North Memorial Health Foundation is excited to announce Adriana Inés Quiñones Peña as the 2026 recipient of the BIPOC Mental Health Academic Scholarship!
Adriana Inés Quiñones Peña (she/her) strives to live according to the wisdom of Mahatma Gandhi—to be the change she wishes to see in the world. To achieve her goal of working in the mental health field and providing compassionate care through a multicultural lens, Adriana is working toward a doctorate degree in clinical psychology at Augsburg University.
“My motivation to pursue a career in the mental health field stems from the shortage of competent, bilingual, diverse, and multicultural therapists who can work with members of underserved populations. I aspire to encourage young girls in the BIPOC community to feel they are worthy of becoming doctors, to pursue higher education, and to feel represented by a therapist of color,” says Adriana.
Her lived experiences as a Black, Hispanic immigrant woman have directed Adriana’s focus to the mental health of marginalized young people who are undocumented immigrants. She has supported multicultural and diverse populations in Minneapolis by contributing to community healing efforts in North Minneapolis after the death of George Floyd, raising awareness of mental health services for BIPOC communities during Operation Metro Surge, mentoring young Hispanic girls and their families by serving as a virtual English for Speakers of Other Languages (EOSL) teacher, and helping newcomers acclimate to life in America.
Adriana hopes to make her mark as a future psychologist and psychometrist by decreasing the mental health disparities present in marginalized communities. Her eventual long-term goal is to open a mobile testing and counseling center so she can meet clients wherever they are mentally, emotionally, and financially. Her priorities include raising awareness of the needs of the Latinx community, developing comprehensive guidelines for therapy services with a cultural and humility-focused approach, and creating and implementing proposals for sustainable and affordable mental health services.
Congratulations, Adriana—we are proud to support your continued education and look forward to seeing you make a difference for our community!
About the BIPOC Mental Health Scholarship
The North Memorial Health Foundation is dedicated to supporting the diverse community we serve by improving access to representative care. To help meet this need, the North Memorial Health Foundation offers scholarships to students of color pursuing graduate degrees in mental health.
Learn more about scholars like Adriana and how you can support their education to become future providers in our community.