What is LEO?

The Learning Environment Office (LEO) was founded in 2019 under inaugural Director, Diana Martínez, and charged with understanding, preventing, reducing, and responding to incidents of learner mistreatment at the UNM School of Medicine. As of July 1, 2024, LEO expanded its services beyond the School of Medicine to include the Colleges of Nursing, Pharmacy, and Population Health. This strategic growth reflects a commitment to ensuring supportive, respectful, and inclusive learning environments across all of UNM Health Sciences and aligns with the HSC’s commitment to workforce expansion to meet the growing health needs of New Mexico.

LEO is aligned with the University of New Mexico Health Sciences (UNM HSC) and is committed to workforce expansion as a key strategic goal to meet the growing health needs of New Mexico. Achieving this goal requires supportive, respectful, and inclusive – or healthy – learning environments that supports learners and educators in excelling within a complex and evolving healthcare landscape. LEO plays a critical role in this effort by fostering educational climates that prioritize respect, inclusion, and connection—essential components for learner and educator success, retention, and professional development.”

In addition to working to address and prevent mistreatment, LEO is engaged in broader culture change work to ensure that all members of our HSC community have access to healthy learning and working environments. This includes initiatives as far ranging as anti-racism curriculum development, conflict transformation training, data sharing with SOM leadership, and skill-building workshops, to name a few.

While many other medical schools are grappling with issues related to learner mistreatment, thanks to investment from key leadership, UNM’s LEO is one of the largest and most robustly resourced offices of its kind in the country! Explore the website to learn more about mistreatment, exemplary teaching, educational initiatives, and to meet our team.