The AAMC has a long-standing commitment to increasing diversity in medicine. The division endeavors to identify and develop programs and initiatives that advance health-care equity, remedy racial and ethnic disparities in health and health care, and promote cultural competence in medical care. Division initiatives deal with recruiting, retaining, and graduating medical students who belong to groups that are underrepresented in medicine, as well as increasing diversity among medical school house staff, faculty, administration, and management.

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Kamara, Mohamed, was born in Sierra Leone on the West Coast of Africa. He started school in his home town, Kenema in the eastern province of Sierra Leone. Later he attended the medical laboratory school at the Connaught Hospital Freetown Sierra Leone. In 1978, he joined the Lassa Fever Research Project Team from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) USA for the control and prevention of the deadly fever where he worked as a medical laboratory assistant. In 1986 the CDC team also started the HIV/AIDS research in Sierra Leone and he was assigned some lab duties. He also performed additional work with the College of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences, Sierra Leone. His main job at the college was to prepare the lab for the medical students (set microscope, slides, specimens etc.).

In 1996, he migrated to the US and started doing some hotel and restaurant jobs in order to be able to take care of his family while hoping to return to his career. A few years later, he went to Howard University phlebotomy school. At the Walter Reed Army Medical Hospital, he was certified as a Point of Care Technician. My first job as a phlebotomist was at the Holy Cross Hospital where he worked for a year. Thereafter, he was employed by Quest Diagnostics Inc. as a phlebotomy. My intention has always been to get to a higher level in my career. By 2006 he was employed by the National Institute of Health. While at NIH, he went to school and became a certified medical laboratory assistant (CMLA). At present, he works at the Accessioning and Processing station and at the Out Patient Phlebotomy station at the Clinical Center, NIH.

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Kim, Jiwon, BA, received her BA degree in Spanish literature from Kalamazoo College in Michigan. She has worked in developing and implementing paraprofessional programs in diverse fields such as international finance, science and technology. She currently works as an exhibition educator at the National Library of Medicine’s Exhibition Program (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/hmd/about/exhibition/index.html). The Program conducts scholarly research in science, medicine, and history; interprets that research for presentation to diverse audiences; designs and develops engaging exhibition displays; and produces educational outreach programs. In her job, Ms. Kim collaborates with her colleagues as well as middle- and high-school educators from the D.C. metro area in developing educational and outreach programs related to the Library’s exhibition. She values meeting and working with professionals in various fields related to each exhibition topic—e.g., forensics, and loves the opportunity to help young visitors consider careers in science and medicine during their visit to the Library’s exhibition. Ms. Kim is also a ceramics student who gets lost playing with clay.

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McGowan, Jason

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Moore, Tor, started his career in the U.S. Navy as a dental assistant. While there, he advanced to become a dental prosthetic technician making crowns, bridges, dentures and other dental appliances. After his navy career he attended the University of Maryland. While pursuing a degree, he obtained a job at B & W Stat Lab in Washington, D. C. as a medical technician. He continued to work there until he earned his B.S. degree in microbiology. After graduation, he worked as a medical technologist in the chemistry department at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Washington, D. C. After one year, he moved to Cheraw, South Carolina where he worked at Chesterfield General Hospital in all areas of the lab. Later he moved back to Maryland and began his career at NIH. At NIH, he worked in the Microbiology Department for three years. For the last twenty years, he has worked in the Immunology section.

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Moss, Vance and Vince, are renowned twin doctors that travel the world and treat patients with a variety of medical problems, saving lives even in war torn nations, Iraq and Afghanistan. Both went to the Pennsylvania State University and majored in science. They earned their doctorate degrees at the Temple University School of Medicine in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Both doctors are surgeons, but with different specialties. Vance is a transplant surgeon, while Vince’s is a cardiothoracic surgeon. After completing their formal education, they joined the Army Reserve Medical Corps. Both surgeons have won numerous awards for their service in the military. Back in the United States, they share an apartment in Manhattan, New York. Stories about their adventures have been featured on the CBS and ABC News, and major publications across the country.

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Norton, Zikiya, is a native of Detroit Michigan. She fell in love with Chemistry while attending Martin Luther King Jr. Sr. high school. She received her Bachelors of Science in Chemistry from Michigan Technological University in Houghton Michigan; where the average snow fall is 374 inches. She then attended the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and received her Masters and Doctoral degrees. Her research at U of M is best described as organic synthesis for biological applications. Being the child of a high school science teacher, there was simply no escaping grading papers for her mother since she could hold a red pen. “I must have become addicted to red pens,” she says. Teaching is simply a part of who she is. After finishing her graduate degrees, she was honored and excited to accept a position as Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Northern Virginia Community College where she has been since Fall 2007.

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Niermayer, David earned his BA degree (English Education) from Widener College, and a Masters in Education for Guidance and Counseling at Providence College. He served in the US Navy as a Surface Warfare Officer, with a subspecialty code in Training and Administration. He is adjunct faculty at Columbia Union College, Montgomery College, and Radians College. Neimeyer also serves as president of the Experiential Learning Assessment Network (ELAN), an organization involved in the assessment of prior learning for adult and non-traditional learners. He is a Boy Scout leader, and has earned the Silver Beaver Award. As a professional genealogist, Neimeyer authored four books of genealogical records. By assisting in SciLife presentations, David hopes to help students recognize their worth to potential employers, and to be able to show that worth in well planned resumes.

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Price, Jennifer
Ms. Price is the Director of Recruitment for Prince George's Community College. Ms. Price received her Bachelor of Science degree in
Vocational Rehabilitation from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 1999. She received her Master of Arts degree from Bowie State University in Counseling Psychology in 2007. She has received numerous awards and honors during her 8 year career in higher education including the 2005 Shango Johnson Memorial Advisor of the Year, 2005 Student Services Employee of the Year- Enrollment Services Division and was named in the 2008-09 Cambridge Who's Who Among Executive and Professional Women. She was also a national conference presenter at 2005 Noel Levitz Best Practices in Recruitment and Retention Conference.

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Ramey, Rob earned his B.A. in political science from Wesley College in Dover, DE. As an undergraduate, Rob was deeply involved in Wesley's admissions and alumni offices. Currently, he serves as an Assistant Director of Undergraduate Admissions at The George Washington University (GWU) in Washington, D.C. His travel territories include Colorado, New Mexico, Alabama, Mississippi, and Indiana. In addition to recruitment responsibilities, Rob is the Admissions liaison to GWU's Summer Scholar program and several student leadership organizations.

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Rappaport, Alex is a founder of the “Flocabulary.” Flocabulary produces educational hip-hop music to engage students with learning and literacy. Products include Hip-Hop U.S. History, The Word Up Project, and, most recently, Beats, Rhymes & Science. Flocabulary artists have been featured on CNN, MTV, and in the New York Times. Please learn more at www.flocabulary.com.

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Reede, Joan M.D., is Dean for Diversity and Community Partnership at Harvard Medical School and director of the Minority Faculty Development Program. She is responsible for the development and management of a comprehensive program that provides leadership, guidance, and support to promote the increased recruitment, retention and advancement of underrepresented minority faculty at HMS. This charge includes oversight of all diversity activities as they relate to faculty, trainees, students, and staff. Dr. Reede holds the appointment of associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, associate professor of society, human development and health at the Harvard School of Public Health, and assistant in health policy at Massachusetts General Hospital. She has served on the Board of Governors for the Warren Grant Magnuson Clinical Center, the National Advisory Dental and Craniofacial Council of the National Institutes of Health, the Health and Human Services Advisory Committee on Minority Health, the Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Genetics, Health, and Society, and as a commissioner of The Sullivan Commission on Diversity in the Healthcare Workforce. Dr. Reede currently serves on the Secretary’s Advisory Committee to the Director of the National Institutes of Health and the Sullivan Alliance to Transform America’s Health Professions. In 2005, Reede received the Herbert W. Nickens Award from the Society of General Internal Medicine and the Herbert W. Nickens Award from the Association of American Medical Colleges. In 2007, Dr. Reede was awarded the Riland Medal for Public Service from the New York College of Osteopathic Medicine, and an honorary Doctor of Science degree from the New York Institute of Technology. A graduate of Brown University and Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Dr. Reede completed her pediatric residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland and a child psychiatry fellowship at Children's Hospital in Boston. She also holds an MPH and an MS in health policy and management from the Harvard School of Public Health, and an MBA from Boston University School of Management.

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Scott, Camille, is currently an admissions recruiter at Montgomery College. In this capacity, she shares information about Montgomery College and higher education in general with a variety of constituencies including schools, businesses and community organizations. While she enjoys being a representative of such an outstanding institution, she enjoys most the opportunity to be a role model to the many young people with whom she regularly comes in contact. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia.

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Sesma, Michael, serves as Chief for the Research Scientist Development Program in the Office for Special Populations (OSP) at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). His major responsibilities are to coordinate trans-NIMH initiatives and programs for the development of research scientists in mental health who are from underrepresented groups.

Dr. Sesma received his B.A. in biology and psychology from the University of California, San Diego in 1976, and his Ph.D. in psychology from the University of California, Riverside in 1981. He received postdoctoral training from 1981-1985 in the Departments of Anatomy and Cell Biology, and Psychology at Vanderbilt University. From 1985 to 1994 he was a faculty member in the School of Optometry at the University of Missouri, St. Louis where his research focused on the functional organization and development in the visual system. While at UM-St Louis his university service included serving on the Student Admissions and Financial Aid Committee and as chair of the University Senate Curriculum and Instruction Committee. In 1990, as a visiting faculty member in the Department of Psychiatry at Washington University Medical School his research focused on the role of glutamate and glutamate receptors in normal and neurodegenerative processes in the brain that may underlie neurological and psychiatric illnesses. In 1994 Sesma joined the NIH in the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) at NIH as a Scientific Review Administrator, primarily responsible for the Minority Biomedical Research Support (MBRS) Program Review Committee and in 1996 added the duties of Program Director in the Division of Genetics and Developmental Biology at NIGMS, responsible for the research portfolio in neurogenetics and the genetics of behavior. He moved to the National Institute of Mental Health in 2002 to develop the Research Scientist Development Program in the NIMH-OSP. Dr. Sesma has served on a variety of academic and NIH committees including the Society for Neuroscience Committee for Neuroscience Literacy, the NIH Staff Training in Extramural Programs (STEP) Committee, which he chaired in 2005, and is past treasurer for the HHS and NIH Hispanic Employee Organizations. Since 2006 he has also been a faculty member for Annual NIH Regional Seminars on Program Funding and Grants Administration.

Dr. Sesma is also active in public service to his community and was elected in 2005 to a four-year term as a Council Member for the City of Gaithersburg, the second largest city in the state of Maryland. Dr. Sesma is the first Latino and minority to be elected to the Gaithersburg City Council.

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Spaid, Kathleen A., MT (HHS/ISCLT), has been working in the field of Medical Technology since 1974 and joined the NIH Chemistry Service as an MT in 1989. In addition to her work with the Take Your Child to Work presentation, She has volunteered with the NIH Career Exploration Seminar and Share the Health Expo. She also teaches a class for the NIH Nursing Department’s IV/Blood Workshop (with Jamie Hahn ) She gives science presentations for girl scouts and school groups as well.

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Tabor, Derrick, is a program official at the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NCMHD) and is the former director of the Center of Excellence Program at the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities. The Center of Excellence Program has provided over 50 million dollars annually since 2004 toward research for improving minority health and reducing and eliminating health disparities. He joined NCMHD on May 2, 2004, having previously served as a program official in the Minority Biomedical Research Support (MBRS) Branch of the Minority Opportunities in Research Division (MORE), National Institutes of General Medical Sciences. In his former position, his responsibilities also included the administration of Minority Access to Research Careers (MARC), Bridges to the Future grants, and research project grants for the Division of Pharmacology, Physiology, and Biological Chemistry. He has been in government service since 1998, and has made several presentations to faculty and researchers on grant writing, the NIH grant making process, and to students throughout the educational pipeline. Prior to his government service, Dr. Tabor was a tenured associate professor of chemistry and chair in the Department of Natural Sciences at Johnson C. Smith University, and principal investigator on an NIH grant. He has also been employed as an industrial research scientist at a leading photographic company.

Derrick holds a B.S. degree in chemistry from Saginaw Valley State University in Saginaw, Michigan, the Ph.D. degree in chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and has held postdoctoral appointments at UNC-Chapel Hill and the University of Southern California, Los Angeles.

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Tuma, Bonnie

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Umans, Dorothy is currently the Acting Dean for Community Education and Extended Learning Services, Workforce Development and Continuing Education at Montgomery College. This division is responsible for a range of non-credit courses and programs available to various age groups (youth through senior citizens) and for assessment of prior learning and credit classes offered at area businesses and agencies. She believes in the role of education as a route to the identification and achievement of personal and professional goals. Part of education is providing access to and analysis of information to make good decisions about strategies and options. Ms. Umans has a bachelor’s degree from SUCNY at Fredonia, an MS and an Ed.S degree from SUNY Albany, an MBA from Pace University and coursework towards a doctorate degree from Columbia University and the University of Maryland.

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Vigil, Mary is a second year Georgetown University medical student. She grew up in New Mexico and is of Hispanic and Korean ethnicity. She received her nursing license at age 17 and graduated from the University of New Mexico with a BA in Anthropology and Chemistry, as well as a Masters in Public Health. She spent 10 years serving socioeconomic disadvantaged communities locally and abroad. She trained indigenous community health workers and helped set up a tuberculosis control project, an economic self-help cooperative, and a solar energy/water systems for rural clinics. Her special interests are in comprehensive health clinics and diplomacy. She plans to work as a clinician, advocate, and teacher.

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Wells, Whitney

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Williams, Joy is the Associate Dean for Students and Special Programs at Georgetown University School of Medicine where she directs the Office of Minority Student Development, the Greater Washington Area Junior Science and Humanities Symposium and the GEMS Program. GEMS is a post-baccalaureate program that provides access to a medical education for underrepresented and disadvantaged college graduates. GEMS has more than 350 physician graduates. Collaboration with scientists and educators who share her commitment to nurturing excellence in science among high school students make her involvement in SciLife productive and very enjoyable. Her interest in organic gardening and quilting provide relaxation as well as gifts for family and friends.

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Williams, Renee

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