The fourth cohort of the Medical Justice in Advocacy Fellowship features 20 physicians from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences, all devoted to gaining skills in physician-led advocacy to advance optimal health for all people and communities.
The Medical Justice in Advocacy Fellowship, launched in 2021, is preparing the next generation of physician advocacy leaders to generate and exchange solutions and drive meaningful policy changes. This initiative—which counts twice as many fellows in the 2026–2027 cohort as in prior years—is a collaboration between the AMA and the Satcher Health Leadership Institute at the Morehouse School of Medicine.
The first-of-its-kind postdoctoral fellowship enhances physicians’ advocacy leadership skills to improve health outcomes in the areas they serve or may serve. Using a unique learning framework, the fellowship provides a mentoring and training platform that equips participants with the foundational skills, tools, and knowledge to engage in health advocacy.
This involves exploring several critical topic areas, including:
- Upstream, action-based models of advocacy that address social drivers of health.
- Cultural and historical analysis of policies and their impact on health outcomes.
- Sector and resource engagement required to improve community health and well-being.
Here is a bit more about this year’s 20 Medical Justice in Advocacy Fellows.
Angela Bess, MD, is a New Jersey ob-gyn and clinical assistant professor at the Virtua Health College of Medicine & Life Sciences of Rowan University. She is the founder and president of the South Jersey Medical Society, a local affiliate of the National Medical Association, where she leads initiatives focused on physician advocacy, community engagement and diversifying the physician workforce.
Hsaio-Wei Banks, MD, is an internist in South Los Angeles, where she cares for patients at a safety-net hospital. Her professional interests include health equity, community-based medicine, and advocacy that improves access to compassionate, patient-centered care.
Joshua Carrasco, MD, MPH, is a graduating pediatric resident physician at the University of California, San Francisco, with a passion for advancing health equity through clinical care, advocacy, education, and policy. He serves as a member at-large of the AMA Underrepresented in Medicine Advocacy Section Governing Council and has previously served in leadership roles within the AMA Resident and Fellow Section and the AMA Medical Student Section.
Keisha Reneé Callins, MD, MPH, practices as an ob-gyn for a federally qualified health center network in Central Georgia, serving as chief wellness officer. Dr. Callins is an alternate delegate for the Medical Association of Georgia to the AMA House of Delegates and serves as professor in the Department of Community Medicine at Mercer University School of Medicine.
Julio M. Cuevas Cruz, MD, is a neurology resident at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University in St. Louis with interests in neurocritical care, brain health, disease prevention, health equity and physician advocacy. Originally from Puerto Rico, his commitment to medical justice is rooted in firsthand experiences witnessing how geography, policy and access to care shape health outcomes and opportunities.
Nicole Damari, MD, MS, is assistant professor of internal medicine and pediatrics at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, where she works clinically as a med-peds hospitalist and is associate program director for both the med-peds and internal medicine residency programs. Dr. Damari’s nonclinical interests include medical education, game-based learning, narrative medicine and physician advocacy.
Victor Ekuta, MD, is a neurology PGY-2 at Morehouse School of Medicine and the first Black male neurology resident in the institution’s history. He is an aspiring physician-scientist whose work focuses on brain health equity, cognitive decline, and the intersection of technology, ethics and health disparities in neurology.
Geetha Govindarajan, MD, PhD, MPH, is an internal medicine physician-scientist, public health practitioner, and integrative medicine physician in Chicago whose work is dedicated to advancing health equity and whole-person care. Her work is guided by a deep interest in the intersection of health, healing, leadership and the human spirit.
Shruti Gujaran, MD, is an emergency and addiction-medicine physician who thrives where medicine meets humanity. Whether treating patients in a bustling Philadelphia emergency department, providing low-barrier addiction care through a community mobile unit in Camden, New Jersey, or practicing in a rural hospital serving the Navajo Nation, she brings curiosity, compassion and calm to each setting.
Bahati S. Harden, MD, MSPH, MS, works as a locum tenens physician throughout the South, licensed in Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and Louisiana. A native of Natchez, Mississippi, Dr. Harden volunteers as a health advocate and educator across her home state.
LeRon Jackson, MD, MPH, is an assistant professor in the family medicine department at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill. She also serves as the medical director for urgent care at the UNC Family Medicine Center in addition to her role as a family physician—one with a strong desire to connect her love of primary care with her passion for community engagement.
Sarah Klinger, MD, completed her family medicine residency in Des Moines, Iowa, and has a strong commitment to comprehensive, patient-centered care. She is pursuing a one-year family medicine obstetrics fellowship in North Dakota to further expand her clinical expertise in supporting patients through all stages of life—including some of their most significant moments.
Gabrielle Pina, DO, is a pediatric hospitalist, educator and advocate serving the Inland Empire of California. In the Loma Linda University pediatric residency program, Dr. Pina is the residency track director, and directs advocacy and quality improvement education for the primary care track. In that role, she leads resident education in advocacy, community engagement and systems-based practice while overseeing multiple resident-led quality improvement initiatives each year.
Crystal Y. Pourciau, MD, MPH, is a pediatric dermatologist and associate professor in the Kaplan-Amonette Department of Dermatology at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis. Dr. Pourciau is one of only five board-certified pediatric dermatologists in the state and is passionate about expanding access to subspecialty care for underserved communities and shaping a physician workforce that reflects and respects the patients it serves.
Lorraine Marasco Schratz, MD, is a pediatric cardiologist and directs the Raising Healthy Hearts Program at Mass General Brigham for Children. She is also board-certified in lifestyle and obesity medicine and is committed to improving current and future cardiovascular health for children and families by improving access to nutritious food, recreational opportunities and healthcare through novel models of care delivery and advocacy.
Tristan Mackey, MD, is a neurosurgery resident at the University of Illinois College of Medicine Peoria and OSF Healthcare St. Francis Medical Center. Dr. Mackey grew up in rural South Carolina, is the first in his family to become a physician and is passionate about advancing the intersection of health equity and neurosurgical disparities, especially in pediatric and trauma settings.
Mario Montelongo, MD, is a child and adolescent psychiatry fellow at the University of Washington and Seattle Children's. Dr. Montelongo’s clinical and advocacy work is driven by a formative experience as a volunteer at an emergency shelter for migrant children separated from their families at the border.
Nichole Smith, MD, is an assistant professor of general internal medicine in Philadelphia, providing primary care to patients at The University of Pennsylvania and within the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. Her research focuses on high-risk transitions of care, chronic disease outcomes in marginalized populations, and health equity curricular development.
Seth M. Vignes, MD, is an assistant professor of clinical medicine in the internal medicine department at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center-New Orleans, where he practices as a hospitalist, addiction medicine researcher and serves as course director for the senior medical student medicine clerkship. Dr. Vignes leads multiple educational initiatives focused on intern preparedness, simulation-based learning and curriculum innovation.
Jonathan P. Williams, MD, is a neurologist and epilepsy specialist at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. His clinical practice, research and advocacy are unified by a single mission: ensuring that all people with epilepsy—regardless of race, income or background—receive equitable, high-quality care.
This fourth cohort of the Medical Justice in Advocacy Fellowship is already at work. Later this week, the fellows take part in a three-day, in-person learning intensive to kick off the fellowship. They will subsequently engage in virtual monthly learning sessions with a multidisciplinary, multisectoral group of nationally renowned experts, scholars, researchers, and current and former policymakers across all levels of government. The fellowship will culminate with a capstone project in November 2027.
Fellows receive a stipend for their participation in the fellowship program and would be eligible for CME credit hours.
In a separate effort, the AMA awarded a total of $1 million in micro grants to support 20 physician-led initiatives aimed at improving health outcomes and driving lasting change in their communities. Learn more about the AMA Community Health Impact Lab micro grant recipients.
The micro grants and the Medical Justice in Advocacy Fellowship are two ways the AMA is cultivating physician leadership and taking measurable action and building data-driven solutions to optimize health outcomes. For the AMA, the pursuit of optimal health outcomes is both a moral obligation and a strategic necessity for the advancement of medicine and the health of our nation. Through four interconnected pillars—community health impact, policy development, research, and health systems engagement—the AMA Center for Optimal Health Outcomes aims to help the AMA achieve a healthier future for all.
