Raya selected as a 2026 Hunt–Aspen Institute Fellow

Ginger Raya, EdD, MHA, MPA, has been selected as a 2026 Woody and Gayle Hunt–Aspen Institute Fellow through the Institute’s Conexión Program. The fellowship empowers leaders from the Paso del Norte Region to strengthen their leadership skills and foster meaningful dialogues around their community’s most pressing challenges.  

Raya, an associate professor in Management, Policy, and Community Health at UTHealth Houston School of Public Health in El Paso, is eager to share her public health expertise with other national leaders to address different community's needs.   

“Being selected as a 2026 Hunt–Aspen Fellow has been both an honor and a responsibility. Personally, the fellowship has created meaningful space for reflection among leaders from a wide range of sectors grappling with questions of consequence and civic responsibility,” she shared. The fellowship brings together experts from the Aspen Conexión program and its Institute, which is composed of leaders from multiple disciplines, including academia, government, technology, and entrepreneurship, to share perspectives and ideas.   

Raya joins an Aspen Conexión alumni network, a group which boasts nearly 500 leaders nationwide, offering long-term opportunities for collaboration and cross-sector engagement. Fellows are encouraged to learn from one another’s experiences to broaden their leadership approach and impact.  

As part of her first engagement as a Hunt-Aspen Fellow, Raya attended the Winter Socrates Seminar in early February. Raya represented the fellowship, which allowed her to engage with world-class leadership and to access development opportunities, including public events, policy roundtables, and leadership seminars. These experiences among institute representatives enable attendees to strengthen their professional networks and gain insights to translate into meaningful impact within their communities.  

For Raya, this opportunity represented a key shift in her leadership development. “It strengthened my resolve to prepare healthcare and public health leaders to think beyond operational performance and consider the broader institutional and societal impact of their decisions,” said Raya on how this translation can be applied amongst students and fellow faculty. Not only is she offered the ability to represent her community of El Paso and share its needs, but also what is next for public health leaders. 

“I am more intentional about encouraging disciplined dialogue and thoughtful examinations before advancing solutions. That refinement is shaping how I prepare leaders to move through ambiguity with clarity and accountability.”  

Throughout 2026, Raya will serve under the Conexión program to steward her service and long-term impact, while directly applying these experiences to her role as an eductor training the next generation of public health advocates and leaders.