North Carolina native and two-time Duke graduate, is a finalist for the Graduate/Professional Young Trustee position. She earned her undergraduate degree from Trinity College in 2022 and is currently pursuing a master’s degree at Duke’s Graduate School, with plans to graduate in 2024. Douglas’s candidacy is deeply rooted in her personal experiences and commitment to community engagement.

Growing up in Indian Trail, North Carolina, Douglas witnessed the challenges faced by her family members, including a brother with autism and a grandmother with congenital blindness. These experiences highlighted the disparities in healthcare access and the importance of inclusivity. She observed, "I just always kind of understood that when you look different, you’re not going to be treated the same."

Her family’s history with Duke further influenced her perspective. Her grandmother worked as a tobacco sharecropper for the American Tobacco Company, which was owned by the Duke family, and later received care at Duke Hospital. Reflecting on this legacy, Douglas remarked, "We’ve gone from an institution that employed my family as sharecroppers to one [where] the granddaughter of a living sharecropper could be a trustee." She views this progression as "really miraculous" and is motivated to contribute to Duke’s ongoing evolution.

Douglas’s advocacy is centered on ensuring that institutional policies reflect the lived experiences of those they impact. She emphasizes the importance of community feedback in governance, stating, "Governance is a mechanism by which we can use community feedback. I am very much a proponent of the saying, ‘nothing about us without us.’" She believes it’s crucial to have representation from the communities that institutions aim to serve, enabling them to grow their own goals.

If selected as Young Trustee, Douglas aims to strengthen Duke’s relationship with Durham, emphasizing the need for a "deeper, conscious reckoning of Duke’s role in Durham." She advocates for open acknowledgment of the university’s past and present, stating, "This is where we were, this is where we are now and here’s what we hope to do," and continues to strengthen those ties.

During her undergraduate years, Douglas was actively involved in various organizations, including serving as a Cardea Fellow, a resident assistant, and participating in the Black Women’s Union and SALUD, a program for Latinx students in Durham Public Schools. She later returned to Duke for graduate school after deferring her acceptance to Howard University College of Medicine and taking a gap year to care for her grandmother—a decision she described as instrumental in refining her policy interests. She noted, "That really shaped my understanding of my duty to have a knowledge of how the world isn’t set up fairly for everyone and be empowered to act."

While earning her master’s degree in bioethics and science policy at the Graduate School, Douglas worked with organizations such as Mothers Against Media Addiction, the Center for Humane Technology, and as a research assistant with the Duke-Margolis Institute for Health Policy. In these roles, she conducted research on policy messaging strategies, partisan attitudes towards artificial intelligence, and care coordination networks in healthcare systems.

Colleagues have praised Douglas’s leadership and commitment to community. Reagan McRae, a fellow graduate student, described her as "the kindest heart of anyone and cares deeply for the communities she is a part of." Liz Sparacino, another peer, highlighted her advocacy skills, stating, "Dakota is a deeply thoughtful leader who has a keen ability to advocate for people who are not at the table."

Currently, Douglas is a medical student at Howard University and plans to earn her Juris Doctor after completing her Doctor of Medicine. She views the opportunity to serve as a Young Trustee as both an honor and a privilege, expressing her desire to contribute to Duke’s enduring legacy. She stated, "It’s an honor and a privilege to get to be at this stage and be able to share the ideas that I have and learn more about what it’s like to help the University exist as long as Duke has."

The selection of Young Trustees is a significant process at Duke University, involving a thorough review and interview process conducted by nominating committees for both undergraduate and graduate/professional candidates. Finalists are invited to meetings with their respective student bodies to discuss their interests and answer questions. Feedback from these sessions is considered in the final selection process. (trustees.duke.edu)

Duke’s commitment to community engagement and healthcare equity is evident through various initiatives, such as the Primary Care Wellness Centers within Durham public schools and the Just for Us program, which provides primary care and support services to elderly patients in subsidized housing. These programs aim to address health disparities and improve access to care for underserved populations. (corporate.dukehealth.org)

The role of Young Trustee offers a unique platform for students like Douglas to influence university policies and initiatives, ensuring that the perspectives of the student body are represented in Duke’s strategic decisions. As the selection process progresses, the university community eagerly anticipates the contributions that these finalists will bring to the Board of Trustees.

What qualifications are needed too become a Young Trustee at Duke University?