Georgetown Dean Receives Distinguished Service Award in Health
Posted in GUMC Stories
A lifelong advocate of medical education for minority and underrepresented students has been recognized for her years of service by a national organization.
Joy Williams was selected to receive the National Association of Medical Minority Educators (NAMME) Award for Distinguished Service in the Health Field. Williams is senior associate dean for students and special programs, and director of the office of minority student development at Georgetown University School of Medicine.
The award recognizes Williams for having facilitated “the education, training and professional development of more than 400 physicians underrepresented in medicine, and nurtured the career aspirations of over 5,000 high school and undergraduate students interested in health careers,” according to David L. Taylor, MEd, assistant dean for student learning at the School of Medicine.
“Given her lifetime of service to health professions education and advocacy, and the legacy of health professionals and educators who are advocates for the most vulnerable populations in society, it was an honor to nominate Joy Williams for the NAMME national award,” Taylor explains.
Williams has devoted her career to developing the capability of minorities and other disadvantaged students to excel in the health field. She is actively involved in community-based partnerships as the project leader for the Eastern Senior High School Health and Medical Science Academy’s Service Learning Project, and as an advisory committee member of the National Institutes of Health “Science in Our Lives” initiative.
At Georgetown, Dean Williams has served as principal investigator and program director of numerous training programs for high school, pre-medical, post-baccalaureate and medical students. She serves as the coordinator of the Georgetown Experimental Medical Studies (GEMS) Program, sits on the GEMS admissions committee and the GEMS academic advisory committee and represents the School of Medicine in the Association of American Medical Colleges’ (AAMC) Group on Student Affairs, the AAMC Committee on Diversity Affairs and other key roles.
“I want to give special thanks to Stephen Ray Mitchell, MD, dean for medical education, for his leadership and support of the Office of Minority Student Development, and his unwavering commitment to the diversity of the student body, the faculty and his administration, which is noted among NAMME colleagues as one of the most diverse administrations among U.S. medical schools,” says Williams. “I’m also greatly appreciative of my team in the Office of Minority Student Development: Monica DeWalt, program assistant; Shyrl Sistrunk, MD, associate dean, curriculum and assessment and GEMS senior clinical advisor; David L. Taylor, MEd, assistant dean for student learning; and Benjamin Walker, PhD, pre-clinical sciences facilitator.”
A national organization dedicated to ensuring racial and ethnic diversity in the health professions, NAMME received award nominations from health professionals, educators and administrators across four regions of the United States who demonstrate distinguished service in the field.
By David Blanco, GUMC Communications