Denise De La Cruz, M.Ed.
AROPC President
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Education
- Ed.D., Ethical Leadership, University of St. Thomas, Houston, 2021
- MEd, Allied Health Education and Administration, University of Houston, Houston, 2005
- BBA, Marketing and Management, University of Houston, Houston, 996
Title
- Program Administrator, Education and Training, Department of Radiation Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2015 - present
Denise is the Program Administrator over Education and Training in Radiation Oncology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. In her role, she oversees the Radiation Oncology Residency Program and the Advanced Radiation Oncology Fellowship. She also directs operations for postdoctoral and research training, resident and fellow rotations, the Medical Student Elective Program, the visitors’ programs, and the divisions’ CME activities. Denise has built her career in research, grants administration, and graduate medical education. Her professional and research interests include organizational culture impact; ethical leadership and social justice in academics; rural healthcare delivery; and equity, diversity and inclusion.
She currently serves as the President of the Association of Radiation Oncology Program Coordinators, a national non-profit organization whose aim is to serve as a resource for coordinators, program directors and trainees in the specialty.
Denise serves on MD Anderson’s institutional Education Week Planning Committee and is a founding member of the institution’s Lifelong Learners Education Committee, a group of that first convened in 2019 to connect employees pursuing doctoral studies for resource sharing and support. She also serves on the Division of Radiation Oncology Diversity and Inclusion Committee, the Division of Radiation Oncology Grand Rounds Committee and the Program Evaluation Committee for both residency and fellowship.