Joan Y. Reede, MD, MPH, MS, MBADean for Diversity and Community PartnershipAssociate Professor of MedicineHarvard Medical School

Nancy J. Tarbell, MDDean for Academic and Clinical AffairsC.C. Wang Professor of Radiation Oncology Harvard Medical School

René Salazar, MD Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine University of California, San Francisco (UCSF)Director of Diversity UCSF Office of Graduate Medical Education

VCP Past andCurrent Faculty Advisors

Alexy Arauz-Boudreau, MD, MPHRhonda Bentley-Lewis, MDRoss Berkowitz, MDMichael Cahalane, MDRafael Campo, MDJocelyn Carter, MDZara Cooper, MDMarc De Moya, MDNwamaka Eneanya, MD, MPHSara Forman, MDAnnekathryn Goodman, MDMarie-Louise Jean-Baptiste, MDMark Johnson, MD, PhDJoel Katz, MDAlden Landry, MD, MPHAndree LeRoy, MDEldrin Lewis, MD, MPHGillian Lieberman, MB, BChElliot Melendez, MDShari Nethersole, MDNora Osman, MDJeannette Perez-Rossello, MDKevin Raskin, MDMichele Szabo, MDCeleste Wilson, MDKaren Winkfield, MD, PhD

INTRODUCTION

REMARKS

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RECOGNITION

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May 4, 20155:00 pm - 6:30 pmRotundaJoseph B. Martin Conference Center at Harvard Medical School77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston, MA

Visiting Clerkship Program 25th Anniversary Celebration

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nA Message from Jeffrey S. Flier, MD Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Harvard University

For 25 years, the Visiting Clerkship Program at Harvard Medical School has been a model of excellence, offering outstanding young individuals, particularly those underrepresented in medicine, an opportunity to participate in externships at HMS and its affiliated hospitals. I am very happy and feel privileged to be able to offer congratula-tions to all those who have worked so diligently over the years to make this important program the remarkable success it has become.

Progress would not have been possible without the tireless work of Joan Reede, HMS dean for diversity and community partnership. Many of you may not know this, but Joan Reede first came to Harvard Medical School through the Harvard University Administrative Fellowship Program. During that year of fellowship, she conceived of and established our Visiting Clerkship Program.

Thanks also go to the dedicated HMS faculty who have served as advisors to these talented students, many of whom might not have participated in HMS-affiliated hospital training programs or had career-changing experiences without the support of this program.

I would also like to extend my gratitude to our partners, the HMS hospital affiliates who understand the impor-tance of diversity within the medical community and who continue to help fund this program. Their commitment to building a diverse physician work force is truly inspiring. Without their support this program would not be possible.

Diversity is a core value of Harvard Medical School: The Visiting Clerkship Program and 25 other initiatives developed by Reede have been instrumental in helping us build a more diverse and inclusive community at HMS.

I look forward with pride and anticipation to the next 25 successful years!

Sincerely,Jeffrey S. Flier, MDDean of the Faculty of MedicineHarvard University

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n“I had so much positive reinforcement. It was surprising. I just felt like ‘wow, I get it. This place is for me.’ I’d been used to working in such research-poor environments... but I didn’t begin to acknowledge the gifts I brought to the table until I got here.” Dr. Andree LeRoy

This year we celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Visiting Clerkship Program (VCP) located within the Office for Diversity Inclusion and Community Partnership (DICP) at Harvard Medical School. I am honored to have been the VCP director since its inception in 1990 and to have had the opportunity to work with a community of commit-ted and dedicated individuals. These individuals have been essential to the program’s continued success. VCP co-ordinators past and present, such as Cathleen Dunham, Jeanette Catherwood and Jo Cole, have guided students in their journey from application, to entry, through exit. Several hundred faculty from HMS-affiliated hospitals have generously given their time to VCP as advisors who provide their clinical expertise, offer professional and career advice and help students to understand the cultural norms of the environment in which they are training. Many of these advisors have served for multiple years and are integral to the program. Over the past 25 years VCP has also benefitted from the superb logistical and operational supports provided by multiple HMS offices such as the Regis-trar’s Office, Vanderbilt Hall, Countway Library, Security and Facilities. Their collaboration has been invaluable.

I am pleased that VCP alum, Alden Landry, MD, MPH, instructor in emergency medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and DICP Faculty Assistant Director, now leads VCP. He brings his first hand perspective and fresh ideas to the program. From the eleven pioneer students who entered VCP in 1990 and were willing to take a risk on a new program to the 72 students who participated in VCP during the 2014-15 academic year, the educational performance and professional activities of VCP alums exemplify excellence.

VCP enriches the diversity in our community and contributes to the Harvard Medical School mission: “to create and nurture a diverse community of the best people committed to leadership in alleviating human suffering caused by disease.”

As VCP begins its second quarter century, I am confident that together we can learn from our past successes and forge new pathways that will build and nurture a diverse and inclusive community where all can fully contribute to teaching, research and service at HMS and its affiliates.

Thank you for joining us on this purpose-filled journey.

Joan Y. Reede, MD, MPH, MS, MBADean for Diversity and Community PartnershipHarvard Medical School

A Message from Joan Y. Reede, MD, MPH, MS, MBA Director, Visiting Clerkship Program

CELEBRATETHE PAST

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Background of Visiting Clerkship Program (VCP)

There has been, since 1869 when the first students of African descent graduated from Harvard Medical School (HMS), recognition of the importance of educating physicians who reflect the patients and communities they serve. This is what we might call today a beginning of the valuing of diversity as it relates to patient care. The work, however, is not completed. Our nation, academic medicine and HMS have grown in their understanding of the value of and need for diversity in addressing issues of equity, social justice and health disparities in health and health care. This increasing awareness is coupled with a commitment to provide programs that offer opportunities for enhancing diversity not only among medical students, but also among residents, fellows, faculty, administra-tors and leaders. The HMS Visiting Clerkship Program (VCP) is one such program that addresses medical student preparation for transition to residency.

In 1990, eleven fourth-year medical students came to Boston to participate in what was then a new program at HMS – the Visiting Clerkship Program. VCP’s goals were to increase minority medical student awareness of opportunities in academic medicine, increase student consideration of academic training programs for intern-ship and residency, increase the number of students applying to HMS-affiliated hospital training programs, and for those that became HMS clinical fellows to nurture them on their journey toward advancing as HMS faculty. Today, these goals remain.

The VCP, sponsored by the HMS Office for Diversity Inclusion and Community Partnership, supports fourth-year and qualified third-year medical students who are from groups underrepresented in medicine (URM - African- American, Hispanic, Native American, Alaskan Native, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander) in their participation in the HMS Exchange Clerkship Program. Clerkships are four weeks in length, and are available, space permit-ting, to full-time fourth year students in good standing at accredited US medical school. Students in their third year, who have completed core clerkships in medicine, surgery, pediatrics and obstetrics/gynecology, are also eligible. VCP participants are assigned a faculty advisor and are offered opportunities to network with HMS faculty, house staff, fellows and students. In addition, students attend a networking and career dinner with representatives from the HMS-affiliate hospitals and have access to seminars, workshops and the resources of the Countway Library. Financial assistance is available for transportation costs to and from Boston and housing is provided.

“One of the life lessons I learned was, ‘Don’t let your past pedigree determine who you are or what you can do.’ For many people, particularly people of color, training at one of the Harvard hospitals might seem like an unattainable goal, but the Visiting Clerkship Program made it possible for me.” Dr. Suzette Oyeku

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nReflections on the Beginningfrom Tom L. Delbanco, MD, John T. Potts, Jr. MD and Marshall A. Wolf, MD

When Dr. Joan Reede developed her plan for a month-long rotational program that would bring highly prized, under-represented minority talent to the HMS community, she knew strategically and philosophically that she would need high level mainstream support from within the school’s administration, faculty and its affiliated HMS affiliated institutions. Three of the remarkable doctors who she approached for such support almost immediately lent their considerable resources, credibility, and networks to her endeavor.

Dr. John T. Potts was one of these men. According to the esteemed clinician, professor, and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) internist, “Through Joan Reede’s efforts, talented minorities get the opportunity to show their stuff for a reasoned length of time, then later they perhaps will have the opportunity to train in our system’s hospi-tals and academic environments. I actually created a Minority Recruitment initiative at MGH during my time as Chief of Medicine. It’s clear that parallels to the VCP, across the larger medical community, make our whole system look more attractive to gifted students of color. I tried to foster close cooperation between our programs and to assure that our people support the clerkships.”

Dr. Potts has very clear thoughts about the Office of Diversity Inclusion and Community Partnership’s ongoing VCP mission. He states, “The reason why I continue to advocate for the clerkship program is that it helps to create a diverse peer group, as well as a consistent image of our hospital system as a place where everyone, regardless of ethnicity or background, can succeed with the appropriate mix of hard work, a desire to excel, quickness of mind, and psychological maturity.”

In addition to the strengthened position that the VCP enjoyed with John Potts’ support, it gained another powerful ally in Dr. Marshall A. Wolf, who at the time was the Brigham and Women’s director of internal medicine training. Based upon the multiple roles he was playing, Dr. Reede knew that he could help in bringing the Brigham on-board with the VCP effort. Says Dr. Wolf, “Prior to her program, we had another initiative where we tried to do some similar things. So we had some experience with what Joan’s office was looking to do with minority fellows. With the VCP we determined that if we got them here for a month long clerkship, they were more inclined to return here to train and our hospitals were more eager to recruit them. We had a win-win from the very beginning and even though there’s more to do, it’s gotten progressively better over time.”

The third champion in this valued trio of early supporters of the Visiting Clerkship Program was HMS Professor, Dr. Tom L. Delbanco, who at the time was the Chief of the Division of General Medicine and Primary Care at Beth Israel Hospital (now named the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center). Dr. Delbanco’s track record in support of diversity is long and distinguished and Joan Reede found him immediately willing to bring both funding and pro-fessional resources to her department’s initiative. Dr. Delbanco is emphatic and clear about his reasons for helping. “I think the pipeline is a crucial issue in getting more qualified minority young people into healthcare…the pipe-line has always just been woefully small. It’s always been crucial to get young people of color into medicine. I think we’ve done well over the years, but we’re still not successful enough.”

Dr. Delbanco adds, “In 1990, the landscape of diversity was somewhat grim... There’s no such thing as an unqual-ified success, but we’ve done some good things since then. I wish it were better. These days we have to compete more against other systems that can attract the same talent and there are incredibly few African American males going into medicine. So there are challenges, but we continue to work hard and there’s always room for hope.”

It’s clear that the future of the Visiting Clerkship Program will be assured if institutional leadership like that provided by Drs. John T. Potts, Marshall A. Wolf and Tom L. Delbanco continues to be the norm. These are clearly people who “walk the talk.” The work is not over and people of good intentions are excited to see what promise the future holds.

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REAFFIRMTHE PRESENT

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nVCP Summary and Outcomes

Gender and Race / Ethnicity

Since inception in 1990, 1,158 students from >150 US medical schools have participated in the Harvard Medical School (HMS) Visiting Clerkship Program (VCP). These visiting students have completed HMS Exchange Clerk-ships at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston Children’s Hospital, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Cam-bridge Health Alliance, Dana Farber Cancer Center, Joslin Diabetes Center, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Massachusetts General Hospital, Massachusetts Mental Health Center, McLean Hospital, Mount Auburn Hospi-tal, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital and the Veterans Administration Boston Healthcare System. Of the 1,087 VCP alums between 1990 through 2014, 16.7% matched at an HMS-affiliated hospital for internship, residency or fellowship. The following diagrams describe participants gender, race/ethnicity and the geographic distribution of the medical schools attended.

Female = 59%

Male = 41%

Gender

Female

Male

Black

Hispanic

Native American

Asian

Unknown

West

Central

South

Northeast

Black = 58%Hispanic = 27%Native American = 1%Asian = 1%Other =13%

Northeast = 34%Central = 17%South = 40%West = 9%

Race/Ethnicity

REGION

VCP by AAMC Regions

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Percent of VCP Students Participating in Scholarly Activities While in Medical School as Indicated in Their Curriculum Vitae

Percent of VCP Students Engaged in Professional Activities While in Medical School as Indicated in Their Curriculum Vitae

A sample of 407 VCP alums (based on five year cohorts) provides a profile of the VCP student at time of their application to the VCP. Approximately 1/3 had published and greater than 80% had received awards and recog-nitions. While in medical school, the majority (98%) held leadership positions, were members of professional associations (76%) and/or were engaged in community service (77%). The majority of VCP participants indicated career aspirations that included education (96%), research (44%) and assuming a leadership role (45%).

As we look across the sample five 5-year cohorts, significant trends at the time of student entry into and exit from the VCP were observed. In later cohorts, we found that (while in medical school) students’ involvement in com-munity service (p<0.001) and intent to work in a medically underserved community (p=0.004) increased. A re-view of participant CVs also showed that in later cohorts a greater proportion of students had published (p<0.001) and/or presented posters (p=0.0016) while in medical school. Among the evidence of VCP success is the in-creased percentage of students from later cohorts who, in their exit survey, indicated that they were considering application to a training program at an HMS-affiliated hospital for internship/residency (p=0.03).

The Visiting Clerkship Program has a history of recruiting and nurturing talented individuals who plan to make significant contributions to health care, as well as academic medicine. The opportunity to explore the extensive academic and professional resources available across HMS-affiliated hospitals coupled with the advice and mento-ring offered to VCP students by faculty during their externship made and continue to make a difference in student plans to join the HMS community for residency/internship.

At the time of VCP entry, while 72% of students considered applying to an academic training program for internship/residency, only 49% were actually considering application to a HMS-affiliated program. Following their one month externship, the percent-age of VCP students reporting that they planned on applying to a training program at a HMS-affiliated hospital increased by 24% (from 49% to 73%).

Awards & Recognitions

Publications

Posters

Grants

87%

36%

14%

7%

VCP Student Explicit Career Aspirations as Indicat-ed in Their Statement of Purpose

Educator

Clinician

Work with Medically Underserved

Leadership Role

Researcher

Administrator

96%

61%

47%

45%

44%

10%

Leadership Positions

Community Service

Membership in Health and Science Re-

lated Professional Associations

98%

77%

76%

72% 2% 18% 8%

49% 20% 23% 8%

Plans for Internship/Residency ApplicationYes No Undecided Missing

Entry & Exit VCP Surveys

Pre-VCP Entry Survery

Post-VCP Exit Survery

Any Academic Training Program

HMS-Specific Training Program

HMS-Specific Training Program 73% 2% 2% 23%

VCP Student Intent to Apply to an Academic Resi-dency Training Program Pre and Post-VCP

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LeRoi Hicks, MD, MPHVice Chair, Department of Medicine, Christiana Care Health System, DelawareMedical School: Indiana University School of MedicineVCP Year: 1994-1995Clerkship Hospital: Mount Auburn Hospital

Dr. LeRoi Hicks took an unpaved road to his stellar career in medicine. As a young person, both of his parents were chronically ill, so he was compelled to work in order to help support the family. Still, he desperately wanted to become a doctor, especially because he saw firsthand how serious illness limited a family’s ability to be whole.

He recalls that, “As a younger student, I loved science… So in junior high and high school, I started taking every opportunity I could to do academic extra-curricular activities. I was also interest in languages and signed up for Latin because my father told me that all doctors knew Latin. Upon being denied this opportunity, my display of indignation actually led to me being placed in a special leadership program and being positioned for college and other significant opportunities.”

Coming to Boston for the VCP in 1994, LeRoi quickly learned that he could “hang” with his peers at Harvard. He was placed in a clinical rotation with topflight doctors and found that most were open and available when approached with intelligence and advance preparation. He also found great mentors in Dr. Joan Reede, Dr. Eric Flint, his Residency Director at Mount Auburn, Dr. John Ayanian, a leader in cardiology research at the Brigham, and Dr. JudyAnn Bigby, who remains a mentor and close friend.

Dr. Hicks states that, “the VCP was life-changing in that there are few opportunities where you get a peek behind the curtain and can see an institution that’s different from your own, an institution that is exemplary. Accordingly, you can’t be shy in assertively pursuing the remarkable opportunity in front of you.”

VCP Alumni Who Trained at HMS-Affiliated Hospitals

1990-1991

Marie Debnam, MDMedicine, CHA

Marjorie Debnam, MDMedicine, CHA

Deryk Jones, MDGeneral Surgery, BWHHarvard Surgery, MGH

1991-1992

Nathaniel Brown, MDMedicine, CHA

Michael Mitchell, MDMedicine, MGHPsychiatry, CHA

1992-1993

Regina Asihene, MD *Medicine, CHA

Robyn Robinson, MDChild and Adolescent Psychiatry, CHB

Erick Velez, MD *Anesthesia, BWH

Clifford Perez, MDSurgery, BWH

Nicole Singh, MDMedicine, BIDMC

1997-1998

Placid Bone, MDMedicine, BWH

Iris Colon, MDObstetrics, Gynecology and Repro-ductive Biology, BWH

Pablo Guevara, MD, PhD *Medicine, MTA

Melissa Hankins, MD *Psychiatry, Harvard Longwood Psychiatry

Ernest Kamara, MDMedicine, CHA

James Kennedye, MDGlobal Health and Social Medicine, HMS

Robert Merritt, MDSurgery, MGH

1993-1994

Michelle Albert, MD *Medicine, BWH

John Ansley, MDOtology and Laryngology, MEEI

Carlin Barnes, MDMedicine, MGHPsychiatry, CHA

Traci Brooks, MD *Pediatrics, BCH

1994-1995

Kimberly Cox, MDAnaesthesia, BIDMC

LeRoi Hicks, MD, MPH *Medicine, MTAMedicine, BWH

Lennox Hoyte, MD, MSEE *Obstetrics, Gynecology and Repro-ductive, Biology, BWH

1995-1996

David Aguilar, MDMedicine, BWH

Rhonda Bentley-Lewis, MD, MMSc *Medicine, BWHMedicine, MGH

Tisa Johnson, MD Pediatrics, BCH

Luc Joseph, MD, PhD *Pediatrics, BCHGlobal Health and Social Medicine, HMS

Shelley Quarless, DO, PhDPathology, BWH

1996-1997

Winifred Agard, MDMedicine, BIDMC

Tracey Daley, MD *Pediatrics, CHA

Alejandro Heffess, MD *Surgery, BIDMC

Patrik Johansson, MD, PhD *Medicine, CHAGlobal Health and Social Medicine, HMS

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Sania Perez, MDPediatrics, BCH

Heather Calderon Pujet, MDMedicine, BWHMedicine, MGH

1998-1999

Chaundre Cross, MDRadiation Oncology, BWH-DFCI-BCH

Alexandra Gutierrez, MDMedicine, MGH

Rhonda Hamilton, MD *Medicine, CHA

Miguel Iturregui, MDSurgery, BIDMC

Suzette Oyeku, MD, MPH *Pediatrics, BCH

Claire-Cecile Pierre, MD *Medicine, CHA

Altagracia Ramirez, MD *Psychiatry, BWH

Rotonya McCants Carr, MDMedicine, MGH

Michael Morris, MDMedicine, BIDMC

Jose Rodriguez, MDSurgery, MGH

Fernando Villamil, MDOrthopedic Surgery, MGH

Brian Williams, MDSurgery, BWH

2001-2002

Pierre De Delva, MDSurgery, MGH

Keith Downing, MD *Obstetrics Gynecology & Reproductive Biology, BWH

Nathaniel Evans, MDSurgery, MGH

Georgina Garcia, MD *Psychiatry, BCH

Alex Gonzalez, MD *Medicine, BIDMC

Roberto Rodriguez, MDSurgery, BIDMC

Freeman Suber, MDSurgery, BWH

Laurie Zephyrin, MDObstetric Gynecology and Repro-ductive Biology, BWH

1999-2000

Christian Arbelaez, MD MPH *Global Health and Social Medicine, HMS

Timothy Benson, MD *Internship, CHAPsychiatry MGH/McLeanAddiction Fellowship, McLean

Michael Burton-Williams, MDPrelim Medicine, MTA

Zara Cooper, MD *Surgery, BWH

Neal Rojas, MDPediatrics, BCH

Arturo Saavedra, MD, PhD MBA *Medicine, BWHDermatology, Harvard CombinedDermatopathology, BWH

Valencia Thomas, MDDermatology, Harvard Combined

Luis Tollinche, MD *Anaesthesia, BWH

Carla Ward, MDMedicine, BIDMC

Marketa Wills, MDPsychiatry, MGH

Tracy Wimbush, MD *Medicine, BWH

2000-2001

Jose Baez, MDMedicine, MGH

Sean Burgest, MDAnaesthesia, CHA

Roberto De Felix-Davila, MDPsychiatry, BWH

Melanie Edwards, MDSurgery, BIDMC

Garth Graham, MD MPH *Medicine, MGH

Miguel Gutierrez, MDDermatology, MGH

Andree LeRoy, MDInstructor in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Spaulding Rehabilitation HospitalMedical School: University of Illinois College of MedicineVCP Year: 2005-2006Clerkship Hospital: Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital Growing up in Chicago, Andree LeRoy had a very curious mind. She spent a lot of her time playing the violin and just trying to figure things out. She says, “I was the only black kid in my class and I was placed in all remedial classes. Looking back now, I’m pretty sure that race was an issue. Still, I was able to help the other kids with reading and other subjects; so it seemed okay to me at the time.”

Fast forward and Andree relates, “I got a college scholarship in violin and was a performance major. But some of the passion left when I saw how much music theory was involved. I really just wanted to play. Aside from this, my dad had a massive heart attack in my freshman year and something shifted. I added pre-med to my degree program because watching him be sick really affected me.”

Still Dr. LeRoy wasn’t certain she wanted to do what she calls “the medicine thing.” She says, “I literally ran away from it, but It’s kind of genetic . I have thirteen physicians in my close family.” So after graduation, she moved to California and did other things, but eventually her desire for science, research and helping people all converged in the realization that medicine had it all. She went back to Chicago and entered the University of Illinois Medical School.

Dr. Leroy came to the VCP in 2005. She says, “I came to Boston. I did my rotation at Spaulding. I had a native Hawaiian roommate. My attending took me under her wing and I had the most delightful experience. I finally began to acknowledge my gifts and received the kind of mentorship that convinced me that I could become the kind of doctor I wanted to be.”

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Cecily Hamill, MD, PhDOphthalmologist, Brookline, MAMedical School: Emory University School of MedicineVCP Year: 2007-2008Clerkship Hospital: Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary Dr. Cecily Hamill knew she wanted to be a physician at the age of four. At that time, in a frightening restaurant accident, she fell and split her head open. She went to a local ER and took 31 stitches. She remembers being terribly scared, but also recalls the gentle way she was cared for by Dr. Hunter, the ER attending. She knew from that moment what she wanted to be when she grew up.

As a youth in Tulsa, Oklahoma, academics was Cecily’s strong suit. She stayed in Tulsa for college, but eventually left for Atlanta and medical school…Of Atlanta she says, “It definitely was a bigger city than Tulsa; but it was still Southern, with a slower pace and a familiar hospitality.”

In 2007, Cecily came to Boston for the VCP, choosing to do her clerkship in Mass Eye and Ear’s renowned Retina department. While there, Dr. Hamill worked with Retina Specialist Dr. Ivana Kim, obtaining an excellent role model and mentor, who balanced her huge clinical and research duties with motherhood and family life. Cecily recalls, “Frankly I don’t know how she did it.”

Through such exposure, Dr. Hamill decided that she really liked ophthalmology. She placed a premium on mentorship and took advantage of every opportunity to really learn. She shares this advice with potential VCP invitees, “Avail yourself of the opportunities around you and don’t hide in the corner. My VCP experience made me a more confident person, ready to break out of my shell, maximize my potential and look forward to a residency in ophthalmology and becoming an eye doctor.”

Fanny Gonzalez Benitez, MDPediatric Nephrology, BCH

Veronica Hailes, MDAnaesthesia, BWH

Asher Turney, MDSurgery, MGH

Michael Vazquez, MDOrthopedic Surgery, MGH

2002-2003

Henry Boateng, MDOrthopedic Surgery, BWH

Sara Brubaker, MDObstetrics Gynecology & Repro-ductive Biology, BWH

Alejandra Garcia, MDSurgery, BCH

Dauda Griffin, MDPsychiatry, CHA

Jorge Magallon, MD *Medicine BIDMC

Anthony Nichols, MDOtology and Laryngology, MEEI

Ogochukwu Okpala, MDObstetrics Gynecology & Repro-ductive Biology, BWH

Jessica Pena, MDMedicine, BWH

Michelle Roach, MDRadiology, MGHAnesthesia, BWH

2003-2004

Sabrina Assoumou, MDMedicine, BIDMC

Eloise Chapman, MDObstetric Gynecology & Reproduc-tive Biology, BWH

Nina Graupera, MD *Psychiatry, Harvard South Shore - VAMC

Babajide Ogunseinde, MDOrthopedics, MGH

Waleska Pabon-Ramos, MDRadiology, BWH

Levi Sokol, MDRadiology, BWH

Omolara Thomas, MDPediatrics, BCH

Carmelita Wallace, MD *Surgery, BWHAnaesthesia, BWH

Gina Walton, MDPhysical Medicine and Rehabilita-tion, SRH

2004-2005

Khady Diouf, MD *Obstetrics Gynecology & Repro-ductive Biology, BWH

Efren Flores, MD *Radiology, MGH

Catherine Gonzalez, MD *Psychiatry, BIDMC

Amy Hurwitz, MDMedicine, BIDMC

Suzelle Luc, MD, PhDMedicine, BIDMC

Michael Lukoma, MDMedicine, BIDMC

Ariel Otero, MD *Psychiatry, CHA

Kaipo Pau, MDPhysical Medicine and Rehabilita-tion, SRH

Carrie Peek, MDChild Neurology, BCH

Tashelle Samuels, MDAnaesthesia, MGH

2005-2006

Olubimpe Ayeni, MDPlastic Surgery, BIDMC

Dinee Collings Simpson, MDSurgery, BWH

Deitrick Cox, MDMedicine, CHA

Whitney Daniels, MDPsychiatry, BIDMC

Patrick Dominguez, MDDermatology Research, BWH

Alden Landry, MD, MPH *Emergency Medicine, BIDMCGlobal Health and Social Medicine, HMS

Andree LeRoy, MD *Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, SRH

Gina Lopez, MD, MPH Medicine, MTA

Kenolisa Onwueme, MD, PhDMedicine, BWH

Marisol Segundo, MD *Psychiatry, BIDMC

VCP Alumni Who Trained at HMS-Affiliated Hospitals (Cont’d)

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Ann Elrington, MD, PhDMongan Commonwealth Fund Fellow at Harvard Medical SchoolMedical School: Wayne State University School of MedicineVCP Year: 1997-1998Clerkship Hospital: Cambridge Hospital Dr. Ann Elrington grew up as an avid Girl Guide (equivalent to the Girl Scouts in the US) back in her native Belize. She was a leader from an early age and despite the fact that she doesn’t remember any doctors in her family circle, adults from her community always told her “You’re going to be a doctor.”

Applying and being accepted to the VCP in 1997 definitely suggested to Ann that she was good enough to compete and succeed. Coming into the program, Dr. Elrington freely admits to some chal-lenges during her rotation in Psychiatry. She says that, “Sometimes I didn’t feel as supported within my clinical environment as I did in the more communal aspects of the VCP experience. Joan Reede and her staff created such a great atmosphere for the clerks. Still, though I did feel some isolation in my work, I also discovered that it was critical to do my best to [be at] the table no matter what. This was one of the key lessons I learned during my clerkship.”

As Dr. Elrington puts it, “While I had no real interest in academic medicine, I knew that I wanted to be a leader in community practice, and participating in the VCP transformed my understanding of my capabilities and affirmed that I could compete in the HMS environment or any other I might encounter.” Now, Ann is back in Boston pursuing the HMS Commonwealth Fellows Program for more senior practitioners. In being selected for this prestigious opportunity, she’s more convinced than ever that she belongs to the global Harvard community.

Rafael Vazquez, MD *Anaesthesia, MGH

2006-2007

Amina Abdeldaim, MDMedicine, BWH

Melissa Coleman, MDSurgery, BWH

Andrew Elbardissi, MDSurgery, BWH

Daniel Gebremedhin, MD *Medicine, MGH

Antonio Gutierrez, MDMedicine, BWH

Chandler Long, MDSurgery, MGH

Dania Magri, MDOrthopedic Surgery, MGH

Aderonke Oguntoye, MDPsychiatry, BIDMC

Oyere Onuma, MDMedicine, MGH

Fernando Roca, MD *Reproductive Endocrinology, MGH

Fatima Stanford, MDMedicine, MGH

Amelia Villagomez, MDPsychiatry, BCH

Sarah Vinson, MDPsychiatry, CHA

Maame Yaa (Maya) Yiadom, MDEmergency Medicine, BWH

2007-2008

Isabel Arrillaga-Romany, MD *Neurology, MGH

Tanishia Choice, MD *Psychiatry, MGH

Nicole Christian, MDPsychiatry, MGH

Sybil Dessie, MDObstetrics Gynecology & Repro-ductive Biology, BIDMC

Nwamaka Eneanya, MD, MPH *Medicine, BWHMedicine, MGH

Adeniran Haastrup, MDAnaesthesia, MGH

Luis Haddock, MDOphthalmology, MEEI

Cecily Hamill, MD, PhDOphthalmology, MEEI

Jonathan Hausmann, MDPrimary Care and Medicine-Pediat-rics, BWH/BCH

Terrill Julien, MDOrthopedic Surgery, MGH

Patricia Peters, MDPediatrics, MGH

Yahir Santiago, MD *Surgery, MGH

Gabriela Soriano (Hobbs), MD *Medicine, BWH

2008-2009

Monica Chang-Panesso, MDMedicine, BWH

Sheila Garcia, MDMedicine, MGH

Sharma Joseph, MDAnaesthesia, MGH

Oluseyi Ojeifo, MDMedicine, MGH

Harry Salinas, MDSurgery, MGHPlastic Surgery, Harvard Combined

Phillip Walton, MDOrthopedic Surgery, MGH

2009-2010

Laveil Allen, MDMedicine, CHA

Thomas Curran, MDSurgery, BIDMC

Chris Garcia, MDPathology Informatics, MGH

Angel Johnson, MDObstetrics Gynecology & Reproductive Biology, MGH

Phillip Murray, MDPsychiatry, CHA

Suliat Nurudeen, MDSurgery, BWH

John Rose, MDSurgery, BWH

(Maria) Victoria Vargas, MDObstetrics Gynecology & Reproductive Biology, BWH

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Chris Wong Quiles, MDPediatrics, BCH

2010-2011

Prescilia Isedeh, MDMedicine, BWH

Youssra Marjoua, MDOrthopedic Surgery, MGH

Olutoyin Okanlawon, MDAnesthesia, BWH

Samata Singhi, MDPediatric Neurology, BCH

Willie Siu, PhD MDPsychiatry, MGH

Justin Taylor, MDMedicine, BWH

Roberto Vargas, MDObstetrics Gynecology & Repro-ductive Biology, BWH

2011-2012

Gabriela Andrade, MDPediatrics, BCH

Camille Clarke, MDMedicine Primary Care, CHA

Michelle Jose-Kampfner, MDMedicine, BWH

Naima Joseph, MDObstetrics Gynecology & Repro-ductive Biology, BWH

2012-2013

Mary Banks, MDMedicine, MGH

Adriana Cohen Rostoker, MDPediatrics, MGH

Michelle Long Schoettler, MDPediatrics, BCH

Morgan Medlock, MDPsychiatry, MGH

Bianca Quinones-Perez, MDPediatrics, BCH

Alyce Richard, MDMedicine, CHAAnesthesia, BIDMC

2013-2014

Saba Berhie, MDObstetrics Gynecology & Repro-ductive Biology, BWH

Jillian Canton, MDPrelim Medicine/Anesthesiology, BIDMC

Vanessa Gallegos-Kearin, MDPhysical Medicine and Rehabilita-tion, SRH

Theophelus Hill, MDAnaesthesia, BIDMC

Shaina Lipa, MDOrthopedic Surgery, BIDMC

Joshua Oliver, MDAnesthesia, BIDMC

Chinedu Otu, MDSurgery Prelim/Anesthesiology, BIDMC

Catherine Salussolia, MDPediatric Neurology, BCH

Patrick Schofield, MDAnesthesiology, MGH

Claudia Sotillo, MDAnesthesia Research, BWH

2014-2015

Vwaire Orhurhu, MDMedicine Prelim, BWHAnesthesiology, BIDMC

*Alumni who are past or current HMS faculty

Michelle Long (Schoettler), MDResident, Pediatrics, Boston Children’s HospitalMedical School: Wake Forest University School of MedicineVCP Year: 2012-2013Clerkship Hospital: Boston Children’s Hospital Dr. Michelle Long likes to keep busy. In grade school and college, she swam, ran track, competed in classics and debate, and participated in student government. She also performed a lot of community service in support of children and single moms. She knew early on that she wanted to work with children and that she wanted to be a doctor.

Her grandmother being struck by cancer amplified her desire to heal others, as she witnessed how difficult it was for non-English speaking patients from poorer backgrounds to navigate the healthcare system. She saw this again in an early volunteer experience in a NICU, with the mothers of small, sick newborns struggling to make sense of the hospital environment.

Those passions led Michelle to Wake Forest for medical school and to Boston for specialized research programs. In 2013, she was accepted into the Visiting Clerkship Program. While those earlier research programs may have familiarized her with Boston, it was the VCP that Michelle credits with a great deal of the success she’s had as an aspiring pediatrician.

She states, “The VCP supported me, giving me a place to live and offering me an opportunity to be taught and mentored by the wonderful pediatricians at [Boston] Children’s Hospital…I was surprised and impressed by the culture and community the program created during my rotation. I now recommend the clerkship to all of the younger students I mentor and advise. I think it’s 100% critical to have programs like the VCP, especially for minorities coming to the HMS community from other cities and states…The program helps to dispel the negative aspects of pre-conceived notions about living and working in the Harvard Medical School environment.”

VCP Alumni Who Trained at HMS-Affiliated Hospitals (Cont’d)

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Theo Hill, MDIntern in Medicine, Howard University; Resident in Anesthesiology, Beth Israel Deaconess Med-ical CenterMedical School: Howard University School of MedicineVCP Year: 2013-2014Clerkship Hospital: Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center According to Dr. Theo Hill, life as a young boy in Tyler, Texas was very simple. His parents had a house and a pig farm. For most of his childhood, he had to go home and do chores at the house, or work on the pig farm. He says, “I learned from a young age to work really, really hard and that work ethic stayed with me.”

Often the call to medicine is born out of personal tragedy. In Theo’s case, this is particularly true. When he was five, his younger brother, aged three, choked on a pecan roll. Theo recalls, “It was right in front of me, and just seeing my family dealing with all that… I wanted to prevent another family from going through such a tragedy.”

He admits that the road was riddled with detours, but he eventually made a determined push toward medicine. About his month-long 2013 VCP rotation, Dr. Hill says, “I met people along the way… I met Joan Reede, Nancy Oriol, Rosa DaSilva, and Lise Kaye, all associated with Office of Diversity at HMS. I’m the first student ever from Howard to match at Beth Israel in anesthesia. Without the VCP, I never would have matched here. It literally gave me the opportunity to fulfill my dreams, to become an anesthesiologist and to be trained at BIDMC.”

In sum, Dr. Hill says, “The month I spent in the VCP taught me a lot about never giving up. It taught me about integrity and how to adapt to a different cultural environment. For me, being a part of this unique HMS culture and adjusting to it has been a phenomenal experience.”

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical CenterJodi Abbot, MD 1999-2001Kenneth Arndt, MD 1995Donald Anonioli, MD 1995Christopher Awtrey, MD 2013Mark Bergman, MD 1998Michael Bigby, MD 2010Christopher Boyd, MD 2014Booker Bush, MD 2009Mary Buss, MD 2010Michael Cahalane, MD 1997 – 2011Rafael Campo, MD 2009 – 2014Christian Campos, MD 1997Alex Carbo, MD 2014James Carter, MD 1995Thomas Cataldo, MD 2014Valerie Cummins, MD 2006Robert Davis, MD 2012Ralph de la Torre, MD 2002 – 2007Melanie Derman, MD 2000John Doweiko, MD 2001

Reed Drews, MD 2006Frank Drislane, MD 2006Rosemary Duda, MD 1993Susan Farrell, MD 2000Jonathan Fisher, MD 2007Erik Garpestad, MD 2002Robert Goisman, MD 2001Ary Goldberger, MD 2002 – 2003Toni Golen, MD 2013Craig Gordon, MD 2003Kee Hak-Lim, MD 2001 – 2002Jack Ludmire, MD 2003David Halloran, MD 2009Stephanie Hale, MD 2008Philip Hess, MD 2009Mary Jane Houlihan, MD 2009Stephanie Jones, MD 2010Michael Kahn, MD 1997 – 2013Sean Kelly, MD 2003Tara Kent, MD 2014Henry Klapholz, MD 2000

VCP Advisors 1990 - 2015

Kevin Kwaku, MD 2006 – 2007Alden Landry, MD 2008 – presentCato Laurencin, MD 1993Gillian Lieberman, MD 1999 – 2010Alan Lisbon, MD 2001 – presentJoseph Locicero, MD 1995Frank Logerfo, MD 1998Jeffrey P. Martel, MD 2014Camilia Martin, MD 1999Shunda McGahee, MD 2014Louis Meeks, MD 2002Monica Mendiola, MD 2014John D. Mitchell, MD 2009Donald Morris, MD 1997Robert Najarian, MD 2011 – 2013Jonathan Niloff, MD 2003Thomas O’Halloran, MB BCh 2013Nancy Oriol, MD 2014Johanna Pallotta, MD 2002 – 2003Mary Elizabeth Patti, MD 1998Thomas Perls, MD 1999

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Paula Pinkston, MD 1995Duane Pinto, MD 2013Hope Ricciotti, MD 2010Joyce Sackey, MD 1997Christie Sams, MD 2013Lowell Schnipper, MD 1997Todd Shuster, MD 1995William Silen, MD 1998Ron Silvestri, MD 2011Sumner Slavin, MD 2008 – 2009Christopher Smith, MD 2014Vincent Smith, MD 2008Harold Solomon, MD 2011Michael Stone, MD 1995 – 2000Daniel Talmor, MD 2005Susan Troyan, MD 1997Anita Vanka, MD 2014

Carol Waksmonski, MD 1999 – 2000James Weiss, MD 2001Augustus A. White, III, MD PhD 1996, 2010Richard Wolfe, MD 2000Francis Wolfert, MD 1999Mike Woodruff, MD 2007Jeffrey Zilberfarb, MD 2011

Boston Children’s HospitalJohnye Ballenger, MD 1993David Brown, MD 2005Susan Burchett, MD 2000Jennifer Cheng, MD 2014Kevin Churchwell, MD 1993John Cloherty, MD 1996John Crigler, MD 1994Lisa Diller, MD 1997

VCP Advisors 1990 - 2015 (Cont’d)

Sara Forman, MD 1996 – 2009Laurie Glader, MD 2013Alexandra Golby, MD 2014Stuart Goldman, MD 2000Amanda Growdon, MD 2013Ann Hansen, MD 2002William Harmon, MD 1997Gerald B. Healy, MD 1999 – 2000John Herrin, MD 2001Lynn Herzog, MD 1993Timothy Hresko, MD 1997 – presentH. Range Hutson, MD 2002David Hunter, MD 2006-2011Bruce Korf, MD 1999Brian Labow, MD 2011Alan Leichtner, MD 2003Clifford Lo, MD 1998 – 2004

As a young person growing up in Puerto Rico, Roberto Vargas didn’t have family members who were doctors, or role models who pushed him toward medical school. His decision to become a doctor was heavily influenced by his classes in human anatomy and physiology at Penn State. Dr. Vargas says, ”Those classes showed me that medicine was, in essence, engineering of the human body and that science was a big part of it.” As a self-proclaimed “geek”, Vargas was drawn to this reality.

He raves about Dr. Joan Reede and Program Coordinator Jo Cole when he talks about his 2010 VCP experience. He insists, “I absolutely wouldn’t be where I am without this program they lead.” He believes they created a comfortable environment for participants. “During that time, I roomed with a Mexican fellow from California. We both knew hard work and had similar life experiences. I taught him a little about Puerto Rico and he taught me about Mexico. At the end of a long, long day we could enjoy a meal together, sharing stories about family. This made being away from home much more bearable.”

Dr. Vargas also praises the VCP’s mentorship opportunities…”My main mentor was Dr. Noah Rodriguez, the Chief Gynecological Oncology Fellow at the Brigham. I was a fourth year intern and he was the Senior Fellow on service. He took me under his wing and gave me the crucial guidance, modeling what it would be like as a male Latino in the discipline. Dr. Michael Muto, Brigham’s Gynecological Oncology Fellowship Director, completely immersed me in the field. He was such a profound influence that I’ll be starting a GYN-Oncology Fellowship this July.”

Roberto Vargas, MDResident, Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital Medical School: Pennsylvania State University College of MedicineVCP Year: 2010-2011Clerkship Hospital: Brigham and Women’s Hospital

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Kenneth McIntosh, MD 1999Elliot Melendez, MD 2013 – presentShari Nethersole, MD 1996 – 2005Samuel Nurko, MD 2006Edward O’Rourke, MD 1999Harriet Paltiel, MD 2000Robert Pascucci, MD 1996Antonio Perez-Atayde, MD 2002Jeannette Perez-Rossello, MD 2006 – 2009Andrew J. Powell, MD 2003Mark Proctor, MD 2006 – 2014G. Praveen Raju, MD 2005Leonard Rappaport, MD 1999Sharon Redd, MD 2011Stephen Sallan, MD 1996R. Michael Scott, MD 1993Michael Shannon, MD 1997 – 2007Colin Sieff, MB BCh 1996

Esau Simons, MD 1993Norman Spack, MD 2002 – 2003Philip Spevak, MD 1993Elsie Tavares, MD MPH 2007Venee Tubman, MD 2014Mary Vander Valde, MD 1998Allan Walker, MD 1995Michele Walther, MD 2013Debra Weiner, MD 2000, 2010Celeste Wilson, MD 2003 – 2011

Brigham and Women’s HospitalMichelle Albert, MD 2009Robert Antosia, MD 1998 – 1999Christian Arbelaez, MD 2005 –2010Stanley Ashley, MD 2003 – 2005Robert Barbieri, MD 1997 – presentJabbar Bennett, PhD, 2008

Rhonda Bentley-Lewis, MD 2005 – 2008Ross Berkowitz, MD 1996 – presentJudyann Bigby, MD 1996O’Neil Britton, MD 2008Peter Clarke, MD 2010Zara Cooper, MD 2009 – 2013Lisa Crossley, MD 2013Christopher Crum, MD 2002 – 2010Khady Diouf, MD 2014Keith Downing, MD 2007George Dyer, MD 2007 – 2010Amaka Eneanya, MD, MPH 2010 – presentElof Eriksson, MD 1997 – 2001Janis Fox, MD 2005 – 2010Darlene Gabeau-Lacet, MD 2008John Garfield, MD 1996Beth Garner, MD 2004 – 2006Joel Goldberg, MD 2011

Rhonda Bentley-Lewis, MD, MMScAssistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General HospitalMedical School: University of Pennsylvania School of MedicineVCP Year: 1995-1996Clerkship Hospital: Brigham and Women’s Hospital Dr. Rhonda Bentley-Lewis spent most of her youth in the tough environs of the South Bronx, much of it as a “latchkey” kid caring for her younger brother. Through a life-altering opportunity with A Better Chance, an East Coast foundation that places promising urban students in competitive boarding schools, she enrolled in the highly-regarded Berkshire School in Sheffield, Massachusetts. Once there, she pursued academics, sports, and diverse extra-curricular activities.

She became the first person of color to receive Berkshire’s Outstanding Alumni Award in the 35 years of the honor. At Berkshire, she was developed and supported in ways that her life in the Bronx could never have made possible.

As high school concluded, she was pressed by her guidance counselor to consider Ivy League schools and look beyond becoming a social worker for teenage moms. She was also urged to consider medical school. These conversations followed her throughout college and on into medical school. Rhonda says, “Having confidence in my abilities would become a significant life lesson. I really hadn’t had this confidence affirmed by my prior experiences in school or at home.”

In 1995 she came to the VCP and found Dr. Joan Reede and Program Coordinator Cathleen Dunham ready to shepherd her and her Clerkship cohorts through a month of rigorous and rewarding medical training in a revered learning community. Dr. Bentley also believes she was being prepared to model healthcare diversity and equitable service to the underserved. Of this preparation she says, “It’s not just about getting into a Harvard hospital, it’s also about learning to explain a complex medical environment and its practices to people who often can’t understand it for themselves.”

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Herbert Hechtman, MD 1995Linda Heffner, MD 1993Thomas Grayboys, MD 2010Mitchell Harris, MD 2006 – 2012Harley Haynes, MD 2003 – 2006Galen Henderson, MD 2010 – 2011Lennox Hoyte, MD 1997Danny Jacobs, MD 1996 – 1997Paula Johnson, MD 1993 – 1996Mark Johnson, MD 2009 – presentJoel Katz, MD 2001 – presentChristopher Lathan, MD 2009 – 2010Eldrin Lewis, MD 2004 – 2011James Maguire, MD 1999Ramon Martin, MD 2011Thomas McElrath, MD 2003Edgar Milford, MD 1995Tracey Milligan, MD 2008 – 2013Nawal Nour, MD 2008 – 2010Michael O’Leary, MD 1993Nora Osman, MD 2007 – presentMarc Pfeffer, MD PhD 1998 – 2003Juan C. Puyana, MD 2000

Stephen Ringer, MD 1997Audra Robertson, MD MPH 2009 – 2011Selwyn Rogers, MD 2003 – 2011Arturo Saavedra, MD PhD, 2007 – 2011Fidencio Saldana, MD 2006Julian Seifter, MD 1998Kitt Shaffer, MD 1997 – 2003Timothy Shafman, MD 1998Barry Simmons, MD 2001David Soybel, MD 1997 – 2009Michael Stelluto, MD 1999Ruth Tuomala, MD 2011Erik Velez, MD 2010Akila Viswanathan, MD 2003Louise Wilkins-Haug, MD PhD 2013Gayle Winters, MD 2001 – 2009Jacqueline Wolf, MD 1992Marshall Wolf, MD 1995 – 1999

Cambridge Health AllianceDavid Baron, MD 1998Jay Bhatt, DO, MPH 2011Rose Goldman, MD 1995 – 2000

VCP Advisors 1990 - 2015 (Cont’d)

Todd Griswold, MD 2005 – presentDavid Himmelstein, MD 1994 – 2008Michelle Holmes, MD 1993Marie-Louise Jean-Baptiste, MD 1993 – presentAlfred Margulies, MD 1996 – 2005Ira Mintzer, MD 1996 – 2000Richard Pels, MD 1997Claire-Cecile Pierre, MD 2003 – 2005

Massachusetts Eye and Ear InfirmaryRuberto Charles, MD 2004Kathryn Colby, MD 2007Sandra Cremers, MD 2002Daniel Deschler, MD 2002, 2010Scott Greenstein, MD 2011Stephen Rauch, MD 1993 – 1996Lucy Shen, MD 2010Lynette Watkins, MD 2002Janey Wiggs, MD 2005

Massachusetts General HospitalMaria Alexander-Bridges, MD 1995

Zara Cooper, MD, MScAssistant Professor of Surgery, Brigham and Women’s HospitalMedical School: Mount Sinai School of MedicineVCP Year: 1999-2000Clerkship Hospital: Brigham and Women’s Hospital Zara Cooper didn’t start out wanting to be a doctor. She studied journalism in college with the intention of working in advertising and marketing. After school, she was an advertising Account Executive for four years. While doing some volunteer work, she met a few neurologists and began to think about becoming a doctor. Within a few years, she enrolled in medical school and began her journey.

She jumped at the opportunity to come to Boston for the 1999 VCP and clearly remembers two key “life lessons” from the experience. “Joan Reede introduced me to Dr. Bill Silen, who was then Chair of Surgery at Beth Israel, and that meeting changed my life. I learned then that one meeting which might seem accidental can absolutely change everything. The other lesson I learned, which is probably the point of the VCP, was that I was good enough to compete here.” Dr. Silen told her this in no uncertain terms and was instrumental in her return to the Brigham. Sixteen years later, she’s still there.

Dr. Cooper adds, “The Visiting Clerkship Program is key for diversity in the HMS community because access to this unrivalled learning system is so limited…This is a very rich environment. There’s a lot to learn and there’s a lot to offer. Everything is here for the taking. But you actually have to take it. This isn’t an environment that coddles…You have to be open to the experience and you have to come prepared. I know that I learned a lot and was exposed to a unique practice setting. I met people who support me to this day and I think that’s terrific.”

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Rae Allain, MD 1999 – 2003Alia Antoon, MD 2004Alexy Arauz, MD 2010 – 2014Hugh Auchincloss, MD 1996Gerald Austin, MD 1996W. Jay Austin, MD 2003Edwin Avery, MD 2003Mark Barry, MD 1993Heidi Bas, MD 2012Eliot Battle, MD 1999Hasan Bazari, MD 1997Ann Beal, MD 1996 – 1999William Beck, MD 1993Rhonda Bentley-Lewis, MD 2011 – 2012Richard Bringhurst, MD 2000Sherri-Ann Burnett-Bowie, MD 2014Melvin Burton, MD 1995Jocelyn Carter, MD 2014Eduardo Castro, MD 1997Tracey Cho, MD 2013Charlotte Cowan, MD 1995Cornelia Cremens, MD 2003

William Curry, MD 2011 – 2013Benjamin T. Davis, MD 2004 – 2008Marc deMoya, MD 2007 – presentMarcela del Carmen, MD 2013Ronald Dixon, MD 2004Daniel Driscoll, MD 1997Mark Eisenberg, MD 1999Amaka Eneanya, MD 2012 – presentErsne Eromo, MD 2013Christine Finn, MD 2005 – 2007Arlan Fuller, MD 1993 – 2005Mark Gebhart, MD 1993Thomas Gill, MD 1999 – 2004Ernesto Gonzalez, MD 1995 – 2011Wanda Gonzalez, MD 2011, 2013AnneKatherine Goodman, MD 2000 – 2014Fiona Graham Cook, MD 1993David Henderson, MD 1999 – 2001David Hooper, MD 1997 – 2003Ann Kao, MD 2010Thomas Kinane, MB BCh 2000

Macias Konstantopoulos, MD 2013Jennifer Lafayette, MD 2003 – 2005Mayra Lorenzo, MD PhD 2014Abner Louissaint, Jr., MD PhD 2011Bonnie Mackool, MD 2010Henry Mankin, MD 1995 – 1997James May, MD 1999 – 2005Charles McCabe, MD 1997 – 2006W. Scott McDougal, MD 2002Nicte Mejia, MD 2010Robert Novelline, MD 1994 – 2010Natan Noviski, MD 2000 – 2001Saul Perea, MD 1995John Potts, MD 1996John Querques, MD 1997Kevin Raskin, MD 2006 – presentLaura Riley, MD 1997 – 2014David Rattner, MD 1995Kathy Sanders, MD 2012Arturo Saavedra, MD PhD, 2011 – presentJay Schnitzer, MD 2003

Debbie Salas-Lopez, MD, MPH, FACPChair, Dept. of Medicine, Lehigh Valley Health Network, Allentown, PA; Professor of Medicine, University of South Florida College of Medicine and Public HealthMedical School: University of Medicine and Dentistry of New JerseyVCP Year: 1995-1996Clerkship Hospital: Mount Auburn Hospital Like the heroine of a contemporary urban novel, Debbie Salas Lopez has a story to tell. She grew up the oldest of five siblings in the tough inner-city surroundings of the Bronx, New York. As Debbie recalls, “My father was a minister and we sometimes had church four or five times a week. As a preacher’s kid, the many rich lessons that I learned then followed me into adult life.”

Her father taught her about caring for people and she loved science. So between the values that he instilled in Debbie and that penchant for science, she knew that she wanted to help people. Her story then twists and turns through an unlikely odyssey of community college study, marriage, escaping from the poverty and violence of the late 1960’s Bronx, a highly successful real estate career, and an improbable, but triumphant, return to college and medical school.

In recalling her 1995 VCP opportunity, she insists on talking about Dr. Joan Reede. She says, “Joan was larger than life. I can remember her walk, her charisma, and how dedicated she was to creating an incredible learning community for the clerks. She’s one of my takeaways from the program… She should know that she changed a life in touching me.”

She adds, “I’m in medicine now because I grew up experiencing healthcare disparities. I was myself an underserved community. I experienced the micro-aggressions of the system and I know now that we need doctors, nurses, and healthcare professionals that are sensitive to the whole variety of challenging life circumstances that poor people are carrying along with significant and serious health concerns.”

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Suzette Oyeku, MD, MPHAssociate Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, Associate Division Chief for Academic Affairs General Pediatrics,Montefiore Medical CenterThe University Hospital for Albert Einstein College of Medicine Family Care Center/Division of General PediatricsMedical School: New York University School of MedicineVCP Year: 1998-1999Clerkship Hospital: Boston Children’s Hospital Dr. Suzette Oyeku was a young high school graduate at just sixteen years of age. She was committed to community and civic engagement as a young person and represented her peers on a community board in her local enclave. Suzette also made time for playing the saxophone, choral singing, running track, and attending summer science research programs. Her immigrant parents, a Nigerian father and a Guyanese mother, were both college-educated and encouraged her to excel academically and pursue accelerated learning experiences in the allied sciences.

She also recalls her Susan Smith McKinney Steward Medical Society mentoring nights. The society, created in the late 1970’s, was named after a pioneering African American female physician and sponsored periodic New York dinner meetings, hosting inner-city youth for networking and linkage. At these dinners Suzette met early mentors like Dr. Doris Weathers and was inspired to pursue a career in medicine.

After graduating, she was accepted to the Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education at City College of New York, a seven-year combined undergraduate and medical school degree program in partnership with seven New York institutions, a program that was created to increase the number of area minorities entering medical school.

She attended NYU Medical School and was selected for the Visiting Clerkship Program in 1998. Of the VCP, she states, “Doing the Visiting Clerkship opened my eyes to the fact that I could do a residency here at one of the Harvard hospitals. For many people training at a Harvard hospital seems like an unattainable goal, even more so for people of color. Coming here, I saw people who looked like me doing the things I wanted to do. I saw that I could compete on this stage, just like everyone else.”

Shannon Scott-Vernaglia, MD 2010Monique Sellas, MD 2009Felicia Smith, MD 2006Olga Smulders-Myers, MD 2009Thomas Spitzer, MD 2010 – 2013Christopher Stowell, MD 2009Michele Szabo, MD 2006 – 2014Stephen Thomas, MD 1997 – 2000Valencia Thomas, MD 2003Thomas Thornhill, MD 2011Michael Watkins, MD 2011

Wyn Williams, MD 1995 – 1997Karen Winkfield, MD 2008 – presentCameron Wright, MD 1993

Mount Auburn HospitalEric Flint, MD 1999Stephen Forwand, MD 1997Richard Gardner, MD 2000Charles Hatem, MD 1995Paul Kantrowitz, MD 2004 – 2009Jeffrey Leavitt, MD 2006

Valerie Pronio-Stelluto, MD 1999 – 2008Ellen Spar, MD 1995 – 1997

Spaulding Rehabilitation HospitalDavid Burke, MD 2002Heechin Chae, MD 2002, 2008Andrée LeRoy, MD 2011 – 2014Donna Nimec, MD – 2001Nimet Oruc, MD 20018Joel Stein, MD 1997 – 1999

VCP Advisors 1990 - 2015 (Cont’d)

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VCP Alumni 1990 - 2015

Francisca AbanyieAmina Hassan Abdeldaim Obafunto Opeyemi Abimbola Gallane Dabela Abraham Merna A. Abraham Jose Antonio Abrego Antonio M. Abreu-Ramos Iroso I. Abu Ezinma Achebe Maria Natalie Achong Atoya Breona Adams Tonya Lynn Adams Pelumi A. Adedayo Mukhtar Adem Adebola Olufunmi Adeniran Oyinade Mofoluke Aderibigbe Oluwaseun Adelanke Adetayo Bryant A. Adibe Rees Opuni Adomako Horacio E. Adrogue Winifred V. Agard Oma Nnenna Agbai Brian Besong Agbor-Etang Gloria Kangachie Aggrey Ugochi Crystal Agi Nneamaka Barbara Agochukwu Abby J. Agosto Ventura Anmir Laura Agresar David Aguilar Felix Aguilar Gabriela Aurora Aguilar Steve Anthony Aguilar Vivian del Carmen Aguilar Martha X. Aguilera Uchenna E. Aguwa Ayan H. Ahmed Hodan Hamza Ahmed Wiaam Osman Ahmed Penelope T. Aikin-Jackson Gonzalo A. Aillon Stephanie Nkechi Ajudua Gloria E. Akan Blessing O.N. Akpofure Diana Lucia Alba Michelle Asha Albert Carlos A. Alemany Anel Alexis Isabel M. Algaze-Gonzalez Towhid Ali Leonardo Aliaga Kari-Claudia M. Allen Laveil M. Allen Timothy Allen Blythe Lelia Allen-Dickerson Kenneth Rupert Alleyne Zoyla Ascencion Almeida Laura Alsina Mahlet Alula Jorge Alex Alvarez Melissa Marie Alvarez Aytana Alvarez-Ambas

Dahari D. Brooks Traci Lynette Brooks Dwane Gerard Broussard Gregory Scott Brown Israel Kwame Brown Jeffrey Bernard Brown Kevin Nathaniel Brown Micahla Christina Brown Nathaniel Franklin Brown Nefertiti Adunni Brown Sherry-Ann N. Brown Tanilla Louise Brown Trista A. Brown Satra Bianca Browne Sara Grace Brubaker Dominique A. Brundidge Damita Lynelle Bryant Eric C. Burdge Sean G. Burgest Luz Minerva Burgos Fuster Michael G. Burton-Williams Errol Lovester Bush Jose M. Busquets Ginette Busschots Esther Rochelle Butler Paris DeSoto Butler Jerome Alan Byam Carol Lynn Cabral Rosalie Serrano Cabrera Aileen Caceres Magdalena Cadet Melaney Armstrong Caldwell Chanelle Calhoun Marianne Camargo Alfonso Camberos Sausan Tahtawi Campbell Todd C. Campbell Jillian Canton Matthew Ross Carazo Dana Lorraine Carbo-Bryant Janet Carella Carla A. Cargill Victor J. Carlo-Chevere Dafnis Carolina Carranza Mark C. Carter William Edgar Carter Yvette M. Carter Yvonne Marie Carter Steven Roger Casos David A. Cassius Mario Castellanos Claudia P. Castiblanco Elizabeth Castillo Armando E. Castro Reyneiro Castro Carla Casulo Romulo Alberto Celli Walter Louis Champion Monica Chang-Panesso Cristel C. Chapel-Crespo Eloise C. Chapman

Francesca Alvarez-Calderon Viviana Maria Alvarez-Toro Marie E. Ambroise Shirin Mansoor Ali Amlani Felix W. Amoa-Bonsu Love Emeka Anani Candido J. Anaya Gabiela Maria Andrade Dominic Omar Ansari Monica Marie Anselmetti John Fitzgerald Ansley Betty L. Anthony Joseph Olubusayo Apata Ogheneruona O. Apoe Leslie A. Appiah Christian Arbelaez Melissa Zarragoza Arca Cheryl Denyse Archbald Jamy D. Ard Mark I. Armanious Jennifer D. Armstrong Michelle M. Arrieta Isabel Arrillaga-Romany Denise A. Asafu-Adjei Vivian Afia-Serwaa Asare Adedayo O. Ashana Regina J. Asihene Yasmine Assadipour Sabrina Annick Assoumou Lee Rachel Atkinson-McEvoy Mark Andrew Attiah Kurtis I. Auguste Valerie Louise Augustus Michael W. Aversano Bernetta Lynne Avery Arinola O. Awomolo Oluwafunmi Onaopemipo Awonuga Cipriano Josef Ayala Olubimpe Ayeni Calvin F. Ayers Martha E.P. Ayewah Ebere Jill Azumah John A. Babalola Oladapo Michael Babatunde Edgar Bacares Lizamarie Bachier-Rodriguez Jose Rigoberto Baez Ignatius Henry Baffoe-Bonnie Maimouna Bah Lourdes Gonzalez Bahamonde Nicole Ann Bailey Mari Krisa Baldwin Ruthia Alphia Balfour-Dorsey Rodrigo Baltodano Cecilia W. Banga Malena Amina Banks Mary E. Banks Roslyn C. Banks-Jackson Wagner Baptiste Luz Juliana Barahona

Aisha Nicole Barber Ariana S. Barkley Calvin Langston Barnes Carlin Denise Barnes Derrick Jay Barnes Fernando F. Barrera Brett Barrick Bryan Courtney Batch Janeen Gabaldon Bates Sharon Michelle Batista Judy Kay Battle Gustavo Bauza Ayshe Ana Beesen Adam Belachew Essene C. Bell Maureen Anita Bell Ralph Jeorge Beltran Cindrea Denise Bender Carlos Luis Benitez Shante Dominique Bennett Richard T. Benson Timothy G. Benson Rhonda Michelle A. Bentley-Lewis Gabrielle Bercy-Roberson Saba H. Berhie Myriam Z. Bermudez Idanis Marianne Berrios Morales Edgar Betancourt Robel Tesfaye Beyene Kenneth J. Biehl Justin Earl Bird Cristina Bird Collado Annette Cecilia Blakes Adolfo A. Blanco Carla M. Blanco-Urrutia Patricia A. Bledsoe Henry Aidoo Boateng Vanessa Toney Bobb Shamanique Shamona Bodie Wendy Bohner Ranti Sherifat Bolaji Placid A. Bone William Chester Borde-Perry Christopher Borrego John Paul Borrego Connell W. Bost Tin Christopher Botzler Sophia Makram Bous Christopher David Boyd Erin Denise Boyd Tracy Boykin Edith R. Bracho-Sanchez Annabel Lee Bradford Kalonda Kateece Bradshaw Winnifred Bragg Kaye E. Brathwaite Julia Marjorie Bregand-White LaPrincess C. Brewer Mariana Rae Brewer Melissa Antoinette Briggs D. Hodari Brooks

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Latha (Stead) Ganti, MD, MBAProfessor of Emergency Medicine at the University of Central Florida College of Medicine; Attending physician at the North Florida South Georgia Veteran Affairs Medical CenterMedical School: Ponce School of MedicineVCP Year: 1996-1997Clerkship Hospital: Massachusetts General Hospital One month in the life of an aspiring physician can make all the difference. For proof of this, consider Dr. Latha Stead Ganti. Growing up in Nairobi, Kenya, she wanted to be a doctor for as long as she could remember.

Latha was very excited about being accepted to VCP and coming to Harvard in 1996. However, she did not want to take a rotation in Emergency Medicine at Mass General. With no other clerkship available during her rotation schedule, she reluctantly accepted the spot. Then, according to Dr. Ganti, “just two weeks into the rotation, I loved emergency medicine. It was the best rotation ever, and my clerkship director, Dr. Stephen Thomas, was awesome… I’ve been in Emergency Medicine ever since… This “undesirable” rotation has made all the difference in my career.”

Dr. Ganti continues to see the lack of access as a tremendous problem in the future of American healthcare. She suggests that there are many barriers to access, but that education is chief among them. She says, “Many among the underserved don’t have an understanding of the way that healthcare works and there aren’t enough efforts being made to bring equity to this part of the system.”

She also believes that STEM education is critical to the ongoing success of diversity and inclusion efforts at America’s premier medical schools, hospitals, and research institutions. She is passionate about bringing more robust STEM initiatives to inner-city and rural school environments.

She also credits the VCP program with fostering a greater appreciation within her for bringing the merits of medical research into a wider, less science-focused audience. Dr. Ganti says, “Everything about the program was amazing and every year since ‘96 I’ve encouraged people to apply.”

VCP Alumni 1990 - 2015 (Cont’d)

Marjory Charlot Armando Chavez Sekai Rutendo Chideya Nicola C. Chin Olethia E. Chisolm James Alfred Chiverton Tanishia D. Choice Kaman Chong Nicole Victoria Christian Kathleen M. Christophe Obionwu Chukwueloka Natalia Cintron Rodriguez Zoanne Arnette Clack Camille Amanda Clarke Roderick Claybrooks Kellie Anne Clearo Jessica Ann Clemons Robert W. Coats Brando Cobanov Adriana Cohen Rostoker Ricardo E. Colberg Melissa Helena Coleman Nana Ekua Coleman Dinee Collings Simpson Eric J. Colon

Allen Ray Dennis Robin Lisa Dennis Seemal Rohit Desai Sybil G. Dessie Tricia Desvarieux Nicole C. Devenish Alejandro Lamas Diaz Monica M. Diaz Dionne S. Dickerson Jana Dickson Keith O. Dillon Khady Diouf Jude L. Divers Najah I. Doka Patrick Lee Dominguez Grettel C. Donahue Jackie Patricia Dorce Anthony Doss Ronald Maurice Douglas Keith Thomas Downing Mary E. Duarte Lorena Dumas Guntner Michelle E. Duncan Karla J. Dunston Gladys Dupuy

Giancarlo Colon Iris C. Colon Daniel Conde-Sterling Drew Kevin Cooper Jamille Tonia Cooper Nicole Inez Cooper Zara Regina Cooper Kathy Camille Cornelius Jomarie Cortes Santos Sidney Coupet Deitrick L. Cox Kimberly Ann Cox Chadrick Antony Cross Chaundre K. Cross Evonne Louise Crump Andrew S. Cruz Daniel E. Cruz Mariana Cruz Thomas Kofi Mensah Cudjoe Madison Colyn Cuffy Thomas Curran C Suzanne Cutter Sabrina Monique DaCosta George Dalembert Tracey L. Daley

Patricia Phuoc Dang Mathias Wayne Daniels Whitney Daniels Matthew David Danielson Craig A. Dates Iyooh Uchechukwu Davidson Sasha Marie Davidson Angela Maria Davis Lashea Davis Me’ja R. Day Aga Khan Puno De Castro Pierre Edouard de Delva Roberto Antonio De Felix-Davila Gabriela de la Vega Muns Federico G. De Puy Marie G. Debnam Marjorie L. Debnam Marvalyn E. DeCambre Deidre Marie Defoe Rykoff Ritchie MaeDelara Jacob DeLaRosa Abiola Dele-Michael Jose Miguel Delgado Patricia I. Delgado Dawit E. Demissie

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Michelle Durham Nathalie Duroseau Maria E. Echevarria Melanie Andene Edwards Ese Paul Efemini Fortune Jamike Egbulefu Adesuwa Tracy Egharevba Douglas R. Eitel Andrew Wamib Elbardissi Adekunle I. Elegbede Agusto Ernesto Elias Michele A. Elliott Juliet Emamaullee Feyi Nneka Emembolu Miriam Emile Amaka D. Eneanya Christopher Scott English Francisco Enriquez Sonya Nichole Ephraim Christian Paul Erickson Dawn Marie Ericsson Omotore F. Eruvwetere Martha Cristina Escobar Veronica Ann Escobar Michael Scott Escobedo Ogenna Adibeli Esimai Ime Bassey Essien-Lewis Jerry D. Estep Mill Etienne Nathaniel Rutherford Evans Marytery Fajardo Steven G. Federico Karlin M. Feldman-Nazario Tamara Feliciano Roberta Felsenstein Whitney Y. Feltus Yvonne Yvette Fenner Fabiola Fernandez Joanne Mercedes Fernandez Rafle Fernandez Pamela Fernandez Carbia Carlos A. Fierro Johanna C. Figueroa Fernando Fleischman Jorge Fleites Efren Jesus Flores Erika V. Flores Uribe Ruben Font Christal-Joy Paulina Forgenie La’Keitha Rena Foster Cathy Enid Franco Brandi Kaye Freeman Natelaine Emmanuelle Fripp Joel Ernesto Frontera David Alan Frye Jasmine Reanna Gaddy Salvador Guevara Gallardo Vanessa C. Gallegos-Kearin Suhein D. Galloza Maria G. Galvez Picon Tondalaya Louise Gamble Alejandra Cecilia Garcia

April Khadijah Inniss Caridad D. Isaac Prescilia N. Isedeh Jessica E. Isom Miguel M. Iturregui Donna Gaylette Ivery Moses N. Izuegbu Devon L. Jackson Joseph Augustus Jackson Larry Ronald Jackson Sha-Ron Jackson Yura K. Jarrells Kayin Bates Jeffers Scarline Marie Jerome-Kon Juan Carlos Jimenez Elena Jimenez-Gutierrez Andrew Jimerson Tracy Lynn Jimerson Patrik L. Johansson Amber Elaine Johnson Angel Marie Johnson Chenara A. Johnson Crista Elcira Johnson Dana D. Johnson Deniece N. Johnson Kateena L. Johnson Kimberly Dionne Johnson Malcolm Kamau Johnson Millisaun Johnson Paul Johnson Tisa Michelle Johnson Antoine Dante Jones Deryk Jones Douglas J. Jones Kristofer Jason Jones Shawnet K. Jones Caleb L. Jordan Joshua Lee Jordan Tonya P. Jordan Michelle Amanda Jose-Kampfner D’Andrea Krista Joseph Luc F. Joseph Naima Thavory Joseph Nancy I. Joseph Sharma Emma Joseph Alisha Joyner Pedro E. Juan Howard Julien Matheau A. Julien Terrill P. Julien Oluyomi Edith Kabiawu Wanjiku Kabiru Adedoyin Olukemi Kalejaiye Ernest T. Kamara Pavan K. Kavali Mwanga M. Kazadi Bahareh Ebadifar Keith Michael Donnell Kelso James Kennedye Amsale Ketema Dineo Khabele Hana H. Khidir

Angelica M. Garcia Christopher Anders Garcia Georgina Esguerra Garcia Oscar Alejandro Garcia Sheila M. Garcia Maria Garcia-Jimenez Rebecca Garcia-Sosa Francisco Javier Garcini Jessica Garst Orozco Eugenia C. Garvin Rebecca Marguerite Garza Travis Andre Gayles Tokunbo David Gbadebo Daniel G. Gebremedhin Ramona Gelzer Bell Alvaro Genao Tiffany L. George Asqual Getaneh Hans K. Ghayee Ann R. Gillett-Elrington Lindsay Ann Gittens Juan Marcelo Giugale Kraig Lamont Golden Debra N. Goldson-Prophete Yvonne Linda Gomez Amanda Leigh Gonsalves Ricardo Andres Gonzales Alex Gonzalez Catherine Gonzalez Fanny Gonzalez Jose Luis Gonzalez Maricelis Gonzalez Ricardo R. Gonzalez Roberto Rene Gonzalez Manuel Gonzalez-Brito Jessica Gonzalez-Hernandez Catalina Gonzalez-Marques Christine M. Goodbody Christie Wynette Gooden Alayn Govea Garth Nigel Graham Chia Sonia Granda Lynette Renee Grandison Kinzya Bernice Grant Nina Marie Rivera Graupera Chantel Annette Gray Sean D. Green Stephanie Claudia Greger Vanesa Q. Gregory Ruby Chara Greywoode Dauda Alasan Griffin Jonathan Admil Guerra Rodriguez Jean B. Guerrier Marsha K. Guess Pablo I. Guevara Ndeye-Aicha Gueye Alexandra M. Gutierrez Antonio Gutierrez Miguel Angel Gutierrez Adeniran A. Haastrup Luis J. Haddock Veronica Hailes

Glenn Michael Hall Cecily E. Hamill John Franklin Hamilton Rhonda Lynette Hamilton Tanesha Maria Handy Melissa P. Hankins Olga Theresa Hardy Sumayah Hargette Ruby Harmon Robin Harriford LeWanza M. Harris Jonathan S. Hausmann Norrisa Adrianna Haynes Candrice Rachelle Heath Oneca S. J. Heath-Phillip Alejandro M. Heffess Justine Elodia Henao Shasta E. Henderson Yolanda Y. Hendley Alicia F. Henriquez Chandra Alarice Henry De’smond M. Henry Tracey Lynn Henry Karl E. Herman Gilberto Hernandez Helder Oscar Hernandez Marco F. Hernandez Liza Hernandez-Gonzales Martha Hernandez-Illas Ana Maria Hernandez-Puga Nivia Hernandez-Ramos Mauricio F. Herrera Michael Jerome Hervey Laurae D. Hicks LeRoi Stratton Hicks Theophelus Bryant Hill Tanya Simone Hinds Sarah E. Hodge Aneitra D. Hoggard Lauren Claire Hollins Jason Holmes Herbert Andrew Hopper Avril M. Houston Lennox Hoyte Tara Nicole Hrobowski Imelda Huerta Kisha Christine Hughes William Edward Humphries Katrina Faith Hurley Amy S. Hurwitz Barbara Alexander Hutchinson Sara Ameva Hyatt Iman O. Hypolite Charity Ibilola Idowu Ugonna Nnamdi Ihekweazu Eric Ugenna Iheme Okwu Amechi Ikediobi Jennifer M. Ikle Sotonye Imadojemu Amarachukwu C. Imediegwu Kavita D. Imrit Teresa Elizabeth Ingram

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Leonard Kayemba Kibuule Avian Deshiver Kidd Susan Diaz Killenberg Erin M. King LaQuita Kimberly King Nakesha Denise King Rudolph (Rudye) Carlo King Tendo S. Kironde Cassie Nicole Kline Abena Boateng Knight Peter Lee Kok Rediet Kokebie Rachel Kowalsky Christina Torres Kozycki Kayiguvwe O. Kragha Geoff Krampitz Sharon J. Kuong Maxwell Prosper Kwaku Michael Lam Cory Dwayne Lamar Alden Matthew Landry Danielle E. Lane Qortni A. Lang Milcah Larks Pierre H. Lauwerys Nova Law Genea A. Lawrence

James A. Mann Marlon Ramash Maragh Sherley Marceus Luis Arnaldo Marchany-Alfano Youssra Marjoua Tracey Marks Guillermo A. Marquez-Valedon Carlos Ernesto Marroquin Andrew D.A. Marshall Allison N. Martin Erica Victoria Martin Gladys Martin Jamila C. Martin Jovana Yanique Martin Yvette N. Martin Elizabeth Grace Martinez Patricia Elena Villanueva Martinez Carmen Julia Martinez Martinez Carlos Mata J. Benjamin Mathis Victoria Matt Jarrod D. Matthei Ralph Jean Maxy Aisha Rasan Mays David Andrew McCall Rotonya LaShea McCants Carr Michael Lewis McClam

Naomi E. Lawrence-Reid Hung Manh Le Steven Khoa Tran Le Jhoan Andres Ledesma Anthony Lemaire Andrée M. LeRoy Uneeda M. Leverett Beverly Renee Lewis Cleveland William Lewis Janet Elisabeth Lewis Marcia L. Lewis Moshe Miller Lewis Wanda Jacobs Lewis Carlos Alberto Leyva Brian Lima Rahsaan Lateef Lindsey Shaina A. Lipa Luis Lizardo-Sanchez Stephanie Marie Llop-Santiago Chandler Alexander Long Michelle Long Alfred Lopez Gina Marie Lopez Leticia Livia Lopez Yania Lopez Alvarez Maria Lopez Bonilla Ivelisse Lopez-Padilla

Reynold Ivan Lopez-Soler Vanessa Ivette Lora Dionne Denise Louis Judette M. Louis Lily Love Carl J. Lowe Elizabeth Lozada-Pastorio Suzelle Sabine Luc Angel Abad Luciano Liana M. Lugo Janiene Denise Luke Michael Muwonge Lukoma Joseph Walter Luzius Deidre Spicer Maccannon Flore Macenat Lissette E. Machin Hildred Machuca Rowena Johnson Maclin Shirley Marie Madhere Chiduzie C. Madubata Jorge Carlos Magallon Consuelo S. Maggi Dania Bize Magri Nichole Duran Mahnert Joelle Anne Makon Michael Y.A. Malik Catherine Ebinimi Mamah

VCP Alumni 1990 - 2015 (Cont’d)

Michelle Albert, MD, MPHProfessor in Residence, University of California, San Francisco; Director of the Center for the Study of Adversity and Cardiovascular Disease at UCSF Cardiology Medical School: University of Rochester School of Medicine and DentistryVCP Year: 1993-1994Clerkship Hospital: Massachusetts General Hospital Born and raised in Guyana, a relatively poor island on the Caribbean coast of South America, Dr. Michelle Albert had a fairly austere upbringing. The sudden death of her grandfather by cardiac arrest was probably the trigger for her eventual calling to medicine. In grade school, she was good at math, but a fondness for history found her exploring healthcare disparities among people of color, particularly those in impoverished situations, facing significant life adversity.

Though an arduous journey preceded her 1994 VCP rotation, Michelle lauds the program’s role in promoting her success in early research and practical opportunities. She says that “coming to the HMS community from the outside exposed her to unique relationships in an academic culture unlike any other.”

During her clerkship she began to acquire academic mentors whom she has continued to learn from throughout her highly distinguished career, among them, Drs. Paul Ridker, Peter Libby, Elliot Antman, David Williams, Emilia Benjamin, and Gary Gibbons. She also affirmed the value of learning from disciplines and mentors outside of her own realm of study, lessons taught by her most important life mentor, Michael Albert, her father, who recently passed away.

As for future participants in the VCP experience, Dr. Albert says: “Definitely look to experience more than one hospital during your tenure. Try to meet and spend time with Chief Residents, specific discipline chairs, and other clinical leaders. Find mentors and be a willing and receptive mentee. And don’t be afraid to fail. It’s the complimentary side of success and it builds both character and resilience.”

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Julie Lynette McGhee Travea Alee McGhie Sara Ann McKinney Sean E. McLean Ashley Maria McMullen Kenya Adjora McNeal-Trice Ian Thomas McNeil Ronald Francis Means Michael Joe Medina Nilton Deus Medina Morgan Mallory Medlock Jose R. Mena Delquis R. Mendoza Michael Joel Mendoza Max Enrique Mercado Jesus Mercado-Santiago Kendra Merine Robert Ezra Merritt Akram Mesleh Shayeb Sarita O. Metzger Eriberto Michel Marcela Millan Vanessa Lynne Miller Brandon K. Mills Michael Stanley Mitchell Natujwa Naomi Mmbaga Michael D. Moffitt

Emeka Okey Ofobike Ikenna K. Ogbaa Onyekachi H. Ogbonna Ngozi N. Ogbunamiri Babajide Afolabi Ogunseinde Adeboye B. Ogunseitan Aderonke Ayodele Oguntoye Oluseyi Omole Ojeifo Mohammed Adeola Ojodu Anderson I. Okafor Olutoyin Okanlawon Constance Okeke Anietie Edet Okon Stanley Aham Okoro Juliet S. Okoroh Ogochukwu Akumdi Okpala Ivie O. Okundaye Edgar Olivas Joshua Jerrelle Oliver Michael Leonard Olivier Kola O. Olugbade Kenneth C. Olumba Yetunde Oluwaseun Olutunmbi Timi Rotimi Omokehinde Omoniyi Omojowolo Omotoso Akinwunmi Abimbola Oni-Orisan Tete Oniang’o

Dalia Moghazy David Hoolanaikamanao Moikeha Arthur Molina Cristina Montalvo Roberto E. Montenegro Joshua Warren Moore Lisa Marie Morales Brooke Louisa Morrell Michael T. Morris Diahann F. Mosley Ana Beatriz Mosquera Rohana U. Motley Beatrice Mounts Delicia Lashaun Munfus Johnathon R. Munoz Sara M. Munoz-Blanco Wilda Murphy Phillip Michael Murray Pearl Gizelle Myers Ram Anand Narasimhan Francisco Alberto Narvaez Ana M. Natale-Pereira Kenneth Wayne Neal Robyn Charissa Neblett Kaiyo S. Nedd Gregory N. Nelson Tamar Katherine Newberry-Dyer

William Christopher Newman Austin Jeannine Newsome Matthieu A. Newton Valentine Nfongen Nfonsam Taiwo N. Ngwa Shaytone Nicholas Susan Ingrid Nicholas Anthony Charles Nichols Angela Ifeoma Njoku Ifeoma Nnaji Sahadat Kemi Nurudeen Suliat Mayowa Nurudeen Lynda A. Nwabuobi Ngozi Nwankpa-Keshinro Oroma Beatrice Nwanodi Obinna Uchenna Nwobi Afua Ofaah Nyanin Kurwa Neewat Nyigu Barbara Chidinma Nzegwu Kristine Anne O’Connor Toni Rochelle O’Reggio Julius Thomas Oatts Abimbola Obafemi Chika Chizoba Obele Cynthia Obi Gabriella Elameyi Ode Charles A. Odonkor

Alden Landry, MD, MPHFaculty Assistant Director, Office for Diversity Inclusion and Community Partnership, Harvard Medical School; Attending Physician, Emergency Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical CenterMedical School: University of Alabama School of MedicineVCP Year: 2005-2006Clerkship Hospital: Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Alden Landry grew up in the 80’s and was an outdoorsy kid. Both of his parents worked outside of the home, so he was a latchkey kid. ”I spent most of my early years “shadowing” my older brother, playing all types of sports, soccer, basketball, riding bikes, just being outdoors. My dad was active duty military, so we moved around a lot, different bases, different countries. I got exposed to many different environments.” During his undergraduate days at Prairie View A & M, a Dr. Brown emerged as a lifelong mentor, leading Alden to a realization that he could be a doctor. As an HBCU student, he enjoyed being around people that looked like him and came from similar experiences. “I felt supported and valued.” Later on at the University of Alabama Medical School, he was one of only 16 students of color in a class of 160. Coming to Boston in 2005 was the biggest cultural shock of all. He laughs, “Calling everybody Sir and Ma’am sometimes got me in trouble. But I was a Southern military kid, so this was routine for me.” Doing the VCP helped to eliminate the stereotype of Harvard as a place where everybody wore bow-ties and elbow patches on their jackets…overly educated folks that can’t talk to regular people. Some of that was true, but most of it wasn’t… I think the most important part of the VCP is getting to know the specialty that you’re interested in going into…and I was interested in emergency medicine.”

Ultimately, the VCP helped Dr. Landry determine that Harvard was the right place to train him and that Boston was the right place for him to be trained.

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Arturo Saavedra, MD, PhD, MBAAssistant Professor of Dermatology, Director of Medical Dermatology, Massachusetts General HospitalMedical School: University of Pennsylvania School of MedicineVCP Year: 1999-2000Clerkship Hospital: Brigham and Women’s Hospital As a high schooler in Puerto Rico, Arturo Saavedra was fascinated with space and aeronautics. Winning a prestigious science fair award during those years allowed him to travel to Sweden’s Nobel Prize awards. While there, he heard a Laureate in Medicine’s speech that changed his career “trajectory” completely. Dr. Saavedra relates, “I became enthralled with how a plastic surgeon became interested in transplantation and performed the first human kidney transplant. With medicine, I realized that I could do all the cool things I did in aerospace science and help humanity too… and I was just hooked.”

When recalling his 1999 VCP experience, Dr. Saavedra says, “I think that when you consider the amazing things that happen at Harvard, you sometimes wonder, ‘Am I good enough to do those things?’ There’s always the thought in your mind that maybe you can’t do it. The VCP allowed me to come here for a month and test myself among other people like me in a safe and supportive environment. Succeeding here takes hard work, and mentorship, but I learned that it can be done.”

His VCP rotation was in Brigham and Women’s ER, but Dr. Saavedra visited other hospital departments during his days off. He gained exposure to several clinical areas and decided to become a dermatologist. “Great mentors in both emergency medicine and dermatology helped me to experiment and determine what I was interested in.”

He was also surprised that there were regular check-in points with Dr. Reede and the other VCP participants. He says, “The program was so well managed. We were really well-provided for. I’m eternally grateful for the doors that it opened up for me.”

Ekama Iquo Onofiok Chiagozie Oluchi Ononiwu Oyere Kalu Onuma Ndidiamaka Chidi Onwubalili Jean Onwuchekwa Kenolisa Chikuma Onwueme Bridget A. Oppong Lawrence Bamidele Oresanya Vwaire J. Orhurhu Abimbola Oluwayemisi Orisamolu Gilbert Ralph Ortega John Daniel Ortega Nerian Ortiz Robin Ortiz Juan Antonio Ortiz Perez Etin-Osa Osasogie Osa Tolulope Oluwaseyi Osidipe Moses Onyari Osoro Lorraine B. Ospina Ariel D. Otero Jose Efrain Otero Garcia Antonio M. Otero-Lopez Chinedu G. Otu Steven E. Ovu Akinbowale Olatokunbo Oyalowo Babatunde Olumuyiwa Oyediran Suzette Olu Busola Oyeku

Murisiku Raifu Altagracia Ramirez Joanna Gabriela Ramirez Michelle Ramirez Andrea Raymond Atieno Alice Reggy Kaye M. Reid Lombardo Sha’Shonda L. Revels David Jamaar Rice Alyce M. Richard Jjais G. Richards Willie Forrest Richardson Delene Adunni Richburg Patrice M. Ringo Lina Marcela Rios Adaliz Rivera Aksim Gadiel Rivera Douglas Jason Rivera Noemi Rivera Pedro J. Rivera Glorimar Rivera Colon Ramon Rivera-Morales Michelle Ann Roach Tomika Monique Roberts Butler Alysia Kandace Robertson Elijah (Trey) Robinson Patricia A. Robinson

Tola T. Oyesanya Waleska Michelle Pabon-Ramos Theresa Rebecca Pacheco Airama Maria Padron Sydney Pardino Patti Anne Paris Stell Darelle Patadji Joy Pravinkumar Patel Sharad D. Patel Snehal Ghanshyam Patel Kaipo T. Pau Karen Lynn Paul Carrie Page Peek Jessica Marta Pena Carol Penn Dominique Cheri Peppers Kina Charon Peppers Angela Christine Perez Clifford M. Perez Francis Xavier Perez Kenny Perez Omar Javier Perez Sania R. Perez Emilio L. Perez-Rivera Chris Tonya Pernell Archie C. Perry Yvonne Antionette Ellis Perry

Patricia M. Peters Shariska S. Petersen Adrienne Alise Phillips Ashanda M. Phillips Lynn Julia Phillips Dacia Aurelia Pickering Lucille Mary Pickney Claire-Cecile Pierre Jude A. Pierre-Louis Veronica Maria Pimentel Joseph W. Poku Anthony J. Porter Gina M. Porter Marya J. Porter Andrew James Potter Meghan Elizabeth Pratts Maxwell Agyemang Prempeh Toni A. Price Elizabeth P. Prout Gisela D. Puig Carrion Heather Calderon Pujet Nancy Puzziferri Shelley Ann Quarless Omar Quiles Chemene Quinn Bianca Nicole Quinones-Perez Carlos Bernardo Quintero

VCP Alumni 1990 - 2015 (Cont’d)

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Robyn Cecelia Robinson Sharon D. Robinson Fernando Jose Roca Analiz Rodriguez Jose Ruben Rodriguez Jose Alberto Rodriguez Juan Carlos Rodriguez Roberto Rodriguez Roberto Luis Rodriguez Vilmarie Rodriguez Maria E. Rodriguez de Lima Danella Rodriguez-Adorno Gabriela Rodriguez-Colon Neal Lee Rojas Renee Rolston Antonio Roman Jan Carlos Roman Ithier Fernando Manuel Romero Karen Jenifer Romero Minerva Angelica Romero Arenas Victor Manuel Romo Annelys Roque Gabriela Rosa Pedro Andre Rosa Cortes Stephanie C. Rosales Rey Francisco Rosario Luis R. Rosario Padro John Albert Rose Ramon Alberto Ruberte Thiele Elena Rueda-de-Leon Michael Ruffin Arturo Pedro Saavedra-Lauzon Scott H. Saffold Binor B. Said Sandra Saint-Victor Cheryl Bailey Salary Debbie Salas-Lopez Francis E. Salazar Rene Salazar Sandra Leticia Salazar Vanessa Salcedo Harry Michael Salinas Catherine L. Salussolia Catherine Thyra Sam Tashelle Rochanda Samuels Elias F. Sanchez Gabriel Sanchez Richard Sanchez Sarimer M. Sanchez Jaya Santhan Jonathan Santiago Yahir A. Santiago Patricia Cristina Santiago-Munoz Aileen Enid Santos Victoria Angela Saunders Patrick T. Schofield Terence D. Schumpert Marisol Aimee Segundo Rachelle E. Seijo Montes Leelie M. Selassie Oscar Kenneth Serrano

Fernando L. Villamil Carmen M. Villanueva Javier Villanueva-Meyer Nadia Aracelliz Villarroel Sarah Yvonne Vinson Farid Nizarali Visram Ariel Antonio Vitali Melissa Ann Walker Carmelita Anquinette Wallace Gina Marie Walton Phillip Walton Grace Wanjiku Carla Ward Kristin Chenille Ware Charmetra R. Washington JaMia L. Washington Rubye Washington-Moore Carol D. Watkins Melanie Marie Watkins Luisa A. Watts Mark Watts Shawn Aisha Watts Christopher Allen-John Webb Kristy T. Webster Shannon L. West Eric Eugene Whitaker Shenita Marie White Regina R. Whitfield Kekessi Danny German Whu Rochelle Denise Wilburn Ashley Yvonne Williams Brian Henry Williams Celeste Thomas Williams Marcus Lejon Williams Nicole Kathryne Williams Riley Joseph Williams Anthony LaShawn Wills Marketa Michelle Wills Rickesha Lanee Wilson Joanne Wiltshire-Scott Tracy E. Wimbush Annika L. Windon Dina Winograd Nicholas Charles Wisnoski Eduardo Antonio Wolffe Chris Ivette Wong Quiles LaKimerly Michelle Woods-Coates Sharon Elaine Wormley Jonathan M. Wortham Glenda Wrenn LaBianca Nona Wright Dovilan Logan Wyatt Dolma Tsering Yarchim Nazhone Paul Yazzie Maame Yaa (Maya) AB Yiadom Milicent E. Young Nwanmegha O. Young Richard Zaidner Sessunu M. Zemo Laurie C. Zephyrin

Monica Theresa Serrano-Toy Vanderlyn A. Sewell Ripal Shah Jamilah M. Shakir Candace R. Shanks Ergeba H. Sheferaw Bobby Leonard Shelton Starane Anthony Shepherd Kyle P. Shepperson Jade M. Shorter Juan A. Silva Erin J. Silvertooth Deondra Patrice Simmons John Paul Sims Nicole P. Singh Samata Singhi Willie Omar Siu Keimun Aloysius Slaughter Courtney Denise Smiley Christopher Jacob Smith Jasmine Raquel Smith Melody Smith Natasha Nicole Smith Patricia Ann Smith Jason C. Snibbe Christian Nader Sobky Levi Olatokunbo Sokol Dellys Mariel Soler Blanca E. Solis Gabriela Soriano Andrea K. Sotelo Claudia L. Sotillo Javier J. Soto Karenia Soto Susan Spell William Robert Spencer Fatima Cody Stanford Jeanine N. Staples Latha Stead Stacy Theodore Steans Sarah Margarita Stelzner Kerry-Ann Camille Stewart Kerry-Ann Angella Stewart Ellana Nicole Stinson Renee Chavez Stock Britta Avanti Stone Nicholas Jesse Strane Miguel Stubbs Eva Marie Suarez Freeman Suber N. Abimbola Sunmonu Freddie Rodriguez Swain Margaret A. Tandoh Frances A. Tangherlini Candace Sarah Tannis Irlna Ingrid Tantchou Frances Glorie Tardy-Rivera Stacey Nicole Tate Kyrollos Y. Tawfik Connie Natalie Taylor Justin Taylor

Mia V. Taylor Montoya Kalpatrick Taylor Myiesha Draon Nancy Taylor Nyali E. Taylor Jennifer Lynn Taylor-Cousar Catherine N. Tchanque Akeza Wasse Teame Modupe Moronke Teniola Mario D. Teran Raymond Thertulien Jean Alfred Thomas Kimberly Michelle Thomas Omolara Thomas Valencia Dorchelle Thomas Elishia Leon Thompson Keniesha Olga-May Thompson Kendra L. Thorn J. Daryl Thornton Godfrey Ikigu Thuku John Lorenzo Thurston Adam C. Tiagonce Leonel Eduardo Toledo Kiila Tollerson Luis Etienne Tollinche Crisanto Morton Torres Giselle M. Torres Omar Torres Guillermo Torres Viera Nadege Toubou Fackche Yolanda L. Troublefield Tyrone Tucker Ann-Marcia Tukpah Frances G. Turcotte Farah Rabbia Turk Daniel J. Turner-Loveras Asher A. Turney Alejandra Uchio Jesus Gildardo Ulloa Chukwuma Umunakwe Ifeoma Munachim Uyanwune Sybile Val Eric R. Valladares Rardi D. van Heest Tedman Luster Vance Eric J. Vargas Maria Victoria Vargas Roberto J. Vargas Mario Vargas-Vila Cesar Anibal Vazquez Michael Vazquez Rafael Vazquez Julia S. Vazquez-Martiren Maria E. Vega Victor S. Velasco Sonia M. Velazquez Erick Javier Velez Aubrey Vincent Verdun Juan Pablo Vernon Rafael A. Vicens Rodriguez Elys M. Viera Amelia Kharman Villagomez

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