In July 2022, health professionals from across the U.S. gathered in Chicago for the annual RISE for Equity conference. The conference is part of Mayo Clinic’s multipronged strategy to improve health equity, and covers topics ranging from data disparities to disabilities and microaggressions to mentoring.
Conferences like RISE are needed to present new ideas, gather data and collect feedback to advance diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, says Christina Zorn, chief administrative officer at Mayo Clinic. Not only that, they’re important for camaraderie and connection, she says.
“Particularly after the past few years, it’s absolutely essential that people with a shared purpose and a unified vision are able to get together to know that they’re not fighting these issues on their own,” says Zorn.
We wanted to hear from those people. So we caught up with some of the over 400 attendees to get a sense of why they came and what they were learning — and to hear their thoughts on the state of DEI in health care.
We wanted to know:
Meet a few of the attendees:
Shawn Dutchin, M.A.
Operations manager at Mayo Clinic Health System in LaCrosse, Wisconsin.
She, her. White.
Sherree Wilson, Ph.D.
Associate vice chancellor and associate dean of diversity, equity and inclusion in the Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
She, her. Black.
Moua Torgerson
Associate clinical research coordinator at Mayo Clinic Health System in LaCrosse, Wisconsin.
She, her. Hmong.
Elice Tiegs
Nurse practitioner at Mayo Clinic Health System in Owatonna, Minnesota.
Kenyan.
Horacio San Roman, M.B.A.
Senior project manager in the Office of Information Security at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.
He, him. Latino.
Sumedha Penheiter, Ph.D.
Project manager in the Strategy Department at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.
She, her. U.S. citizen with Indian heritage.
Richard McDonough, M.D.
Senior medical director for Student Health at University of Chicago.
He/him. White.
Paul Lewis Sr.
Assistant supervisor in Security at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida.
He, him. Black.
Joel Jackson
Director of inclusion and equity strategies in the Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at University of Chicago Medicine.
He, him. Black.
Shavogne Morgan, M.H.A.
Operations manager for ENT and the Division of Audiology at Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, Arizona.
She, her. Black.
Kyle Fox
Senior finance analyst for Mayo Clinic Health System.
He, him. White.
Quiana DeBrill
Patient experience specialist at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida.
She, her. Black.
Maria Baer
Diversity recruitment specialist for Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.
She, her. Hispanic.
Rebecca Leff, M.D.
Resident in Emergency Medicine at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.
She, her. Israeli.
Asif Hossain, M.S.
IT senior service owner at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.
He, him. Bangladeshi.
Jennifer Koehler
Graduate student at University of Wisconsin-Madison.
They, them. White.
Sarah Dhanorker, M.S., M.H.A.
Strategy manager for the Strategy Department at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.
She, her. Indian.
Alfredo Cerrato
Senior cultural and workforce development officer in the Center for Health Enhancement System Studies at University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Honduran.
Vincent Anani
Clinical research coordinator at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.
He, him. Togolese.
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