Upsher acts as a conduit for communication and collaboration among DEI programs across the six schools of the health sciences; creates events that foster community among faculty and students underrepresented in the health sciences; and represents the Office of Health Sciences Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Pitt’s recruitment efforts nationwide.

She also works with department heads across the health sciences schools to hire and retain faculty through the Race and Social Determinants of Equity, Health and Well-being Cluster Hire and Retention Initiative, as well as managing all of the Initiative’s financial and administrative elements.

Before joining OHSDEI, Upsher led diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts at the Center for Organ Recovery and Education (CORE), where she was instrumental in having CORE declared a site of the Minority Organ Tissue Transplant Education Program, which promotes positive health behaviors through public education by focusing on diseases and behaviors that lead to the need for transplantation in minoritized communities.