We continue to round out the vice chief roles for each section. I can now announce that Pamela Kunz, MD, and Namrata Krishnan, MD, have been chosen as the vice chief for Medical Oncology and vice chief for Nephrology respectively. The Section of Pulmonary, Critical Care & Sleep Medicine is finalizing their selection, along with the staff representatives.
I would also like to officially welcome Johanna Elumn, MSW, PhD, to our DEI team. Elumn is an associate research scientist who will spend part of her time assisting us on our qualitative and quantitative research methodology. We have interviewed many great candidates for the program manager role in the department’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Internal Medicine (ODEIM) and are hoping to have someone in place by July.
I would like to introduce a new initiatives called “Voices of DEI.” This new feature will highlight clinicians, educators, researchers, and staff across the department and their views on the value of diversity, equity, and inclusion. The first Q&A is with Vandana Khungar, MD, MSc, vice chief of diversity, equity, and inclusion (digestive diseases), and will be shared on the website and via social media. I hope you enjoy it! If you wish to participate, complete the survey at this link.
A major project underway is the redesign of our Diversity Committee, and the addition of several subcommittees. The Diversity Committee, which includes staff, faculty and trainees, meets every fourth Monday from 12 – 1 p.m.. The meetings are currently held via Zoom but we look forward to the possibility of in-person meetings soon with a virtual option. If you are interested in learning more, please review this document (scroll to 5/13/21 Late Breaking News). If you would like to participate in the committee or one of the subcommittees, please let us know via the survey at this link.
As always, please contact me with any questions you may have regarding this work. Thank you for all you do to make Yale a better place.
Sincerely,
Inginia Genao, MD, FACP
Associate Chair, Diversity & Inclusion