Webinar: Pipeline Programs - Why the Pipeline Struggles to Reach the Top
Webinar: Pipeline Programs - Why the Pipeline Struggles to Reach the Top
Originally recorded Tuesday, November 14, 2023 | 11 AM - 12 PM CT
About the webinar
In recent years, there has been a renewed focus on the significant health disparities impacting communities of color and other marginalized communities. As a part of this renewed focus, the healthcare industry is committed to creating a more representative workforce. Across the industry, efforts to reduce systemic barriers and recruit, hire, and promote professionals of color and other underrepresented professionals expanded, with pipeline programs as a key element in health equity strategies. However, there is still work that needs to be done, especially when looking at leadership positions in healthcare careers. Only 13% of C-suite positions in healthcare are held by professionals of color, and despite representing 20% of healthcare’s entry-level workforce, women of color only represent 5% of C-suite executives. Furthermore, these workforce disparities extend into the clinical realm as well. As of 2019, only 12% of physicians in the U.S. are from historically underrepresented groups, with the percentage of black male physicians unchanged since 1940. While pipeline programs have long provided a unique opportunity to increase awareness and access for students from underrepresented groups, we must ensure that pipeline programs showcase opportunities and encourage representation of professionals from underrepresented groups in leadership. In order to create a healthcare workforce that represents the communities it serves, we must see workforce diversity and representation from entry-level to C-suite. This program will discuss the benefits and unintentional consequences of pipeline programs and best practices for how the industry can better structure pipeline programs to align with health equity priorities and address workforce diversity at all levels of an organization.
Distinguished Speakers
MODERATOR - Ms. Lindsay Moore-Fields
Executive Director, Center for Healthcare Innovation
Lindsay Moore-Fields is a dedicated and action-oriented public health professional committed to advancing diversity & inclusion and addressing disparities in healthcare through an equity lens. As Executive Director at the Center for Healthcare Innovation, Lindsay leads the Center’s research and education initiatives and oversees daily operations. She actively manages stakeholder relationships and leads the Management Team in the execution of programs that align with operational objectives. In addition, she serves as the lead organizer of virtual and in-person health equity events for over 1,000 healthcare professionals annually on topics including the disproportionate impact of chronic diseases on communities of color, strategies to increase BIPOC participation in clinical trials, increasing healthcare workforce diversity, and the effects of maternal health disparities on African American communities. Lindsay is a skilled moderator on social justice and diversity topics and regularly leads CHI’s focus groups. Before her current role, Lindsay served as CHI’s Program Manager, where she worked closely with the Center’s CEO and ran CHI’s STEM and healthcare mentoring program for young women, the Science Runway. Lindsay received a bachelor’s degree in health and human biology with a focus on the social context of disease from Brown University. While completing her undergraduate degree, Lindsay worked as a Project Manager for the Black Healthcare & Medical Association (BHMA) and as a Healthcare Analyst at CHI. In addition, at Brown, she served as the President of the Lambda Iota Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated from 2019-2021. Her interests include health equity, health innovation, and increasing the representation of underrepresented communities in healthcare. Outside of work, Lindsay is an avid baker and enjoys volunteering and reading.
Dr. Marlene Ballejos, PhD, MPA
Associate Professor, Vice Chair for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Department of Family & Community Medicine
Assistant Dean for Admissions, University of New Mexico School of Medicine
Dr. Marlene Ballejos is a tenured Associate Professor and Vice Chair for Diversity Equity and Inclusion in the Department of Family and Community Medicine. She serves as the Assistant Dean for Admissions at the University of New Mexico, School of Medicine (SOM) and Co-chairs both the SOM Committee on Admissions and the Combined Baccalaureate/Medical Degree (BA/MD) Committee on Admissions. Dr. Ballejos developed a national reputation in implementing holistic review in the medical school admissions process and served as an Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Holistic Review trained facilitator and conducted AAMC sponsored Holistic Review workshops with admissions committees throughout US medical schools. Dr. Ballejos served as the Chair for the AAMC Combined Baccalaureate/Medical Degree Affiliate Group and has been a strong advocate for diversifying the physician workforce through pipeline programs. Dr. Ballejos completed a national appointment to the AAMC Group on Student Affairs (GSA) Committee on Student Diversity Affairs liaison to the GSA Committee on Admissions, where she provided guidance on national policies and procedural issues regarding the admission of students to medical school and issues relating to the medical student diversity on a local, regional, and national level with respect to student recruitment, admissions enrollment, retention, and graduation. She was recognized for her many year of work and service with an “Exemplary Service Award” from the AAMC Western Group on Student Affairs and featured as a leader in Academic Medicine from the AAMC Group on Women in Medicine and Science.
Ms. Dana Thomas, MPH
Director of the Adolescent Health Initiative, University of Michigan Health
Dana L. Thomas, MPH is the Director of the Adolescent Health Initiative at the University of Michigan Health. She is a connector and collaborator who leverages the strengths of her team to build capacity of youth, youth-serving organizations, and healthcare organizations to better serve the needs of community. She has over two decades of experience working alongside communities and institutions using a participatory action approach to improve health, address health equity, and build capacity through training. She has traveled the world (and in her own backyard) with youth to increase their public health skills, competency, and cultural awareness and appreciation. Her work with communities in the recovery stages of disasters has taken her to Flint, Mississippi, Louisiana, Kentucky, Texas, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Thomas has expertise in youth development and engagement, partnership development, and program development. Her applied work and interests include health equity; rural and island health; applied research to address community and organizational capacity building; public health preparedness; and evidence-based public health. She is not afraid of the unknown and has a willingness to engage in moments of discomfort to stretch her understanding of humanity. She loves a good story and uses storytelling to engage and inspire individuals, particularly the future generation of leaders. She earned a BA degree in History from Wayne State University and an MPH degree in Health Behavior and Health Education from the University of Michigan.
Dr. Adrien DeLoach, PhD
Executive Director, Division for Student Engagement and Impact, Office of the Senior Vice President for Health Sciences
Adrien DeLoach, Ph.D. is an educational innovator, as well as organizational and professional development strategist who serves as Executive Director of the Division for Student Engagement and Impact, and Director of VCU Diversity P.A.T.H.S. (Promoting Access To Health Sciences) both within the Office of the Senior Vice President for Health Sciences at Virginia Commonwealth University. The division aims to enhance students' overall experiences as they prepare for admissions into and throughout their enrollment in a health sciences or health professions program at VCU. Dr. DeLoach is responsible for providing strategic leadership of the university’s health sciences pathway programs in addition to spearheading various other student services initiatives on the medical campus. He has over 20 years of progressive experience in post-secondary education that spans across five institutions and several administrative offices such as minority recruitment, student leadership programs, multicultural services, diversity education, and academic support for STEM-H disciplines. His expertise also includes work with various research projects and faculty engagement initiatives geared toward improving student outcomes particularly for underrepresented minorities in science disciplines. As a result, Dr. DeLoach is regular facilitator with VCU’s IExcel Education course series for seminars entitled, “Better Practices for Inclusive Teaching” and “Implicit Bias in the Workplace,” which have included students and faculty from departments such as Kinesiology and Health Sciences, Occupational Therapy, and Ophthalmology, as well as VCU’s School of Dentistry and School of Pharmacy.
Webinar Leaders
MODERATOR - Ms. Lindsay Moore-Fields
Executive Director, Center for Healthcare Innovation
Dr. Marlene Ballejos, PhD, MPA
Associate Professor, Vice Chair for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Department of Family & Community Medicine
Assistant Dean for Admissions, University of New Mexico School of Medicine
Ms. Dana Thomas, MPH
Director of the Adolescent Health Initiative, University of Michigan Health
Executive Director, Division for Student Engagement and Impact, Office of the Senior Vice President for Health Sciences
Joseph Gaspero is the CEO and Co-Founder of CHI. He is a healthcare executive, strategist, and researcher. He co-founded CHI in 2009 to be an independent, objective, and interdisciplinary research and education institute for healthcare. Joseph leads CHI’s research and education initiatives focusing on including patient-driven healthcare, patient engagement, clinical trials, drug pricing, and other pressing healthcare issues. He sets and executes CHI’s strategy, devises marketing tactics, leads fundraising efforts, and manages CHI’s Management team. Joseph is passionate and committed to making healthcare and our world a better place. His leadership stems from a wide array of experiences, including founding and operating several non-profit and for-profit organizations, serving in the U.S. Air Force in support of 2 foreign wars, and deriving expertise from time spent in industries such as healthcare, financial services, and marketing. Joseph’s skills include strategy, management, entrepreneurship, healthcare, clinical trials, diversity & inclusion, life sciences, research, marketing, and finance. He has lived in six countries, traveled to over 30 more, and speaks 3 languages, all which help him view business strategy through the prism of a global, interconnected 21st century. Joseph has a B.S. in Finance from the University of Illinois at Chicago. When he’s not immersed in his work at CHI, he spends his time snowboarding backcountry, skydiving, mountain biking, volunteering, engaging in MMA, and rock climbing.