The Office of Diversity and Community Relations launched the President’s Leadership in Diversity Awards in 2020. These awards recognize significant achievements of graduating students from our doctoral and graduate programs who have made unique contributions to advance diversity and inclusion at PCOM.
Award recipients have implemented initiatives which cultivate, advance or model diversity and inclusion within the PCOM community. Nominees are evaluated by a committee representing faculty and staff from each of our three locations using the following criteria:
| Riley Alvaro, MS/Biomed | Karen Honoré, MS/PHMA | Chantel Thompson, DO |
| Megan Griffen Kapinos, EdS | Maria Maldonado Weng, MS/MHC | Zoe Tirado, MS/PA |
| Janai Groves, MS/Biomed | Tommie Suggs, MS/ODL | Eguono Voke Apoduadok, PsyD |
| Melanie Baez, MS/PA | Krysten McNaught, PharmD | |
| Darwin Mendez, MS/Biomed | Aldwin Soumare, DO |
| Janai Groves, MS/Biomed |
As chair of the Biomedical Sciences Council for two years, Riley Alvaro worked alongside peers to create an inclusive diverse, and academically supportive environment. Riley used feedback from students to begin advocating for a civility campaign, a program aimed at establishing a more civil learning environment through practicing empathy, accountability, encouraging students to use their voice, modeling exemplary behavior and most importantly promoting diversity of thought and inclusiveness. This campaign brought together faculty, staff and students from all three campuses.
As a member of SNMA and Local Community Outreach, Janai Groves enjoys pouring back into the community which has so generously poured into her. Janai advances diversity and inclusion by being a mentor and example to those who look like her. Janai's research study focuses on cadaveric studies of lung cancer in south Georgia to further understand the community's needs. Janai will continue her community involvement by working with PCOM South Georgia faculty to strengthen community ties with her hometown, Dougherty County. Janai is working with the GEAR-UP program to ensure student success beyond high school and a pathway to the DO program.
Karen Honoré has experience working in multiple fields under the umbrella of social determinants of health in the Philadelphia area. While working at Holy Redeemer Health, she identified a gap in care. Karen's capstone focused on healthcare inequity in maternal health. The impacts of antebellum age slavery to post systemic oppression has an active role in maternal and infant mortality. She proposed an interprofessional birth care team utilizing doulas and midwives to combat and improve birth and medical outcomes.
Maria Maldonado Weng created a mental health program for the Health Promoter program at Saint Joseph's University with the help of the PCOM faculty. The mental health program provides free mental health resources and clinics near Philadelphia for the Latinx community. The program also provides psychoeducation for the community. The goal of the program is to help eliminate the negative view on mental health by educating the Latinx communities and debunking any misconceptions about mental health.
Tommie Suggs is an artist, storyteller and author who uses his art as a platform to create opportunities to discuss and address difficult issues such as trauma among black men and boys, identity, navigating the healing process and celebrating diversity. He has collaborated with various Philadelphia based businesses, nonprofit organizations and churches to rally listeners around these issues. His storytelling piece, “What Color is a Soul” which was released in 2021 encourages us to celebrate and embrace our differences while also acknowledging that we are more than the differences that tend to separate us.
As the physician assistant liaison for the Latino Medical Student Association, Zoe Tirado worked collaboratively with the board members to create mentorship, service, and educational initiatives to advocate for the improved health of the Latinx community. Ms. Tirado served as the student society secretary, where she had the opportunity to work with the board to develop unifying activities for her class during the COVID-19 pandemic. During her clinical year, she was a peer tutor for the physician assistant studies program which allowed her to form an inclusive environment where students can feel supported intellectually and academically. Ms. Tirado has created safe spaces on multiple platforms to promote class unity and connect PA students of various backgrounds. She has also served as a medium to increase diversity representation in the program by connecting faculty with physician assistants of color who would be willing to give lectures at PCOM.
Melanie Baez fostered an inclusive and open environment throughout her rotations, which served largely Hispanic, minority and underserved communities. Utilizing her Spanish-speaking abilities, she bridged the language and cultural gap for numerous patients to ensure proper care. Melanie strives to maintain her passion for medicine paired with a strong compassion for all patients and their individual needs. Through her unique cultural lens, she finds unity in healthcare through diversity and inclusion.
Krysten McNaught chartered the Student National Pharmaceutical Association (SNPhA) which is dedicated to serving the underserved and underrepresented and served as the inaugural president for three years. Krysten presented a poster entitled “Eliminating 'Red Man Syndrome' ... A Step Towards Dismantling Systemic Racism in Clinical Practice and Interdisciplinary Education“ at the SNPhA National convention and received first place. She served as the first pharmacy student on the Global Health Initiative (GHI) as the community service chair. Through both SNPhA and GHI Krysten helped to orchestrate a global brigade team of 17 students to Ghana which raised over $6,000 to assist local community members. Krysten served on the Cultural Competent Curriculum Task Force for two years to review and evaluate pharmacy accreditation standards and create a list of standards that highlight diversity, inclusion and equity.
Darwin Mendez, a first generation student, has always felt the urge to give back to underserved communities. Darwin co-led a multidisciplinary team to develop Keep the Spark, a community based research initiative. Keep the Spark first hopes to identify socioeconomic challenges students face in the local community as they progress in their academic careers. The goal is to develop interventions based on the research so that today's challenges don't become tomorrow's barriers. In "keeping the spark alive," he hopes to uplift students from disadvantaged backgrounds who will continue to strive towards their ultimate goals – increasing diversity at all levels.
Diversity and inclusion are important facets of Aldwin Soumare's everyday life. At PCOM Georgia, he helped to host the Minority Association of Pre-Med Students (MAPS) from Gwinnett College, hosted a post-match panel through the Student National Medical Association (SNMA), and developed a scholarship for students who are underrepresented in medicine through his podcast. On a larger scale, Aldwin served as the Osteopathic Committee Co Chair within SNMA. Here he advocated for DO students, planned a webinar to encourage minority students to learn more about osteopathic medicine, and advocated for the need for more diversity, equity and inclusion education at osteopathic medical schools.
As a member of SNMA and Local Community Outreach, Janai Groves enjoys pouring back into the community which has so generously poured into her. Janai advances diversity and inclusion by being a mentor and example to those who look like her. Janai's research study focuses on cadaveric studies of lung cancer in South Georgia to further understand the community's needs. Janai will continue her community involvement by working with PCOM South Georgia faculty members to strengthen community ties with her hometown, Dougherty County. Janai is working with the GEAR-UP program to ensure student success beyond high school and a pathway to the DO program.
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