Andrea Mendiola, MD, assistant professor of psychiatry, has been appointed director of the Yale Hispanic Psychiatry Fellowship.
Mendiola succeeds Esperanza Diaz, MD, professor of psychiatry, who has retired. Diaz launched the fellowship in 2019, and Mendiola was the first fellow in the program. Mendiola became associate fellowship director in 2023 before ascending to director on Jan. 1, 2026.
Since its start, the fellowship has trained six fellows and remains the only fellowship of its kind in the country, though there are growing efforts nationally to replicate the model.
At its core, the fellowship is focused on advanced training for psychiatrists to provide high-quality, culturally responsive care to Spanish-speaking and Latino patients, many of whom face significant barriers to accessing mental health services.
As director, Mendiola’s goal is to continue building on the strong foundation Diaz created and to sustain the fellowship’s role in advancing compassionate, community-based care for an underserved and growing population in New Haven and beyond.
Mendiola was born and completed medical school in Peru, trained in psychiatry at Maimonides Medical Center, and came to Yale in 2018 as a public psychiatry fellow. Her work has focused on caring for Spanish-speaking Latino individuals and families with severe mental illness and complex social needs.