Board of Directors

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Founder

Dr. Alyx Porter Umphrey

Co-Founder

Dr. Gregory Umphrey

Programs Chair

Dr. Marissa Vasquez

Scholarship Chair

Dr. Tiffany Hardaway

Board Spotlight

RICARDO CORREA, MD, EDD, FACP, FACE, FACMQ

Health Care Disparities and the Latinx Population (Read Article)

MARISSA VASQUEZ, MD, MBA

Latinas in Motion Impacting the Sports Industry (Read Article)

News

ElevateMeD

ElevateMeD Welcomes Three New Advisory Board Members

ElevateMeD

Please join us in welcoming our newest Advisory Board members…

ElevateMeD

ElevateMeD Welcomes Four New Advisory Board Members

ElevateMeD

Please join us in welcoming our newest Advisory Board members…

ElevateMeD

ElevateMeD Welcomes Our Newest Board Member Dr. Jeshenna Watkins

ElevateMeD

Please join us in welcoming our newest Board Member…

ElevateMeD

ElevateMeD Welcomes Four New Advisory Board Members

ElevateMeD

Please join us in welcoming our newest Advisory Board members…

ElevateMeD

Keiona Eady

Congratulations to our Advisory Board Members on #Match2022!

Keiona Eady

Congratulations are in order for our Advisory Board Members Sophia Ederaine and Johanny Lopez Dominguez! We were honored to celebrate with them this #MatchDay2022, as they both learned about their residency upon graduation this Spring!

Keiona Eady

Alyx Porter Umphrey, MD, FAAN

Dr. Alyx Porter Umphrey Receives the 2020 Dean's Diversity/Inclusion Award at Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine

Alyx Porter Umphrey, MD, FAAN

Ricardo Correa MD, EsD, FACP, FACE, CMQ

It was not easy for me

Ricardo Correa MD, EsD, FACP, FACE, CMQ

I decided to join the Board of Directors for ElevateMeD because it aligns with my core value of inclusion. The literature showed that to provide the best healthcare to our patients, we need to understand their culture, speak their language, among other factors.

Ricardo Correa MD, EsD, FACP, FACE, CMQ

Gyasi Chisley, PMP, FACHE

The time to transform healthcare is now!

Gyasi Chisley, PMP, FACHE

Healthcare is my ministry. It is a calling and my inroad to impact social change. I firmly believe that any disparity within our industry serves as a microcosm for injustices that continue to plague society-at-large. I am on a mission to truly transform healthcare and looking to partner with anyone that shares the same mindset.

Gyasi Chisley, PMP, FACHE

Tiffany Hardaway MD, MS

You can't be what you can't see.

Tiffany Hardaway MD, MS

I chose to pursue a career in anesthesiology because I enjoy moment-to-moment decision making as well as the practical application of physiology and pharmacology. 3% of anesthesiologists are reported to identify as Black/African-American. Of those 3%, the majority are women.

Tiffany Hardaway MD, MS

Patrick Brooks, CPA

How do students make it through without support?

Patrick Brooks, CPA

As a CPA, I was even more drawn to the organization due to our commitment to ensuring that our scholars are financially educationally equipped and prepared to navigate through their medical school matriculation fully informed.

Patrick Brooks, CPA

Bert Vargas MD, FAAN

Fewer publications, less likely to be promoted, and less likely to be retained...

Bert Vargas MD, FAAN

Despite the fact that African American, Hispanic/Latino, and Native American populations make up nearly a third of the US population, as of 2016 they comprised only 17% of faculty at academic medical centers.

Bert Vargas MD, FAAN

Shannon J. Smith MD, FAAPMR

The Dream Makers vs The Dream Breakers

Shannon J. Smith MD, FAAPMR

I am very fortunate to have many positive influences in my life that fostered my dream to become a physician. As a child, a favorite toy my parents gave me was a Fisher Price Medical Kit. My personal pediatrician shared stories of his own medical school experience during my annual visits. A college professor instructed me to write a note on my dorm door that said “Dr. Shannon Smith, NOTHING can stop this dream from happening!”.

Shannon J. Smith MD, FAAPMR

Andrew Sanderson II MD, MPH, FASGE

Dr. LaSalle D. Leffall, Jr. might have never become a surgeon...

Andrew Sanderson II MD, MPH, FASGE

Early this year, I attended the memorial service for Dr. LaSalle D. Leffall, Jr., one of this country’s all-time great medical educators. Dr. Leffall was a cancer surgeon who was an inspiration to the more than 6,300 medical students, residents, and fellows he taught during his illustrious career. Being in his presence always elicited feelings of awe and profound respect.

Andrew Sanderson II MD, MPH, FASGE

Alyx Porter Umphrey, MD, FAAN

Everyone is Your Teacher

Alyx Porter Umphrey, MD, FAAN

I had the most incredible experience as the medical director for the Undergraduate Plummer Scholars program at Mayo Clinic. We built a summer program with the exact resources that I wished I had access to as a rising junior in college. During this week I was exhausted by all that I had to give and share with these 8 brilliant students. What I did not anticipate, was the awe inspiring energy they would return such that my cup runneth over.

Alyx Porter Umphrey, MD, FAAN

Marissa Vasquez MD, MBA

Changing the “Only” and “First” Narrative Within the Latinx Community

Marissa Vasquez MD, MBA

From a young age, I felt I was one of a kind. I was one of 2 latinas in honors classes in high school at a predominantly latinx community. The first latina to graduate as valedictorian after a 10 year span.

Marissa Vasquez MD, MBA

Gregory Umphrey MD

Filling a Gap in a Leaky Pipeline

Gregory Umphrey MD

I began my education at Howard University College of Medicine (HUCM) in the summer of 1998. Being at one of the nation’s most prestigious Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU’s) with a reputation of producing the largest number of Black/African-American physicians in the country, I instantly felt at home at an institution designed for my success.

Gregory Umphrey MD

Alyx Porter Umphrey, MD, FAAN

The Explosion of a Dream

Alyx Porter Umphrey, MD, FAAN

In my professional life, I am frequently the only black person in the room. The exam room, the workroom, the conference room, the coffee room, and the lecture room. I’ve become accustomed to the heaviness of this fact though never forget that I am in these spaces because of the sacrifices of others before me.

This letter touched me and forced me to remember…

Alyx Porter Umphrey, MD, FAAN

Board of Directors

Founder

Co-Founder

Programs Chair

Scholarship Chair

Dr. Porter

Dr. Umphrey

Dr. Vasquez

Dr. Hardaway

Dr. Smith

Dr. Vargas

Dr. Sanderson

Mr. Chisley

Dr. Correa

Dr. Watkins

Dr. McCuiston

Mr. Davis

Ms. Bryant

Board Spotlight

RICARDO CORREA, MD, EDD, FACP, FACE, FACMQ

MARISSA VASQUEZ, MD, MBA

Scottsdale, AZ