Announcements from the Office of Diversity and Inclusion

• Johns Hopkins Stands in Solidarity Against Racism and Inequity
  Dear Members of the Johns Hopkins Community,
  
  In the past three months, across the U.S. and around the globe, we have experienced extraordinary challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In communities of which Johns Hopkins is a part—from Baltimore City, Washington, D.C., Prince George’s, Howard and Montgomery Counties to St. Petersburg, Florida, and many more—we have witnessed our African American, Latinx, Native American and poverty-stricken communities disproportionately dying from COVID-19, while our Asian and Asian American communities have been targeted with vitriol because of the disease’s origins. People have lost family members, and the economic impact of this pandemic has led to many people having lost their jobs.
  
  This has been a tremendous burden for many to bear. The recent death of George Floyd in Minneapolis as well as the deaths of Breonna Taylor, a first responder in Louisville, Kentucky, shot in her own bed while sleeping; Ahmaud Arbery, shot while jogging near Brunswick, Georgia; and far too many others reinforce the brutal truth that the African American community still remains vulnerable to senseless violence, even during a pandemic. For those of us in Baltimore, these tragedies also call to mind the death of Freddie Gray while in police custody five years ago. And this moment serves as a reminder of the compounding effects on our communities.
  
  Because we are all intricately connected by our common humanity, if one segment of our community is hurting, it adversely impacts all of us. This is not just an issue for African Americans; it is an issue that threatens the future for all Americans.
  
  We hear the needs of the Johns Hopkins community to have an honest dialogue about these issues and develop steps to address them through our daily activities and relationships, scholarship and teaching, and health care delivery and leadership. We must acknowledge that these vulnerabilities to violence and health crises faced by black and brown communities are born out of continued racial disparities in education, employment, housing, and criminal justice. To that end, under the leadership of the JHM Office of Diversity and Inclusion and in collaboration with other groups across Johns Hopkins, we will host a Journeys in Healing symposium series, “The Language of the Unheard: A Virtual Town Hall on Racial Injustice,” in early June. More details will follow once dates have been solidified.
  
  We also recognize and acknowledge the anguish that these recent incidents are causing for our faculty, students, staff, trainees and alumni across the Johns Hopkins family. We encourage you to access the many supportive services available. At JHM, these services include mySupport, Spiritual Care and Chaplaincy, the Office of Well-Being, the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and the JHM Office of Diversity and Inclusion. University affiliates can reach out to mySupport, find student wellness resources at https://wellness.jhu.edu or on the Student Outreach and Support site, or contact the Office of Institutional Equity for assistance.
  
  During this time of immense challenge, let us work together to be a light to facilitate education, healing, connection, support and service to each other and to our community.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  Ronald J. Daniels
  President
  Johns Hopkins University
  
  Sherita Hill Golden, M.D., M.H.S.
  Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer
  Johns Hopkins Medicine
  
  Paul B. Rothman, M.D.
  Dean of the Medical Faculty
  CEO, Johns Hopkins Medicine
  
  Kevin W. Sowers, M.S.N., R.N., F.A.A.N.
  President, Johns Hopkins Health System
  EVP, Johns Hopkins Medicine
  
• COVID-19 Resources

  As we face this unprecedented challenge of the COVID-19 outbreak, we would like to highlight available resources for our Johns Hopkins employees and the within our community.

  JHM Internal Staff Resources
  JHM Internal Clinical Resources
  Johns Hopkins Children’s Center Resources for Families
  Johns Hopkins Community Resources​​​​​​​

• Celebrating LGBTQ+ Pride Month

  We invite you to join us in celebrating Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGTBQ) Pride Month. While many parades and events have been postponed, our pride and support for the LGBTQ+ community remains as strong as ever.

  Johns Hopkins Medicine faculty and staff members, students and trainees have played integral roles in contributing to health care, education and awareness for the LGBTQ+ community. This includes the opening of the Center for Transgender Health in 2017 and our annual participation in Pride celebrations in Baltimore, Washington, D.C, Howard County, Annapolis and St. Petersburg. As our participation grows each year, so has our focus on providing valuable resources and educational materials at the events.

  Although we can’t gather to celebrate Pride together en masse this year, you can take this opportunity to learn about the amazing work some of your LGBTQ+ colleagues are doing within our community. If you are interested in joining our LGBTQ and Allies Employee Resource Group please contact us at diversity@jhmi.edu.

  Meet the Pride Month Achievers Award winners and finalists:

  

  Adler Archer
  Innovation Researcher
  JHM Technology Innovation Center

  Adler Archer has spent most of his life advocating for LGBTQ rights in the government and the local community. Adler served in the US military from 2000 - 2004 under Don't Ask, Don't Tell, which prohibited him from being openly gay. Adler later had the opportunity to lobby at the White House and US Capitol from 2008 - 2010 for the repeal of that policy. Since then, he has continued to advocate for important causes. In 2011, he served on the executive board for the LGBT Law Students Association at New York Law School and co-founded the military and veteran law school association there in 2012. From 2016 - 2018, Adler served on the Advisory Board for the Chase Brexton LGBT Health Resource Center. He was also the vice president of the founding board of directors for the Maryland LGBT Chamber of Commerce. In this role, he collaborated with local LGBT entrepreneurs to build a nonprofit that highlights LGBT businesses and rallies the community to support them.

  Since joining the Johns Hopkins family in 2015, Adler served as the staff advisor for the JHU Carey Out for Business LGBT student group and facilitated a community meditation program through the JHU LGBTQ Life office. He has been recognized for numerous awards, including the Hopkins Citizen of the Year Award from the Graduate Student Association, the Biomedical Scholars Association's Leadership Award, and the Diversity Recognition Award from the JHU Provost's Office. In 2019, Adler won the David E Rogers Award from Johns Hopkins Medicine for community leadership, and in 2020 he won the Johns Hopkins Presidential Management Fellowship.

  As a United States Air Force Veteran, Adler's community involvement activities have expanded well beyond the LGBTQ activities, being involved in a host of Veterans activities and public health informatics initiatives. Adler has launched two nonprofit initiatives: 1) Wakeful Warriors, which is teaching community members about mindfulness and group fitness; and 2) Warrior Justice, which will provide medical-legal resources to veterans in Baltimore. Adler's engagement with the Johns Hopkins community and all levels of government highlights the excellence in the Johns Hopkins core values.

  

  Andrianna Ayiotis
  Graduate Student
  Biomedical Engineering
  Johns Hopkins University

  A representative of the LGBTQA+ community on the East Baltimore campus, Andrianna Ayiotis has educated peers on providing queer-affirming care, participated in focus groups related to both education and policy, and provided input on other researchers’ work to ensure it was inclusive to gender and sexual minorities. Through her studies as a PhD student in the Biomedical Engineering program, Ayiotis continuously works to improve recruitment, retention, and engagement of underrepresented minorities by building a sexuality-and-gender-inclusive environment.

  Ayiotis has been involved in the leadership of the Gertrude Stein Society (LGBTQA+ group for the Schools of Medicine, Nursing, and Public Health) as an Executive Board member (2018-2020) and currently as President. During this time, she has facilitated and organized seminars, networking events, and social outings to promote community within the LGBTQA+ trainees, faculty, and staff of the East Baltimore Campus. Through Ayiotis’s leadership and dedication, the Gertrude Stein Society has seen tremendous growth in the last few years and has expanded the organizations’ leadership to more accurately reflect the campus population. Ayiotis has built relationships with other student organizations on the East Baltimore Campus like the Biomedical Scholars Association, the Arab Public Health Organization, and Students for Disability Justice to co-host events focusing on intersectionality between ethnicity, race, disability status and LGBTQA+ identities. In the local Baltimore community, Ayiotis provides career mentoring and tutoring for students at Dunbar High School, near the East Baltimore Campus, as a part of the P-TECH program. Ayiotis’s work with the Gertrude Stein Society and other diverse organizations shows her commitment to diversity and inclusion and how she exemplifies the core values of Johns Hopkins Medicine.

  

  Clare Madrigal
  LGBTQ Resource Nurse
  Sibley Memorial Hospital

  Clare Madrigal has dedicated herself to helping support the LGBT+ community. As a LGBTQ Resource Nurse for both Sibley and Howard County Hospitals, Madrigal educates and advocates for patients and staff while performing community outreach. At Sibley, she provides LGBTQ+ education for every new employee while volunteering to help the center for Transgender Health with clinical intakes. In addition, Madrigal serves on Sibley’s DC Pride Parade planning committee and helped to establish the first LGBTQ+ donor fund.

  Outside of Hopkins, Madrigal has provided LGBTQ presentations at several national conferences, and is a board member of the Frederick Center – the LGBTQ Center for Frederick County. She provides education to local organizations, businesses, and schools and actively serves on the Frederick Center’s Community services committee, actively facilitating support groups.

  Madrigal exemplifies the JHM core values every day, ensuring that all patients and staff are treated with the utmost respect. Her pleasant and cheerful demeanor welcomes all who interact with her, making her a joy to work with.

  

  Brian Meise, Clinical Nurse Extern, Johns Hopkins Hospital

  Brian Meise is an active HIV advocate who is extremely involved in his LGBTQ+ community. He helps to raise funds for Brother Help Thyself, an organization that awards yearly grants to LBGTQ associations like MADIF which provides interpreters for events that the deaf community would like to attend. Additionally, Meise is one of the three producers of BOS Productions, an LGBTQ burlesque group which regularly hosts and sponsors events that benefit the LGBTQ community. Most recently, their profits went to FORCE, an organization benefiting battered women. They are also active in advocating for sex workers’ rights. Meise’s other work includes volunteering regularly at Moveable feast, helping to assemble meals for those living with HIV/AIDS and other life-threatening can come illnesses. Meise has gone as far as organizing two events where other staff from the NCCU participated in assembling meals as well. For the last four years, Meise has continued to support Moveable Feast by participating in the 140 mile bike ride fund raiser. In addition, Meise also donates to Hearts and Ears, an organization that offers community resources to LGBTQ+ persons with behavioral issues.

  Meise is equally invested in the education of future nurses understanding the impact of an HIV diagnosis on a healthcare professional as he recently created a lecture series at his nursing school that will be offered to future nursing cohorts. Meise also maintains a twitter account @PositiveRN2020 that is dedicated to being a public presence as an HIV Positive Nurse which will help break down the negative stigma associated with this status in the healthcare community. Meise is highly regarded by his NCCU peers who all think that Meise’ is contributions are outstanding, demonstrating all of the JHM core values.

  

  Laura Torres
  Behavioral Health Program Manager
  Howard County General Hospital

  Laura Torres has supported efforts to increase education on LGBTQ+ issues across the Johns Hopkins system and at Howard County General Hospital (HCGH). Torres has organized and sponsored presentations by subject matter experts that provided information on how to interact with and care for people from the LGBTQ+ community. Torres advocated for significant changes around the hospital, such as non-gender specific restrooms and has lent her professional support to the Center for Transgender Health during a time when a social worker was needed. Torres volunteers on the LGBTQ Employee Resource Group (ERG) at HCGH and is connected to the larger JHH Diversity & Inclusion community which provides the most recent information on LGBTQ+ issues to the HCGH community.

  Within the Howard County community, Torres coordinated and participated in the HCGH-sponsored information table at the first annual Pride event in Howard County in June 2019. . In order to provide the most helpful and comprehensive information to the community, she worked with an LGBTQ member of HCGH’s PFAC to gain her insight and listen to hear feedback about the better understand the needs of the Howard County community. Torres is a leader and role model to staff in the Population Health department, colleagues at our hospital and across the Howard County Community. Her actions consistently exemplify commitment to each of the JHM core values.

• New Policy: Prohibiting Discrimination by Patients Against Employees

  At Johns Hopkins Medicine, we are committed to providing patient care in a manner that respects each patient’s right to be an active participant in his or her treatment. While adhering to high patient care standards remains a priority, we are also committed to protecting faculty, staff, residents, postdoctoral fellows and students from discrimination by patients/health care decision-makers.

  With this goal in mind, a new patient discrimination policy went into effect on March 1^st for all employees of Johns Hopkins Medicine. To help you understand and communicate the policy to your team members, see​​​​​​​ Prohibiting Discrimination by Patients Against Employees Policy (ADMIN027): Key Points for Staff.

  1. Prohibiting Discrimination Policy 2-14 2020
  2. Prohibiting Discrimination by Patients against Employees Policy
  3. February 2, 2020 Webinar: Prohibiting Discrimination
  4. FAQ available in MyLearning