Who we are:
The IU School of Medicine DEI Coalition strives to enhance the school's efforts to increase representational diversity, improve the academic learning environment, and provide high-quality training in diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice for our medical students through an alliance of student leadership from organizations supported by the Office of Diversity Affairs at IU School of Medicine. These affinity organizations include:- Alliance at IU School of Medicine (Alliance)
- American Medical Women's Association (AMWA)
- Asian Pacific American Medical Student Association (APAMSA)
- Latin Medical Student Association (LMSA)
- Student National Medical Association (SNMA)
- Recruitment, Retention, and Promotion
- Campus Climate
- Academic Curriculum
- DEI Training
- Community Engagement
- Collaboration and Fundraising
- Social Media and Communications
Chair: Deena Mohamed
VP of Administrative Affairs: Trilliah Fazle
VP of DEI Training: Margaret Bello
VP(s) of Recruitment, Retention, and Promotion: Darren Bost Jr., Taylor Smith, Alejandra Mendez
VP of Academic Curriculum: Yoony Na
VP of Campus Climate: Magdalena Maginot
VP of Community Engagement: Mahmud Sam
VP of Social Media and Communications: Shaneise Ellis
DEI Coalition Secretary: Manda Wang
How to get involved:
We will be hosting a mixer for all DEI students across all regional campuses, faculty, and residents in September, be on the lookout for the event time and details! If you are a regional campus student, we will provide housing options, so you are able to come and participate!
The coalition consists of the executive board, representatives from affinity organizations, and soon committees serving under the VP positions. One in mind will be a regional campus representative committee! Please e-mail iusmdei@iu.edu for more details!
Trilliah Fazle
Hello! My name is Trilliah Fazle, and I am currently a third year on the Indianapolis campus. I am excited to be serving as the new Vice President of Administrative Affairs for the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Coalition. During my time at IU School of Medicine, I served in many leadership roles that allowed me to drive forward DEI initiatives. Most notably, I served as a Co-President for the Student National Medical Association (SNMA) this past year. In this role, I led initiatives and created spaces that highlighted the work of diverse medical students, including the Regional Medical Education Conference and Black Month History Speaking Series.
As the VP of Administrative Affairs, I aspire to continue advancing the culture at IUSM to be a more equitable environment that truly celebrates diversity. I am most looking forward to working with all the cultural affinity student interest group (SIG) leaders and building collaborative efforts and a safe space for our diverse medical student population.
Margaret Bello
Margaret Bello is a third-year medical student at the Indianapolis campus who will conduct research and earn a graduate certificate in clinical research this academic year. She is excited to be the Vice President of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Training in the DEI Coalition. This past year was an eye-opening year for the ongoing disparities in healthcare. Margaret believes that while IU School of Medicine is developing a more diverse environment, it is also crucial to emphasize inclusion and equity. DEI training helps build relationships, communication, and empathy, and, for current and future physicians, this foundation must begin at the academic level. Margaret's goal is to cultivate an enriched environment at IU School of Medicine further, so that current and prospective students feel safe in their identities, starting from the interview process to their didactic education to their clinical education statewide. She hopes to enhance connections between faculty, current and prospective students through better education of faculty in the areas of DEI. She identifies DEI training as a chance to bring people together who may not typically work together to hear different perspectives or experiences. Through these efforts, Margaret desires to establish a plan for now and the future at IU School of Medicine - where IU School of Medicine will continue to recruit and retain medical students with minoritized identities statewide and help shape the next generation of physicians.
Yoony Na
My name is Yoony Na, a 4th year medical student. I am from Terre Haute, IN and went to IU Bloomington for undergrad. I hope as VP of Academic Curriculum to introduce changes that support better understanding of patients from various backgrounds. I hope by starting conversations on patient barriers specific to different cultures, to improve our approach to patient physician relationships as future medical professionals. I believe we have a lot to learn from each other’s experiences and am excited to be a part of the DEI Coalition.
Shaneise Ellis
Greetings! My name is Shaneise Ellis, a MS4 and the new Vice President of social media and Communications for the DEI coalition. I’m very honored to be selected for the position and I look forward to our future initiatives. A little about me: I was born and raised in Fort Wayne, Indiana. I traveled to the east coast to Norfolk State University to receive my Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry. I also received my Master of Science degree in Health Science from the University of South Florida. Then, I traveled to the northeast to Bridgeport, Connecticut to work as a clinical coordinator at a Breast Cancer treatment center. There, I managed clinical trials and gained my passion for patient advocacy. I made my way back to the Midwest to attend Indiana University school of Medicine. During my time at IU School of Medicine, I entered the dual MD/MBA program to better understand the business of medicine and foster my passion for quality improvement and patient advocacy.
As the VP of social media and communications, I plan to develop and execute a strategy to increase engagement throughout all campuses, to increase the channels of communication, and to highlight and celebrate the great efforts of the DEI coalition. I can’t wait to get started!
Thank you,
Shaneise Ellis, MS4
MD/MBA Candidate, Class of 2022
Darren Bost
I am a 3rd year medical student from Indianapolis, Indiana. I graduated from Ball State University before completing one year of IU School of Medicine’s Master of Science in Medical Science (MSMS) program. I serve IU School of Medicine as an Admissions Ambassador and an unofficial Muncie campus ambassador. I have a beautiful corgi named Rocky and I’m a Navy HPSP Scholar. Plans for the position:
- Increasing IUSM’s awareness on how minority students are placed at regional campuses
- Increase the number of minority and underrepresented groups on regional campuses to improve the educational and social experience of these students
- Increase the statewide promotion of IU School of Medicine’s Master of Science in Medical Science (MSMS) Program
- Expand interview day to incorporate a greater regional campus presence
Magdalena Maginot
Magdalena Maginot is a fourth-year medical student at the Evansville campus applying to psychiatry residencies this year. She is excited to accept the position of VP of Campus Climate. Her primary goal is to cultivate the diversity, equity, and inclusion strengths of each campus by identifying resources they need, providing education, and speaking directly with students. Her hope is to better unite IU School of Medicine statewide by helping reach the goals of the DEI Coalition. If you have thoughts you would like to share with her, please reach out through email at mamabara@iu.edu.
Manda Wang
My name is Manda and I'm a MS3 from Carmel, IN. I'm super excited to be part of the DEI Coalition again this year because I think advocating for underrepresented minorities is very important for the future of medicine. We need diverse health care teams to properly care for diverse populations. As secretary, my goals for the year are to contribute ideas from the perspective of an Asian American and to help keep DEI members organized to enact the change we wish to see within the school.
Taylor Smith
Taylor Smith is a third-year medical student at Indiana University School of Medicine. She is currently taking part in the Kelly School of Business Evening MBA program. Taylor Smith is originally from Atlanta, GA. She graduated from Xavier University of Louisiana with a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry in 2016. After graduation she earned a Master of Medical Sciences from Mississippi College in Clinton, MS. She then worked as a laboratory researcher at Vanderbilt University Medical Center for a year. Taylor Smith is very passionate about enhancing medical school curriculum initiatives, finding ways to combat food insecurities, and increasing diversity within medicine.
Through the position of VP of Recruitment, Retention and Promotion, Taylor Smith plans to focus on ways to strengthen the diversity within the IU School of Medicine community. It is important to create bonds and potential pipeline programs with local and regional universities as well as provide more opportunities for graduate students pursuing medicine. In terms of retention, it is of most importance to continue to support our students of color by building stronger networks and creating virtual/in person communities for minority students. All these initiatives cannot and should not be done by one person. We will need the entire IU School of Medicine community to help with diversity initiatives and set the precedent for other medical institutions to follow.
Alejandra Mendez
Alejandra Méndez is excited to serve the Cross-Cultural Collaboration as VP of Recruitment, Retention, and Promotion. From the time she was invited to the reception after her admissions interview, Alejandra knew that IU School of Medicine was the right fit for her. During her time here, she has served on the LMSA Exec Board for two years and is currently on the Exec Board for LMSA Midwest to create scholarships and host fundraising efforts. Alejandra has a vision to establish a pipeline for Indiana high school and college students who come from under-represented and disadvantaged backgrounds. She will also recruit pre-medical students at LMSA and SNMA conferences to garner interest from out-of-state students to foster diversity of thought and innovation in the medical curriculum. She has worked closely with the Office of Diversity Affairs through her role in LMSA and will collaborate with the Admissions Committee to ensure academic achievement and medical school readiness. As she is approaching her final years in medical school, she is committed to furthering DEI initiatives in recruitment and retention at all levels of education, starting from high school, and to residency programs and beyond.
Mahmud Sam
My name is Mahmud Sam. I am excited to serve in the position of Vice President of Community Engagement. I served as the Vice President for the Student National Medical Association (SNMA) for the 2020/2021 academic year and currently the Quality Improvement Chair for IU Student Outreach Clinic (IUSOC).
My plan for this role is to advocate, support and carry out initiatives committed to local civic engagement and community service on behalf of IU School of Medicine students, primarily through partnership with Service-Learning Coalition and Student Interest Groups. Through student group collaboration in partnership with campus and community leaders, I hope to foster a collaborative culture that allows for all voices to be heard, as part of an inclusive decision-making process, in working towards racial and social equity goals.
