Diversity & Inclusion

Thomas Jefferson University is committed to building and expanding a diverse educational community founded on mutual respect and appreciation for each other. 

Bernard L. Lopez, MD, MS, CPE Associate Provost, Diversity & Inclusion; Associate Dean, Diversity & Community Engagement; and Professor, Emergency Medicine

We aspire to create a diverse and inclusive environment, knowing that the creative energy and innovative insights that result from diversity are vital for our intellectual rigor and social fabric. As a scholarly community, we are people of all racial, ethnic, cultural, socio-economic, national and international backgrounds.  We welcome diversity of thought, pedagogy, religion, age, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity and disability. Our shared responsibility is to enhance the quality of life for all members of the Jefferson community, providing a safe, welcoming, and supportive environment in which to learn, work and grow.

Diversity is the richness in human differences.  Inclusion is the valuation of diversity. At Sidney Kimmel Medical College (SKMC), we promote and cultivate an inclusive environment that values and cherishes the diversity of our people. SKMC believes that a diverse and inclusive environment is key to achieving excellence in our missions of patient care, education and research. We believe that our mission and values create and nurture the physicians who provide compassionate and culturally-sensitive care to the patients that they serve.

SKMC Council on Diversity & Inclusion

The SKMC Council on Diversity & Inclusion is the main organization within the medical college that drives diversity and inclusion.  It is chaired by the Dean of SKMC and is composed of representatives from senior leadership, department chairs, faculty, residents, students and staff.  The Council is charged with creating and updating the vision for diversity and inclusion, performing an ongoing assessment progress and makes recommendations on initiatives, curriculum, policies and resources needed to achieve desired outcomes. It has the authority to enact action items to assure that we achieve our missions in patient care, education and research to ensure that we best serve the health and health care needs of the public

Counsel Members

Said Ibrahim, MD, MBA, MPH Anthony F. and Gertrude M. DePalma Dean, Sidney Kimmel Medical College
Robert Taylor Vice President, Human Resources
Karen Novielli, MD Vice Dean, Faculty Affairs
David Whellan, MD Associate Dean, Clinical Research
Walter Kraft, MD Medical Director, Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics
Kathryn Trayes, MD Associate Dean, Student Affairs& Career Counseling
Charlie Pohl, MD Senior Associate Dean, Student Affairs & Career Counseling
Bill Keane, MD  Physician Director, Jefferson University Physicians
Gretchen Diemer, MD Associate Dean, Graduate Medical Education
Bernie Lopez, MD Associate Dean, Diversity & Community Engagement
Ted Christopher, MD Chair, Emergency Medicine
Stephen Peiper, MD Chair, Pathology & Genomic Medicine
Charles Yeo, MD Chair, Surgery
Steve Williams, MD Chair, Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Medicine
Adam Dicker, MD Chair, Radiation Oncology
Bill McNett, MD Faculty, Pediatrics
Annina Wilkes, MD Faculty, Radiology
Ed Pribitkin, MD Faculty, Otolaryngology
Steve Weinstein, PhD Faculty, Psychiatry
Jerry McCauley, MD Faculty, Nephrology
Shruti Chandra, MD Faculty, Emergency Medicine
Tara Uhler, MD Faculty, Ophthalmology
Edward Winter, PhD Faculty, Biochemistry
Andres Fernadez, MD Faculty, Neurology
Christine Jerpbak, MD Faculty, Family and Community Medicine
Emily Stewart, MD Faculty, Internal Medicine
Fatima Syed, MD Fellow, Hematology & Oncology
Krys Foster, MD Faculty, Family & Community Medicine
Kenechi Obede, MD Faculty, Anesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine
Kevin Kwak, MD Resident, Internal Medicine
Sunny Lai, MD Resident, Family & Community Medicine