About Us

Inclusion and Excellence Council

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About the Excellence Council

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At Baylor College of Medicine, we believe that diversity, respect and inclusiveness create the best environment for academic excellence and workplace culture. Our values of respect, integrity, innovation, teamwork and excellence are core to continuing to have a respectful and inclusive environment at Baylor College of Medicine. This also allows us to strengthen our institution by increasing talent, encouraging creativity and ensuring a broader perspective.

In November 2016, a new Inclusion and Excellence Council was announced. Council members are made up of faculty, staff and trainees from throughout the institution. The purpose of the Inclusion and Excellence Council is to establish a body that will support Baylor’s institutional diversity and inclusion goals and serve in an advisory capacity to the Senior Associate Dean of Community Engagement & Health Equity who will serve as the chair of the council. The council will work to maximize the engagement of people throughout the Baylor community who share our passion for inclusion, diversity and equity.

The Inclusion and Excellence Council is comprised of twenty-five voting members including the “council” chair, fourteen faculty, at least two administrative staff members, two postdoctoral trainees, two residents and four students. Send your thoughts and suggestions on ways to enhance inclusion and excellence at Baylor by emailing them to institutionaldiversity@bcm.edu.

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Inclusion and Excellence Council Members
Name Position Membership Year Title Department
Alli Antar, Ph.D. Member (At-Large Faculty) 2021-2023 Assistant Professor Department of Pediatrics
Jonnae Atkinson, M.D., M.S. Member (At-Large Faculty) 2022-2024 Assistant Professor Department of Family and Community Medicine
Jairo Barrantes-Perez, M.D. Member (Faculty Senate) 2021-2023 Assistant Professor Margaret M. and Albert B. Alkek Department of Medicine
Enrico Barrozo, Ph.D. Member (Trainee) 2022-2023 Postdoctoral Associate Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology
Mara Cardenas,  Member (Student) 2022-2023 Student Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
Sara Carranco, M.D. Member (Trainee) 2022-2023 Medical Resident PGY2 Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology
Lindsey Godfrey,  Member (Administrative Staff) 2021-2023 Senior Coordinator, Program Management School of Medicine
Shixia Huang, Ph.D. Member (At-Large Faculty) 2021-2023 Associate Professor/Proteomics Core Director Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology
Michelle Ludwig, M.D., Ph.D. Member (At-Large Faculty) 2021-2023 Associate Professor Department of Radiation Oncology
Cassius Mensah, M.D. Member (At-Large Faculty) 2021-2023 Assistant Professor Department of Anesthesiology
Achilia Morrow, M.D., M.P.H. Member (At-Large Faculty) 2021-2023 Associate Professor Margaret M. and Albert B. Alkek Department of Medicine
Nidal Moukaddam, M.D., Ph.D. Member (Faculty Senate) 2022-2024 Associate Professor Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Roger Nicome, M.D. Member (Faculty Senate) 2022-2024 Associate Professor Department of Pediatrics
Dorina Papageorgiou, Ph.D., M.H.Sc. Member (Faculty Senate) 2021-2023 Assistant Professor Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Elizabeth Shell, Ph.D., M.P.A.S. Member (At-Large Faculty) 2021-2023 Assistant Professor Physician Assistant Program
Crystal Shin, Ph.D. Member (At-Large Faculty) 2021-2023 Assistant Professor Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery
Cassandra Shorter, B.S. Member (Administrative Staff) 2021-2023 Supervisor, Program Management Department of Pediatrics
Richard Strax, M.D. Member (At-Large Faculty) 2021-2023 Professor Department of Radiology
Isabel Valdez, M.S. Member (At-Large Faculty) 2021-2023 Assistant Professor Margaret M. and Albert B. Alkek Department of Medicine
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Ex-Officio Members
Name Position Membership Year Title Department
Kjersti Aagaard, M.D., Ph.D. Ex-Officio 2022-2023 Professor Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology
Ali Abbas Asghar-Ali, M.D. Ex-Officio 2022-2023 Associate Professor Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Biykem Bozkurt, M.D. Ex-Officio 2022-2023 Senior Dean of Faculty Office of the President
Shad Deering, M.D Ex-Officio 2022-2023 Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs at CHRISTUS Children’s Office of the President
Krista Defalco, M.B.A., M.H.A. Ex-Officio 2022-2023 M.D./Ph.D. Administrative Operations Director Medical Scientist Training Program
Aimee Gardner, Ph.D. Ex-Officio 2022-2023 Associate Professor School of Health Professions
Anne Gill, Dr.P.H., M.S.N. Ex-Officio 2022-2023 Professor Department of Pediatrics
Susan Gillespie, M.D., Ph.D. Ex-Officio 2022-2023 Associate Professor Department of Pediatrics
Alison Goulding, M.D. Ex-Officio 2022-2023 Fellow Physician PGY7 Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology
Toni Gray, M.A. Ex-Officio 2022-2023 Title IX and Disability Director Human Resources Office
Tamara Ortiz-Perez, M.D. Ex-Officio 2022-2023 Associate Professor Department of Radiology
Frederick Pereira, Ph.D. Ex-Officio 2022-2023 Associate Professor Huffington Center On Aging
Jose Perez, M.D., B.S. Ex-Officio 2022-2023 Associate Professor Margaret M. and Albert B. Alkek Department of Medicine
Jean Raphael, M.D. Ex-Officio 2022-2023 Professor Department of Pediatrics
Amandi Rhett, M.S. Ex-Officio 2022-2023 Assistant Professor School of Health Professions
Nimrah Riaz, M.S. Ex-Officio 2022-2023 Senior Coordinator, Research Administration Department of Medicine
Antonie Rice, Ph.D. Ex-Officio 2022-2023 Assistant Professor Department of Pediatrics
Peggy Smith, Ph.D., M.A., B.A. Ex-Officio 2022-2023 Professor Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology
Jeffrey Starke, M.D. Ex-Officio 2022-2023 Professor Department of Pediatrics
Annie Torres, B.A. Ex-Officio 2022-2023 Senior Manager, Development Institutional Advancement and Alumni Affairs
Ronald Vilela, M.D. Ex-Officio 2022-2023 Associate Professor Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery
Ashutosh Wali, M.B.B.S., M.D. Ex-Officio 2022-2023 Professor Department of Anesthesiology