Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI)

If there’s an engine churning inside Emory Eye Center’s DEI intern Ana Diaz, it’s powered by soccer.

Recruited to play for the Georgia State University women’s soccer team, she served as captain for two years and averaged 4,200 playing minutes over the course of 50 career starts. She also played in the Olympic qualifying tournament for the Puerto Rican Women’s National Team. The reason she dropped out of that Olympic bid says a lot about this future medical student: she didn’t want to miss her organic chemistry final. read more

Whether it’s whipping up her specialty (red velvet cake) or pursuing a long-held career dream (medicine), Ariane S. Crabb has always had preparation and hard work on her side. Call them her super powers.

“I’ve always been the type of person who never takes ‘no’ for an answer,” says the soft-spoken University of Toledo medical student, one of two DEI interns working at the Emory Eye Center this summer.  “And even when it feels impossible, there’s something in me that just won’t allow me to give up.” read more

On Friday, February 9, Emory Eye Center took a break from eyesight to widen our vision.

Leading that journey was Atlanta media icon and community advocate Monica Kaufman Pearson, whose talk, “Letting Diversity Encourage Us” challenged clinicians, residents, staff, and administrators to rethink their approach to workplace diversity.

Applied to human affairs, she said, diversity encounters its biggest obstacle in fear.  “We are afraid of new ideas that we think will make us look outdated, or we’re stuck in a rut of ‘That’s the way we always did it.’” ....read more

One of the obstacles that frequently stops medical students from pursuing a specialty rotation -- money -- has been factored into the program. The Open DOOR offers a $3,000 stipend to defray the expense of locating in Atlanta to pursue an elective rotation in ophthalmololgy at Emory Eye Center.

It's an ambitious goal, but Open DOOR has already made some headway: after successfully completing his Open DOOR internship at Emory Eye Center in 2023, Florida State University School of Medicine graduate Cuneyt Ozkardes decided to join our highly competitive residency program.

Hear what Ozcardes had to say about his Open DOOR experience.

• We aim to prioritize diversity (defined broadly as gender, racial/cultural, age, physical abilities, sexual orientation, religious beliefs) in our recruitment and retention of team members (including faculty, staff, and trainees) and to create a culture that values and celebrates diversity at all levels.

• We aim to cultivate an inclusive community and a safe space for our team members and patients, as well as an ongoing commitment to advancing and embracing equity amongst our team members through transparency and open dialogue.

• We welcome ALL patients from all backgrounds, and aim to provide equal access to treatment, improve outcomes and eliminate disparities in care.