Dia Garcia

Dia Garcia has over 10 years of experience in higher education focused on advocacy, career coaching, recruitment, and training. Dia values making contributions to young adults' development and fostering collaborative relationships among individuals. Her purpose is to influence how students are led and guided to become valuable societal contributors.

In her role as Program Manager of the Black Student Success Initiative (BSSI), Dia works collaboratively with the central team to develop and facilitate BSSI's activities, network engagement opportunities, measurement, and learning capture. 

Before joining UIA, Dia led regional recruitment, maximizing engagement and connections to increase Bellarmine University’s footprint in the Nashville market. Her previous higher education experience also includes work at Middle Tennessee State University, Belmont University, and Ole Miss.

Dia holds a bachelor's in Psychology and a Master's in Higher Education, Administration and Supervision, both from Middle Tennessee State University.