Bio

Arianne Dowdell is the Vice President Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer for Houston Methodist. Arianne joined the Houston Methodist Hospital Foundation in July of 2019 and was appointed to her current role in September 2020. Arianne is responsible for leading the vision for unparalleled safety, quality service and innovation through diversity, equity and inclusion by stewarding system-wide DEI strategy implementation and development through key partnerships.

She also serves as associate director of the Houston Methodist Neal Cancer Center where she’s responsible for building the DEI department that will be initially focused on increasing representation amongst its employees in the cancer center.

Prior to coming to Houston Methodist, Arianne worked in higher education where she was the Senior Director of Operations and Partnerships at Syracuse University. She also held leadership positions at Virginia Commonwealth University, in Richmond, Virginia and The Rockefeller University, in New York. She also served as the Communications Director and then President of the National Association of Black Automotive Suppliers. A passion for journalism, Arianne began her career in television where she worked at Court TV and Madison Square Garden Network.

A former attorney, Ms. Dowdell previously practiced as a labor and employment lawyer in Detroit, Michigan. She holds a JD from Wayne State University, an MA from Syracuse University and a BA from Hampton University.