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Sumera Rashid DMD
Sumera Rashid is a General Dentist, Professor and Writer. She is the author of Now I Know my ABCDs. She was born and raised in Jersey City, New Jersey. Sumera is a 1st generation Pakistani and moderately practices Islam. Her parents immigrated from Peshawar, Pakistan in 1969 to Jersey City. She attended a Catholic high school and is well-versed in the Catholicism faith. She has two older brothers who practice medicine in Idaho and New Jersey. Currently, she lives in Northern Virginia with her husband and two sons. She wants to live in a world where you can be anything you want to be and change it every five minutes while drinking chocolate coffee and have no health consequences. When she’s not drilling and filling, she’s molding young brains and infusing thoughts of success in those inspired to treat teeth. Along with having her inner city, South Asian, tomboy background, she hopes to inspire others to seek knowledge and success while acknowledging their identity and roots. Aspiring to be a sought-after dentist and writer, this professor is the author of Now I Know My ABCDs and is in the midst of performing annual missionary health care in South Asia. Visit her online at www.NowIKnowMyABCDs.com
Qaali Hussein MD
Dr. Qaali Hussein is a double board certified trauma/acute care surgeon and surgical intensivist who practices at Blake Medical Center in Bradenton, Florida. She graduated from the University of Texas with honors in human biology before attending medical school at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas. Dr. Hussein then went on to Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas where she completed her residency in General Surgery and fellowship in Surgical Critical Care. After completion of her training, she relocated to South Florida in 2015 to practice trauma at Blake Medical Center, a level 2 trauma center. In addition, she is the managing director of the intensive care unit and chairs the hospital’s Critical Care Committee. She also provides coverage for trauma and acute care surgery for understaffed hospitals throughout the country. In addition to her busy professional schedule, Dr. Hussein is the mother of six children, all of which she had during her intense training years in general surgery. She strongly believes that maternity leave policies and the accommodation of pregnant women in the workplace are inadequate. She writes and speaks about the lessons learned from her experiences to empower women to make these changes from within their organizations..Her outside interests include spending time with her family, cooking, reading, and working on crafts with her children.
Melissa Webb LCSW
Melissa Webb was born in Chicago, IL to first generation Jewish Americans. Her grandparents immigrated from Eastern Europe,mainly Czechoslovakia, after the holocaust. Melissa struggled with secondary trauma as she was often exposed to acute Post Traumatic Stress Disorder symptoms. This fostered her interest in mental health and she went on to earn several degrees in social work and psychology, ultimately leading to owning an outpatient psychological practice. You can often find her spending time with her husband and children, traveling, and engaging in all things hippie.
Preeti Vij Gulati, MA, LLPC
Preeti is a Limited Licensed Professional Counselor experienced in career & leadership development, academic advising and multicultural counseling. She has a B.S. in Human Resource Management and M.A. in Counseling. She is also certified in Teaching English as a Second Language. Preeti is the founder of ChaiConnect, a community for South Asian women best known for its signature monthly gatherings. ChaiConnect provides a space for multigenerational discussion on conversations surrounding wellness, mental health, family, career and societal issues. Preeti is passionate about community, education, mentorship and making a social impact. She lives in Metro Detroit and enjoys spending time with family and friends, baking, traveling, watching movies, writing and yoga. She can be reached at preeti@chaiconnect.org.
Actress, Writer, Producer. Her web series, “Geeta’s Guide To Moving On” was an official selection of the 2016 New York Television Festival and the 2017 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival. In March, she had the honor of attending the 2017 SXSW Festival, where she lead and presented ideas on the topic, “#YoutubeSoBrown: Diversity and Digital Storytelling.” Prior to this, she co-created the comedic web series, “Friendly Confines,” which earned awards for Best Comedy Writing and Best Ensemble Acting at the 2013 LA Web Series Festival. She’s most often recognized for her digital media work, including “Sh*t White Girls Say To Indian Girls” and “To Ashton Kutcher, Love Kimmy Patel.” TV credits include: “Empire,” “Crisis,” “Chicago Fire,” “Undercovers,” “CSI: Miami ,” “Three Rivers,” “Miami Medical,” “Ghost Whisperer,” “All My Children,” “Valentine,” and the HBO pilot, “1%.” She is a graduate of Northwestern University, the MFA Acting program at the American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.), and the Professional Program in Screenwriting at UCLA.
Dr Smith is a board certified ob/gyn physician who became a full time member of the Mednax Ob/Gyn Hospitalists team at Eastside Medical Center in March, 2018. She has twenty years of experience that spans caring for patients in academic setting, private practice and now as an ob/gyn hospitalist. She received her medical degree from Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York and her residency at UMDNJ Newark, NJ. Dr. Smith has served as an associate professor while at New York Presbyterian Hospital. She moved to GA in 2006, where she worked in private practice for six years before transitioning into the role of ob/gyn hospitalist. Her passion in caring for patients has fueled her work within the community. She has worked with the Society of Ob/Gyn Hospitalists where she has served on the board as well as editor of the society’s newsletter. She reviews medical article submissions for the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology and she works with non-profit organizations where she volunteers her time and skill in delivering care on international medical missions. Dr Smith’s is honored to be a part of the Eastside Medical Center team of physicians. She enjoys
caring for patients and supporting the staff in our quest to bring you the highest quality medical care.
Lauren Espejo is a graphic designer, blogger and podcast host based in New York City. Lauren’s fine art has been featured at the Greenpoint Gallery, Dr. M.T. Geoffrey Yeh Art Gallery, Angel Orensanz Foundation, and the See Exhibition Space. Her design work for Liberty Mutual has been featured on Inc. BrandView. When she’s not designing, Lauren dedicates her time to shedding light on the Asian-American experience through her blog and podcast. In 2016, she created YLWRNGR, the blog where Asian-Americans from all walks of life can come together as a community. In 2018, she was quoted by NBC Asian America in a piece about Spanish colonialism in the Philippines. Currently, she is the host of the You Had Me At YLW podcast, a safe space where Asian-Americans come to air it all out.
Sonal Patel is a Board-Certified Pediatrician and a Neonatologist. Born in Lucknow, India, her family moved to Omaha, Nebraska when she was 9. She attended Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, 1995-1999. She studied medicine at the University of Nebraska, Medical Center graduating in 2003. She did her Pediatric training at LSU in New Orleans, Louisiana. Thereafter, she pursued Neonatology starting at LSU and finishing at Tufts University in
Boston. She moved to Denver in 2009 and joined Denver Health as a Neonatologist. Through her professional and personal experiences, she noticed the gaps of postpartum care in Colorado. In 2017, she founded NayaCare: Newborn Speciality Clinic at Your Doorstep. This one month evidence based clinic is viewed as an extension of hospital care. Comprehensive care comprised of a Pediatrician, Lactation, and Counselor is delivered to your doorstep. By bringing care home, stressors are alleviated during this fragile time of maternal healing and family bonding. She is currently pursing her Certification of Lactation. She is also an active member of Good Business Colorado, a Strong Economy Working Group, with a focus of bringing
paid family leave to Colorado. She has been a guest on several podcasts, written articles, and featured on 9 News. She is married to her college sweetheart and has 4 boys. In her downtime, she enjoys a good book, hiking, skiing, and a good cup of Indian Chai!
Rand Diab, MD is a first generation Muslim, Syrian American Ophthalmologist who lives in the Chicago area with her husband and 3 children. She is active in her community, involved with a non-profit organization she co-founded, and enjoys sports and fitness.
Dr. Nancy Yen Shipley is a board-certified Orthopaedic Surgeon, with additional fellowship training in sports medicine and arthroscopy. Her professional interests include sports medicine, arthroscopic surgery, injuries and conditions of the shoulder and knee, fracture care and general orthopaedic surgery.
She received her B.A. degree in Psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles. She spent time after her undergraduate training working in the snowboarding industry and event planning, before finding her true passion, medicine. She attended Drexel University College of Medicine, in Philadelphia, where she discovered her love for Orthopaedics. Dr. Yen Shipley completed internship and residency in orthopaedic surgery at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia, then completed additional fellowship training in arthroscopy and sports medicine at Orthopaedic Research of Virginia.
Dr. Yen Shipley is a partner at Multnomah Orthopedic Clinic. In addition to her her clinical practice, Dr. Yen Shipley enjoys caring for athletes of all levels, as a team physician for U.S. Ski and Snowboard Team, Multnomah University and Portland Interscholastic League. She has also been involved as a part of the medical team for track and field’s IAAF World Indoor Championships, the University of Richmond and the Virginia Special Olympics. She is passionate about sharing her path to medicine with others, in particular our next generation of future physicians. She is a mentor and champion for women and diversity in surgical specialties, and brings awareness to this through speaking engagements and an active online presence. She has been a featured contributor on KevinMD.com, called “a must-read blog” by Rebecca Ruiz of Forbes, among multiple other online sources of medical news.
In her free time, Dr. Yen Shipley enjoys spending time with her family, snowboarding, stand up paddleboarding, playing (i.e. learning) tennis, and enjoying the great outdoors and the great food in her adopted hometown of Portland.
Kathleen Burkinshaw is a Japanese American author and the daughter of a Hiroshima survivor residing in Charlotte, NC. She’s a wife, mom, and owns a dog who is a kitchen ninja. Writing gives her an outlet for her daily struggle with chronic pain from Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy. She has presented her mother’s experience in Hiroshima to middle and high schools for the past 9 years. The Last Cherry Blossom (Distributed by Simon & Schuster, Scholastic), is now a United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs Resource for Teachers and Students. And is recently nominated for NC School Library Media Association YA book award and 2019-2020 VSBA, 2018& 2016 Scholastic WNDB Reading Club selection, & Finalist for NC Sir Walter Raleigh Fiction Award, 2018 Sakura Medal, Japan, & SCBWI Crystal Kite Award(southeast region)
Saira Sufi was born in Topeka, Kansas to Pakistani physicians who came to the United States in 1972. She attended the University of Kansas and has a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and minored in Women’s Studies Saira also has an Event Management Certificate from The George Washington University and has worked on Capitol Hill, for the Civil War Preservation Trust, Booz Allen Hamilton and most recently as the Director of Volunteers and Community Engagement at Cornerstones. She left Cornerstones in September of 2017 when her son, Hadi, was diagnosed with Severe Aplastic Anemia and went through immunotherapy as well as two bone marrow transplants at the National Institutes of Health. Hadi passed away in October of 2018. Saira has devoted her time to increasing awareness of bone marrow failure diseases and the need for medical research through her website and blog, https://www.teamwatience.com She has two other children, Zakaria (who is 7 years old and Hadi’s twin) and Leena (who is 11 years old and the daughter she gained when she married her husband in 2010). During this time of grieving, Saira wants to tackle how children of immigrants handle grief and also explain that it is possible to grow up in Kansas, still be awesome and a practicing Muslim even though she went through her fair share of identity issues.
Dr. Shikha Jain is a board-certified hematology and oncology physician on faculty at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, IL. She is an assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Hematology, Oncology and Cell Therapy and the Physician Director of Media Relations for the Rush University Cancer Center. Her research interests include gender equity and career advancement for women and underrepresented minorities in medicine, the impact of social media on medicine and GI oncology. She also writes and speaks on these topics. Dr. Jain has written for Doximity, KevinMD and ASCO Connection and she co-founded and co-chaired the first CME Women In Medicine Symposium at Northwestern in 2018. She is also the co-chair of the upcoming Women In Medicine Summit that will be held in September 2019 in Chicago (www.womeninmedicinesummit.org
You can follow her on twitter @ShikhaJainMD or at www.shikhajainmd.com.
Born with Cerebral Palsy, Win Charles has defied the odds by becoming an author. Her memoir I, Win is an amazing story of how she remembers her life through the years of having a condition called “CP”. As a competitor in the Kona IronMan Triathlon, CEO of her own jewelry design company, and motivational speaker, Win Charles truly is an inspiration to many. Today Win Charles tours the
country, speaking to schools and institutions to raise awareness about cerebral palsy and living a full life no matter what holds you back. She is also an advocate of veterans across the world.
Madhuri Sharma MD
Dr. Madhuri Sharma is a board-certified family physician who is fellowship trained in Integrative Medicine and a lifelong student of yoga and Ayurveda. She deeply believes in using nature as a guide for optimal health. Her passion is to teach families how to prevent chronic disease at all ages by using food as medicine and optimizing lifestyle. In addition to clinical practice, she also teaches local cooking classes with her family’s organization, Masala Meals. Masala Meals was born out of a desire to inspire a community about the healing power of food and spices, and to document the cooking traditions of her family. Dr. Sharma feels that true wellness starts at the dining table with your family. Follow Masala Meals on Instagram @masalameals Check out the website https://www.cookmasalameals.com/
Rena Malik MD
Dr. Mailk is a urologist and expert in Female Pelvic Medicine & Reconstructive Surgery (FPMRS)/Urogynecology. She focuses on the care of patients with pelvic health issues such as urinary incontinence (loss of bladder control) and pelvic organ prolapse (vaginal bulge due to bladder, uterus, rectum or bowel dropping), neurogenic bladder, and urogenital reconstruction for stricture disease or fistulas of the lower urinary tract. Dr. Malik is passionate about the care she provides her patients and works hard to ensure her patients are heard and their goals are met.
Dr. Julie Ramos is a cardiologist with an interest and emphasis on preventive cardiology. Dr. Ramos is both a cardiologist and a nutritionist and has appeared in numerous television interviews on diet and heart disease. She has also been a spokesperson for heart healthy lifestyles in an at-risk population with multiple co-morbid diseases. She founded a Bronx WomenHeart support group for minority women of color who are survivors of heart disease. Her clinical focus has been in the under-served community of Inwood and Washington Heights since 2011. Her research interests have been in decreasing health disparities in women’s cardiovascular health through cross discipline collaborations.
She is an assistant professor of cardiology at Columbia University Medical Center. She has a Bachelor’s Degree from Rutgers University and a Master’s Degree from Tufts University both in Nutritional Sciences. She received her medical degree from UMDNJ- New Jersey Medical School. She underwent post-graduate Ivy League training at Weill-Cornell Medical Center in New York City for Internal Medicine. She was trained in a 4 years Cardiology Fellowship at Emory University in Atlanta, GA, which included a cardiac MRI and CT imaging fellowship. Dr. Ramos is a native of New Jersey and currently lives in New Jersey with her husband and daughter.
A former Lieutenant Colonel in the US Air Force, Uchenna L. Umeh (Dr. Lulu aka The Momatrician) is a Nigerian-born board-certified pediatrician, global speaker on youth suicide prevention, 2-time bestselling author and mother of three. She is the CEO of Teen Alive, and Dr. Lulu’s Youth Health Center, both dedicated to at-risk youth and suicide prevention. She started speaking publicly in 2016 following suicides of colleagues, and a patient.Herself, a survivor of domestic abuse, she has suffered with depressive crises and suicidal thoughts in the past. A regular on media outlets, she is a 2020 TEDx speaker, she has her own show on public television in San Antonio, freelance-writes for magazines, her podcast is Suicide Pages with Dr. Lulu, and she blogs at Words by Black Butterfly. Her work has been recognized by the “Nigerians in the Diaspora Commission” of Nigeria, the Texas State House of Representatives and The History Channel.
Prasha Sarwate Dutra is an internationally recognized podcaster, public speaker and a career coach, on a mission to help women in STEM believe in their brilliance. Less than a decade ago, Prasha moved to the US from India to live her American dream. Prasha hosts Her STEM Story, a weekly podcast that helps women in STEM excel in their STEM careers and beyond. Her STEM Story has won a spot on the Top 15 STEM podcasts of 2019 and has featured over 100 interviews since 2017.
She started Her STEM Consulting, LLC to provide customized coaching and consulting for women to help them take their careers to the next level. She has helped over 50,000 women to start their side hustles, find their brilliance, confidence and find role models in STEM.
She graduated with M.S in Mechanical Engineering from University of Texas at Arlington and B.S in Chemical Engineering from University of Pune, India. Prasha currently lives in Providence, RI with her husband Nick, and they love to cook indian food and take care of their home and their MANY house plants
Vicki is an ophthalmologist, married, with 2 kids in Los Angeles. She is a second generation Chinese American – born to a very traditional anesthesiologist – and has had to break through multiple barriers and expectations to finally live life on her own terms. Follow her on Instagram @vickichanmd
Madi Sinha is a writer and practicing physician who loves the nervous system, bookshops, tea with milk and snarky conversation (but not necessarily in that order). She lives in New Jersey with her husband and two children.
The White Coat Diaries is her first novel. Two additional novels are forthcoming from Berkley/PRH in 2022 and 2023. Check out her website https://www.madisinha.com/ Follow her on Instagram @madisinha
Monique Chheda is a dermatologist living in Maryland. She specializes in medical dermatology, with a special interest in skin of color. She is married and has two young children. Becoming a mother inspired her to revive one of her hobbies, writing. Wanting to pass on her Indian culture to her children, she found a scarcity of children’s books that allowed Indian-American children to connect with their heritage. This prompted her to write her own children’s book, Bindiya in India. Her hope is that through literature, she can share India’s rich culture and language with the next generation.
Instagram: @drmoniquechheda (focuses on dermatology and all things skin related), @mkchheda (focuses more on motherhood and my children’s book)
Website: drmoniquechheda.com
Website to order book: mangoandmarigoldpress.com/
Dr. Archana Reddy Shrestha, MD, MS is the co-founder of the widely-read Women in White Coats blog, an author, life coach, entrepreneur and a keynote speaker.
In addition to being a practicing board-certified emergency medicine physician, Archana is also an Associate Professor at the Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science. She obtained her undergraduate and medical degrees from the University of Illinois at Chicago and completed emergency medicine residency at George Washington University. As a medical student, she was awarded a prestigious Fulbright Fellowship for the study of medical anthropology in Ecuador where she observed traditional Ecuadorian healers and catalogued their medicinal plants.
Archana also earned a Masters in Journalism from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. Passionate about medical journalism, she interned at the ABC News Medical Unit in Boston. She later went on to film and produce an independent documentary called “Beyond Expectations: Exercise in Pregnancy.” In 2008, she had the unique opportunity to be the doctor on set for the filming of the James Bond movie “007: Quantum of Solace. In addition to being co-editor-in-chief of the Women in White Coats blog, to which she is a regular contributor, her writing has been published by ABC News, the Chicago Sun Times, KevinMD and Doximity. She also served as a national spokesperson for the American College of Emergency Physicians for over a decade.
Archana was honored as one of the 2018 Top 20 Global Women of Excellence by U.S. Congressman Danny K. Davis in recognition of her achievements not only in medicine and journalism but also as an online lifestyle coach and entrepreneur who empowers busy working moms to achieve health and wellness through her healthy living lifestyle blog called MightyMomMD.com. As a mom of two herself, she is passionate about helping other working mothers prioritize wellness and self-care in their lives.
After the release of the 2018 best-selling book “The Chronicles of Women in White Coats” Archana co-founded the Women in White Coats blog with the mission to not only voice the stories and perspectives of more women doctors but also to uplift and empower female doctors throughout their careers and lives. In doing so she has been instrumental in creating the Women in White Coats Doctors’ Lounge, a virtual community created specifically for women doctors, and in organizing in-person and virtual events such as the Women in White Coats Conference and Wellness Retreat and the Women in White Coats Hero Awards. This fall, Archana was recognized for her dedication to serving fellow women doctors with an #IStandWithHer Honorable Mention by the Women in Medicine Summit.
Dr. Smita Malhotra is a mother, pediatrician, writer and speaker. She first came to the United States at the age of 11 and became a citizen in college. After completion of her pediatric residency and chief residency in New York City, she moved to Los Angeles. She is passionate about spreading the message of tolerance, unity and the importance of mental health and wellness. She has contributed to The Washington Post, The Huffington Post and other publications.
Sasha Retana and her parents immigrated to the Greater Boston area in 1990 from her native St. Petersburg after travel restrictions were lifted in the Soviet Union in the late 1980s. She attended Brandeis University as an undergraduate, and received her Doctor of Medicine degree from Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia. Her clinical training in Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology was completed at Tufts University in Boston and the University of Massachusetts in Worcester. Begun as a labor of love, Looking for the Enter Sign is not only a tribute to Retana’s parents, but is also a missive to those who have not experienced the immigrant story and who might be touched by a different perspective. Retana is a practicing physician and currently resides in Rhode Island with her husband and two children.
Nadia Hashimi is a pediatrician turned internationally bestselling author. Her novels for adults and children are inspired by the people and history of Afghanistan and have been translated into 16 languages. She is a member of the US Afghan Women’s Council, Montgomery County Commission on Health, and serves on the boards of several non-profit organizations with focuses on education, hunger, and civic engagement. Originally from New York, she lives with her husband and four children in Potomac, Maryland.
Stephanie Mihalas is a licensed and board certified psychologist, as well as a nationally certified school psychologist. She is the founder of The Center for Well Being in Los Angeles, CA. Dr. Mihalas provides psychotherapeutic services to children, teens, adults, and families; as well as parent, executive, organizational, and chronic wellness coaching. Her specialty areas include: bullying, trauma, anxiety, chronic illness/rare disease, intergenerational issues, and working with marginalized populations.
