Dr. Hilda Hutcherson grew up in a low-income rural community in rural Alabama and is the first in her family to attend college. Dr. Hutcherson has worked tirelessly to develop and strengthen opportunities, programming, and support for underrepresented minority students. As founder and leader of the Kenneth A. Forde Diversity Alliance, which was created to recruit, retain, and recognize a diverse community, she has made great strides in connecting and celebrating the diverse faculty, house staff, researchers, and students, while also strengthening mentoring and pipeline programs and bringing the contributions of underrepresented minorities to the fore.

As chief diversity and inclusion officer, David A. Acosta, MD, provides strategic vision and leadership for the AAMC’s diversity and inclusion activities across the medical education community, and leads the association’s Diversity Policy and Programs unit.  A board-certified physician of family medicine, Dr. Acosta joined the AAMC from the University of California (UC), Davis School of Medicine where he served as senior associate dean for equity, diversity, and inclusion and associate vice chancellor for diversity and inclusion and chief diversity officer for UC Davis Health System. He previously served as the inaugural chief diversity officer at the University of Washington (UW) School of Medicine, where he established a rural health fellowship program for Tacoma Family Medicine, a residency program affiliated with the UW Department of Family Medicine.

Dr. Darin Latimore is responsible for developing a comprehensive plan for furthering diversity, equity, and inclusion at the school, including a robust recruitment and retention program for faculty, and students from historically underrepresented in medical communities. He coordinates with such groups as the Diversity, Inclusion, Community Engagement & Equity (DICE), the Minority Organization for Retention and Expansion (MORE), the Committee on the Status of Women in Medicine (SWIM), the Committee on Diversity, Inclusion, and Social Justice(CDISJ), and the Dean’s Advisory Council on LGBTQ Affairs.

Dr. Sunny Nakae is Health Sciences Associate Clinical Professor in the Department of Social Medicine, Population and Public Health in the Division of Clinical Sciences and the Associate Dean for Student Affairs at the University of California, Riverside School of Medicine. Dr. Nakae previously served as Assistant Dean for Admissions, Recruitment and Student Life and Assistant Professor of Medical Education at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine. Dr. Nakae works with national organizations to advocate for access and equity in higher education for undocumented, underrepresented, minoritized, and marginalized students and trainees.  She is known for her expertise in mission-driven, holistic admissions and holistic review processes. 

Dean Rigney has been advising pre-health students for over 20 years - 18 of those years at Columbia University.  In that time she has helped thousands of students prepare for their applications to medical school.  Megan's advising philosophy is centered on the idea that every applicant is an individual with a distinct background, personal narrative ,and individual path.  She believes it is her job to encourage and empower students to discover their strengths and recognize their vulnerabilities so that they may work towards becoming the most prepared applicants that they can be.  She is passionate about this work, for not only does she get to help students realize their dreams, but is proud of the small role that she plays in developing a more diverse and inclusive healthcare workforce. 

Dr. Ayana Jordan is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Associate Program Director for Psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine where she directs the global mental health program and the social justice and health equity curriculum within the residency. She is also the medical director of the REACH scholars program, an educational program which aims to train a national cohort of physicians and allied health professionals committed to improving health equity in addiction services. Her research focuses on community partnership with faith settings to improve addiction treatment and outcomes for minoritized populations. Dr. Jordan completed her MD/PhD at Albert Einstein school of Medicine before completing her residency in psychiatry and fellowship in addiction medicine at Yale. 

Dr. Raymond P. Smith, M.D. has more than 45 years of experience in Internal Medicine and is committed to training students and physicians in the discipline.  His specialty is in Infectious Disease Medicine and he has authored numerous articles on clinical and basic science topics. Dr. Smith has served as a Chief of Medicine in the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Albany New York, Executive Vice President of Capitol District Community Gardens, and President of the Board of Directors of Senior Services of Albany. In addition to his role as Vice Chairman of the Department of Medicine at Albany Medical College, Dr. Smith is currently the Residency Program Director of Internal Medicine at Albany Medical Center Hospital. 

Dr. David A. Spain is the David L. Gregg, MD Professor and Chief of Acute Care Surgery and General Surgery Residency Program Director at Stanford. His clinical areas of specialty are emergency and elective general surgery, trauma and critical care. His research focus is assessment of clinical care, systems of care and assessment of stress response and PTSD after trauma. He is the current President of the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma. 

Dr. Rebecca Swan is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where she serves as the Program Director for the Pediatric Residency Program and the Vice Chair for Education for the Department of Pediatrics, as well as the Assistant Dean of Graduate Medical Education.  She has served as the residency leader since 2002 with areas of interest in global health, professionalism, mentoring, feedback and communication.  She has focused on resident wellness and increasing diversity in graduate medical education in her tenure as program director.  Dr. Swan chairs the Graduate Medical Education Committee at Vanderbilt University Medical Center where her focus has been on mentorship for chief residents and junior program directors as well as faculty development efforts at the institutional level in the areas of feedback and communication.  A 2012 recipient of the Parker Palmer “Courage to Teach Award,” she is a member of the Academy of Excellence in Teaching at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and is active in the local community in refugee health, public education and childhood literacy.

Dr. Nicole McCoin is the Keith D. Wrenn Residency Program Director of Emergency Medicine, Vice Chair for Education, and an Associate Professor at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. In addition to her roles in GME, she has been active in UME as well, serving as a Course Director for the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. Dr. McCoin is an Executive Board Member of the Tennessee College of Emergency Physicians. She was named a fellow in the 2019-2020 class of the Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) Program for Women. She also serves as a National Oral Board Examiner for the American Board of Emergency Medicine. Most recently she was named one of Nashville’s 2020 Women to Watch in Healthcare.

Dr. Hyacinth R.C. Mason works to promote inclusion and equity along the health profession pipeline. Her research and passion centers on initiatives that enhance socio-emotional wellness, academic outcomes and pre-faculty development among medical trainees, particularly those from groups historically underrepresented in medicine. Dr. Mason serves on Albany Medical College’s admissions committee and is faculty mentor to several student organizations. She also serves on the board Building the Next Generation of Academic Physicians (BNGAP) and faculty advisor to FGLIMed.

Dr. Alejandra Casillas, MD, MSHS, is an Assistant Professor in Residence in the Division of General Internal Medicine and Health Services Research, Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. Dr. Casillas, a bilingual (English/Spanish) physician and researcher, focuses on improving the quality of health care and health-services access for vulnerable and underserved populations. Wearing her other hats as UCLA faculty and professor, Dr. Casillas takes pride in mentoring Latino and First Generation (First Gen) students, and helped to create the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine (DGSOM) First Gen Initiative, through the DGSOM office for Equity Diversity and Inclusion. The DGSOM First Gen programs help to support UCLA medical students, trainees, and faculty who, like Dr. Casillas, were the first in their families to attend college.

Dr. Ann-Gel S. Palermo, MPH, DrPH is the Chief Program Officer of the Office for Diversity and Inclusion (ODI) of the Mount Sinai Health System and the Associate Dean for Diversity and Inclusion in Biomedical Education at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS). Dr. Palermo has developed a career portfolio that reflects the intersection among diversity affairs, medical education, and community-based public health practice and research.  Dr. Palermo’s work in diversity affairs at ISMMS aims to foster a holistic and equitable medical education training experience for students and faculty with a primary focus on individuals from disadvantaged and or underrepresented backgrounds in medicine and science. Dr. Palermo is a first-generation college graduate. Dr. Palermo earned her Bachelor of Science (majoring in Biology and Sociology) from SUNY College at Brockport, a Master of Public Health degree (majoring in Health Policy) from the University of Michigan School of Public Health in 1999 and a Doctorate of Public Health at the City University of New York Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy in 2012. 

Rebekah Roll is a fourth-year medical student at the Indiana University School of Medicine. She identifies as a first generation college student. Rebekah will be applying to combined Internal Medicine-Pediatrics residencies this fall and intends to practice primary care in a medically-underserved area in Indiana after residency. She has interests in primary care, public health, and medical education.

Enxhi Rrapi is a first-year medical student at Albany Medical Center. She is a FGLI Albanian immigrant. Enxhi completed her BA in Chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania and then worked in Educational Outreach at the Netter Center for Community Partnerships for two years. In medical school, she hopes to increase healthcare access for underserved populations by participating at a free community clinic and needle exchange harm reduction facility.