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 healthequity@bcm.edu.

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Inclusion and Excellence Council Members
NamePositionMembership YearTitleDepartment
Alli Antar, Ph.D.Member (At-Large Faculty)2021-2023Assistant ProfessorDepartment of Pediatrics
Jonnae Atkinson, M.D., M.S.Member (At-Large Faculty)2022-2024Assistant ProfessorDepartment of Family and Community Medicine
Jairo Barrantes-Perez, M.D.Member (Faculty Senate)2021-2023Assistant ProfessorMargaret M. and Albert B. Alkek Department of Medicine
Enrico Barrozo, Ph.D.Member (Trainee)2022-2023Postdoctoral AssociateDepartment of Obstetrics & Gynecology
Mara Cardenas, Member (Student)2022-2023StudentGraduate School of Biomedical Sciences
Sara Carranco, M.D.Member (Trainee)2022-2023Medical Resident PGY2Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology
Lindsey Godfrey, Member (Administrative Staff)2021-2023Senior Coordinator, Program ManagementSchool of Medicine
Shixia Huang, Ph.D.Member (At-Large Faculty)2021-2023Associate Professor/Proteomics Core DirectorDepartment of Molecular & Cellular Biology
Michelle Ludwig, M.D., Ph.D.Member (At-Large Faculty)2021-2023Associate ProfessorDepartment of Radiation Oncology
Cassius Mensah, M.D.Member (At-Large Faculty)2021-2023Assistant ProfessorDepartment of Anesthesiology
Achilia Morrow, M.D., M.P.H.Member (At-Large Faculty)2021-2023Associate ProfessorMargaret M. and Albert B. Alkek Department of Medicine
Nidal Moukaddam, M.D., Ph.D.Member (Faculty Senate)2022-2024Associate ProfessorMenninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Roger Nicome, M.D.Member (Faculty Senate)2022-2024Associate ProfessorDepartment of Pediatrics
Dorina Papageorgiou, Ph.D., M.H.Sc.Member (Faculty Senate)2021-2023Assistant ProfessorMenninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Elizabeth Shell, Ph.D., M.P.A.S.Member (At-Large Faculty)2021-2023Assistant ProfessorPhysician Assistant Program
Crystal Shin, Ph.D.Member (At-Large Faculty)2021-2023Assistant ProfessorMichael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery
Cassandra Shorter, B.S.Member (Administrative Staff)2021-2023Supervisor, Program ManagementDepartment of Pediatrics
Richard Strax, M.D.Member (At-Large Faculty)2021-2023ProfessorDepartment of Radiology
Isabel Valdez, M.S.Member (At-Large Faculty)2021-2023Assistant ProfessorMargaret M. and Albert B. Alkek Department of Medicine
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Ex-Officio Members
NamePositionMembership YearTitleDepartment
Kjersti Aagaard, M.D., Ph.D.Ex-Officio2022-2023ProfessorDepartment of Obstetrics & Gynecology
Ali Abbas Asghar-Ali, M.D.Ex-Officio2022-2023Associate ProfessorMenninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Biykem Bozkurt, M.D.Ex-Officio2022-2023Senior Dean of FacultyOffice of the President
Shad Deering, M.DEx-Officio2022-2023Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs at CHRISTUS Children’sOffice of the President
Krista Defalco, M.B.A., M.H.A.Ex-Officio2022-2023M.D./Ph.D. Administrative Operations DirectorMedical Scientist Training Program
Aimee Gardner, Ph.D.Ex-Officio2022-2023Associate ProfessorSchool of Health Professions
Anne Gill, Dr.P.H., M.S.N.Ex-Officio2022-2023ProfessorDepartment of Pediatrics
Susan Gillespie, M.D., Ph.D.Ex-Officio2022-2023Associate ProfessorDepartment of Pediatrics
Alison Goulding, M.D.Ex-Officio2022-2023Fellow Physician PGY7Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology
Toni Gray, M.A.Ex-Officio2022-2023Title IX and Disability DirectorHuman Resources Office
Tamara Ortiz-Perez, M.D.Ex-Officio2022-2023Associate ProfessorDepartment of Radiology
Frederick Pereira, Ph.D.Ex-Officio2022-2023Associate ProfessorHuffington Center On Aging
Jose Perez, M.D., B.S.Ex-Officio2022-2023Associate ProfessorMargaret M. and Albert B. Alkek Department of Medicine
Jean Raphael, M.D.Ex-Officio2022-2023ProfessorDepartment of Pediatrics
Amandi Rhett, M.S.Ex-Officio2022-2023Assistant ProfessorSchool of Health Professions
Nimrah Riaz, M.S.Ex-Officio2022-2023Senior Coordinator, Research AdministrationDepartment of Medicine
Antonie Rice, Ph.D.Ex-Officio2022-2023Assistant ProfessorDepartment of Pediatrics
Peggy Smith, Ph.D., M.A., B.A.Ex-Officio2022-2023ProfessorDepartment of Obstetrics & Gynecology
Jeffrey Starke, M.D.Ex-Officio2022-2023ProfessorDepartment of Pediatrics
Annie Torres, B.A.Ex-Officio2022-2023Senior Manager, DevelopmentInstitutional Advancement and Alumni Affairs
Ronald Vilela, M.D.Ex-Officio2022-2023Associate ProfessorDepartment of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery
Ashutosh Wali, M.B.B.S., M.D.Ex-Officio2022-2023ProfessorDepartment of Anesthesiology