This proposal directly supports HSI capacity building by providing space and resources for STEM faculty in Puerto Rico at the STRT to learn about grantsmanship and funding opportunities for workforce development as a driver for student retention. Faculty will also learn about well-being, as only well-supported faculty can support their students well.

At the HEARTS 2.0 Conference, faculty will:

• Discover and explore approaches for self-care and wellness to reduce burnout and improve retention,
• Learn from experts at the STRT and other HSIs in the mainland what capacity-building strategies are and how they can be built from the “bottom up,” modified, and applied to meet the needs of the HSIs in Puerto Rico (via cultural responsiveness),
• Gain an improved sense of belonging as researchers in education via a centralized system where they will learn inclusive excellence strategies taking place inside Puerto Rico that will also foster collaborations within Puerto Rico and at HSIs in the US,
• Receive training on strategies for workforce development with experts in the mainland US on how to establish a community within PR to share best practices to support (mostly rural, low-income, first-generation) Hispanic students in STEM,
• Gain strategies and tools for competitive grant-writing (from experts in the US mainland) and guidance for streamlining bureaucratic measures for administrators in charge of grant-writing policies (i.e., IRB officers and grants/research office leaders),
• Return to their classrooms e-energized with tools and experiences that will inform their teaching practices and interactions with STEM students to ultimately foster institutional change to improve outcomes for Latinx students.