A PhD who creates comic books. A hospital manager who helps people earn their GEDs. A contract specialist who runs a special program for an orphanage. These are just a few of the remarkable individuals who were honored with Health Equity Leadership and Social Justice Awards during Black History Month.
Spearheaded by the Lewis Katz School of Medicine’s Office of Health Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (OHEDI), the awards recognize individuals from the School and across Temple University Health System who are working to strengthen the Black/African American community –among others—at Temple and far-reaching spheres. And while the awards certainly serve to highlight their work, Abiona Berkeley, MD, JD, the Katz School’s Interim Senior Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, says that they also shine the spotlight on people who may have previously gone unrecognized for their efforts.
“These individuals are doing amazing things that are not part of their job description,” says Dr. Berkeley. “So their direct report or manger may not even know the work they are engaged in for the community. This award allows us to give a voice to their work so it can be celebrated and supported by their peers, co-workers, leadership, and the broader organization. Moreover, it serves to highlight the vitality of the workforce at Temple.”
Dr. Berkeley says that more than 70 nominations were submitted for the award. Of these, 12 were selected for recognition by a committee comprised of representatives from the Katz School of Medicine, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Temple University Hospital, and St. Luke’s University Health Network. “Even though the awards honor Black History Month, it’s important to note that winners weren’t confined to one heritage or ethnicity,” explains Dr. Berkeley. “We want to celebrate the people who are doing the work that is making a difference.”
The Black History Month awards are the second in a series of Health Equity Leadership and Social Justice Awards in a new program developed by OHEDI. The first, given in October 2021, recognized individuals who have gone above and beyond to contribute to Hispanic/Latinx people in the community. Nominations are currently being accepted in honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander month in May and another award will be given in celebration of LGBTQ Pride Month in October.
“Every heritage month that we celebrate helps raise awareness, organization-wide, of the contributions made by our students, staff and faculty both within our four walls and out in the community,” explains Dr. Berkeley. “This is the vision. That we can provide a 360-degree view of our personnel so that when it’s time for a promotion or advancement, the person as a whole can be taken into consideration.”
“There are many people at Temple who are working to make the world a better place,” she continues. “We feel privileged to help them be recognized.”
In Their Own Words
Hear from some of the recent winners of the Health Equity Leadership and Social Justice Awards, in their own words.
“Comics are a fantastic visual medium to show the diversity in STEM. I can show how people who are hidden figures from the past contributed to STEM and make sure people of today don’t become hidden. It’s important work. I sometimes worry that people will think the comic work I do is a distraction from my science, but this award calms the voice in my head and shows people that this work is important and has value.”
Jaye C. Gardiner, PhD
Co-Founder JKXcomics.com
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Institute of Cancer Research
Fox Chase Cancer Center
“Highlighting the issue of food insecurity among medical students and working with School administration is an issue I am proud to have addressed as President of the Student Government Association." It’s nice to know that we’re able to be helpful and move the dial through our student food pantry.”
Stephanie Fagbemi
Founder of Student Food Pantry at Temple’s Medical Education and Research Building
Lewis Katz School of Medicine Class of 2022
Student Government Association President
“I’m grateful to have the opportunity to serve as Vice President of the School’s Black Society of Physician Assistant Students and give my peers an opportunity to get involved in community service. This is what it’s all about for me, why I wanted to go to Temple. They’re huge on community service and giving back. In healthcare you help people in their most vulnerable states and can support and uplift them in their most troubling times. This award is bigger than me. People in the Philadelphia community don’t often feel seen or recognized. Recognition like this encourages people by letting them know their hard work isn’t going unnoticed. Sometimes it’s nice to be recognized—particularly when you’re a student and you’re doing these things. It lets others know they can get involved too.”
Mia Watson
Vice President, Black Society of Physician Assistant Students at Temple University
Lewis Katz School of Medicine Class of 2023
Class President, Physician Assistant Program
“I had a colleague who worked his way up the ladder to a management position, but he didn’t have a diploma. There were a lot of people at Temple who didn’t have their GEDs. That changed over time and the hospital started asking for it. I helped him connect with an organization in the community—Northeastern GED—that could help him get his GED. That’s how it began. I know what it means to have a GED. I have family members who at one time didn’t have theirs and how hard it was to find opportunities. I encourage them, and others like them, to do that and find better employment. And, once people get their GEDs, I tell my friends at Northeastern GED to send them to Temple and I’ll try to help them get a job. It makes me feel good to know I can help someone.”
Robert Anderson
Has helped nearly two dozen individuals secure their GED since 2017
Senior Manager of Environmental Services
Environmental Services Department
Temple University Hospital
“As a child in Haiti, I remember seeing a little girl begging in the street and asking my mother what she was doing. That’s how I learned what it meant to be orphaned. The experience—and the desire to help these children—stayed with me when we moved to the U.S. I’ve since partnered with the founder of Le Pont Des Enfants (the Bridge of Children) orphanage in Haiti which helps 32 girls who have been exposed to drugs, gangs, violence, and prostitution by providing them with school, healthcare, shelter, food, love, and life skills. I pursue pageantry because it opens doors and brings visibility to these children and people like them. My platform, “Love Fosters Hope,” shows people that love is valuable, it’s precious and it’s free, you just have to show up – speak with people, let them know you care through words and actions. I think this award shows that despite all that is going on in the world and in our busy lives, we can still find a way to give and make a difference—just by being kind, having an open ear and being a giver of love.”
Andrea Graham, MBA
Public Relations, Le Pont Des Enfants (the Bridge of Children) Orphanage, Haiti
2020 Miss All-Star United States
Contracts Specialist
Office of Research and Development Alliances
Fox Chase Cancer Center
2022 Recipients of the Health Equity Leadership and Social Justice Awards
Medical Students
Stephanie Fagbemi
Lewis Katz School of Medicine Class of 2022
Student Government President
Founder of Student Food Pantry at Temple’s Medical Education and Research Building.
Randolph Lyde, PhD
Lewis Katz School of Medicine Class of 2022
Founding member of Katz School of Medicine Student Diversity Council through which he works to address injustices in grades and promotions, and to raise the voice of minority students for the betterment of Temple and the community.
Physician Assistant Students
Zobaku Acholonu
Lewis Katz School of Medicine Physician Assistant Class of 2023
President of the Black Society of Physician Assistant Students at Temple University, an organization that leads community service projects, places a spotlight on healthcare disparities and provides mentorship for peers and community youth.
Mia Watson
Lewis Katz School of Medicine Physician Assistant Class of 2023
Vice President of the Black Society of Physician Assistant Students at Temple University, an organization that leads community service projects, places a spotlight on healthcare disparities and provides mentorship for peers and community youth.
Residents
Stephen McHugh, PGY 3
Internal General Medicine Residency
Temple University Hospital
Embodies our mission of caring for the underserved and has made significant contributions to the Internal Medicine program's Diversity Task Force, helping to create a more diverse and inclusive residency classes to better serve our North Philadelphia community.
Physicians/Faculty
Chinenye O. Nwachuku, MD
Orthopedic Surgeon
St. Luke’s University Health Network
Spearheads diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts at the St. Luke’s Hospital campus, including working with Human Resources to ensure pertinent topics related to equity are being addressed. Also founded the Black Physicians in Healthcare professional advocacy group.
Delana Wardlaw, MD
Family Medicine
Temple Physicians, Inc.
Provided critical outreach to the community throughout the COVID pandemic that helped residents of North Philadelphia overcome vaccine hesitancy. She also mentors school-age children to pursue careers in medicine and STEM.
Postdoctoral
Jaye C. Gardiner, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Institute of Cancer Research
Fox Chase Cancer Center
Co-Founder of JKXcomics.com, a comic series that she uses to interest middle-school-age children and older in STEM.
Staff/Administration
Robert Anderson
Senior Manager of Environmental Services
Environmental Services Department
Temple University Hospital
Has helped nearly two dozen individuals secure their GED since 2017.
Andrea Graham, MBA
Contracts Specialist
Office of Research and Development Alliances
Fox Chase Cancer Center
Partners with Le Pont Des Enfants (the Bridge of Children) Orphanage in Haiti and uses pageantry to promote her platform, “Love Fosters Hope” to show people that to make a difference, they just have to show up.
Nursing
Nnedinma Ahukanna, RN
Clinical Nurse
Hemodialysis Department
Temple University Hospital
Advocate for international justice and proponent of health equity. Recently saved countless lives through her efforts to have Temple send dialysis equipment—that would have normally been discarded—to Nigeria where it is desperately needed.
Lydia Adams, RN
Clinical Nurse
Maternity Department
Temple University Hospital
Through her chapter of the International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners, she organizes donations to new mothers who deliver at Temple. She also does a lot of work around LGBTQ rights.
By: Gwen Coverdale