Healthcare Ethics, Humanities and Social Justice

Assistant Professor, Department of Family Medicine and Public Health Sciences & Scientific Director, Office of Community Engaged Research, Wayne State University School of Medicine

Rhonda Dailey, MD, has 20 years of experience of conducting quantitative and qualitative behavioral and health-disparities research, and expertise in community engagement and with the recruitment and retention of minority populations. Her research interests include: the influence of racism on health; women’s health; health equity and disparities related to chronic disease, primarily asthma and hypertension; patient attitudes and beliefs about health; and healthcare quality. She is currently leading the Office of Community Engaged Research’s efforts in delivering cultural competency workshops and is co-investigator on several National Institutes of Health Research Project Grant (R01) research studies that align with her interests, particularly asthma and perinatal health outcomes in African American participants.

Associate Executive Director, Sunrise Senior Living/Brighton Gardens of Raleigh North Carolina

Annie Deaver, LMSW, is a for-profit and not-for-profit healthcare leader with over 20 years’ experience. Ms. Deaver has a bachelor of arts, cum laude, sociology/health services administration, and a master of social work, mental health concentration. Additionally, Ms. Deaver has a certificate in trauma counseling and is a 2016 health fellow with Health Foundation of Western and Central New York. Ms. Deaver has instructed at the graduate level and facilitated workshops on conflict resolution, self-care and mental health in communities of color. Ms. Deaver relocated to Raleigh, N.C., from Buffalo, N.Y., in 2017 and since has worked for local government and an assisted living community, where she is an associate executive director. Ms. Deaver has a passion for women’s empowerment and underserved communities, especially communities of color.

Assistant Professor of Medicine and Director of the Family-Centered Experience Program, Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine

Carly Ellman, MSW, LCSW, received her master’s in social work from Fordham University and is a licensed clinical social worker in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the state of Florida. Carly is an instructor of medicine at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine, and was previously an assistant professor of social work at Misericordia University. She has taught at Fordham University’s Graduate School of Social Service and Tulane University School of Social Work. Ms. Ellman embedded service learning into all her classes and is dedicated to continuing to work together with the community in and out of the classroom. She maintains a private practice in Dallas, Pa., where she specializes in working with adolescents and couples. Ms. Ellman is pursuing her PhD in Strategic Leadership and Administrative Studies and hopes to continue her research in the area of interprofessional education, bioethics and experiential learning. 

Founder and Director of the Maimonides Institute for Medicine, Ethics and the Holocaust and Director of the Center for Human Dignity in Bioethics, Health and the Holocaust, Misericordia University

Stacy Gallin, DMH, is the founder and director of the Maimonides Institute for Medicine, Ethics and the Holocaust. She is also a visiting assistant professor at New York Medical College in the Biomedical Ethics and Humanities program and the director of the Center for Human Dignity in Bioethics, Health, and the Holocaust at Misericordia University. Dr. Gallin is the cochair of the Department of Bioethics and the Holocaust and a faculty member of the Department of Education of the UNESCO Chair of Bioethics (Haifa). She is also a contributing author for the Globe Post. Along with Davidson College star basketball player Kellan Grady, Dr. Gallin recently started a social justice initiative called College Athletes for Respect and Equality with the goal of educating and empowering athlete-activists to use their platform to help promote equality, justice and tolerance for all people. In addition, she works closely with several national and internationally recognized organizations to raise awareness regarding the relevance of medicine, ethics and the Holocaust for modern medical practice, healthcare policy and human rights endeavors.

Attending Physician of Infectious Diseases, Geisinger Clinic and Regional Assistant Dean for Student Affairs, Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine

Darrell McBride, DO, is an infectious diseases physician at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, Pa., and specializes in HIV treatment, management and prevention. He is on the board for the AIDS Resource Center in Williamsport, Pa. He completed his infectious diseases fellowship at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Mo. During his second year, he was named the HIV fellow, and was responsible for managing the HIV population at John Cochran VA Hospital. That same year, he was awarded a grant to start a pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) clinic. He was granted an additional year of fellowship to further specialize in HIV/HCV co-infection management. During this time, he was instrumental in improving retention in the HIV clinic and proposed many quality improvement projects that were eventually included in their general practice. Dr. McBride has experienced the inner workings of a well-functioning Ryan White Clinic; dedicated time to expanding access to quality HIV care; and practiced in identifying, assessing and subsequently closing care gaps. Additionally, he was recently selected to be on the national “Ending HIV as an Epidemic" Working Group. Commitment to this community is something Dr. McBride has crafted his entire career and has been emboldened to continue. Along with his experience and passion, his successful obtainment of the Ryan White Grant will allow him to substantially improve Geisinger’s ability to create a long-lasting positive trajectory in HIV care.

Service Chief of Family Medicine, Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital and President of Jackson State University National Alumni Association

"Find solutions, not excuses" is the mantra of Earlexia M. Norwood, MD. Dr. Norwood is a board-certified family medicine physician, who has practiced at Henry Ford Health System since 1993. She seeks partnerships and alliances to make Detroit the healthiest city in the country, as well as opportunities to educate communities and organizations on health and wellness. She is the service chief of family medicine for Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital, the director of Practice Development and Community Health Education, ambassador for Healthcare Equity, and global health ambassador for the Breaking Walls organization.

Director of Student Engagement, Diversity and Inclusion and Assistant Professor, Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine

Vicki T. Sapp, PhD, has over 20 years of experience in higher education, and 15 have been directly focused on inclusion, diversity, equity, access, retention and success (IDEA+RS). Dr. Sapp is an administrator, researcher, educator and service provider. Her research, scholarship and publications focus on making the inVISIBLE visible. She focuses on first-generation and student of color populations, college access, retention and success, social justice, diversity, equity, inclusion and healthcare topics. Dr. Sapp is responsible for bringing the Safe Zone project to Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine. Additionally, she trains, coordinates and is responsible for the design, development and continuous enhancement of the Geisinger Commonwealth Professional Identity Formation Cultural Humility Curriculum: Part I: Cross-Cultural Communication, Part II: DIY: Human Experiences, Part II: Trauma is REAL: Understanding and Interrupting Microaggressions in Healthcare, Part III: Microaggressions Navigating Triggering Events, Part IV: Intersectionality: Examining Concepts of Privilege, Part I: Safe Zone, Part II: Ally Trainings, and Part III: Transgender 101. Moreover, Dr. Sapp is responsible for implementing initiatives such as the diversity challenge pledge, diversity video, courage card, Cultural Humility Certificate Program, cultural bazaars, admissions diversity presentations, cultural biographies, cultural banner series and other programs and initiatives for students, faculty and staff. She is also a Title IX Resource Advisor and Mental Health First Aid advisor, emotional intelligence coach and Green Dot sexual assault prevention trainer. She has her Title IX Level One Coordinator and Adult Mental Health First Aid certificates. She serves as a board member on several boards, including Geisinger Diversity and Inclusion Council, Geisinger Commonwealth Accessibility and Learning Environment Committees, Geisinger’s Black Outreach and Leadership Development employee resource group, the Black Scranton Project and the Northeast Pennsylvania Diversity and Inclusion Consortium.

Assistant Dean of Diversity and Inclusion & Assistant Professor of Instruction in Pharmacy Practice, College of Pharmacy, University of Texas at Austin

Skyller Walkes, MD, is a deeply impassioned diversity, equity, accessibility and inclusion leader who champions critical dialogue with the hopes of impacting positive change within shared communities. As an educator who works across K-20 trajectories, including adult and community education, both domestically and internationally with various populations, Dr. Walkes aims to engage learners in formal, non-formal and informal spaces. Complemented by her background in social services, the breadth of her professional experience consists of nonprofit and for-profit project management, educator coaching and training, account management, K-16 curricula support, special and disability education, adult education initiatives, English language learners and social justice reform through community outreach and activism. Dr. Walkes’ work encompasses several international projects for schools, regional libraries and diversity community education for numerous entities, including the United States Embassy in Madrid, Spain, Diversity Abroad and the Southwest Region of the Anti-Defamation League.