Equity, Diversity & Inclusion

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) is fundamental to PAEA’s mission, “Advancing excellence in PA education through leadership, scholarship, equity, and inclusion.”

PAEA’s vision is “Health for All.” This vision informs our values, and our values determine our focus. Racism is a public health issue; therefore, in PA education, we must work together to stand against racism and strive toward providing equitable opportunities for students and faculty and equitable care for patients. It is an ongoing, deliberate, and constantly evolving process intended to achieve meaningful outcomes. To that end, PAEA has developed practical, actionable resources to help our members to build more inclusively excellent programs.

Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Tools

DEI Toolkit & Best Practices Guide

Developed by PAEA, the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Toolkit is an applied, sequential, and customizable framework created to help your program meet the diversity and inclusion accreditation standard. Beyond simply meeting the standard, this toolkit is designed to encourage the creation of policy statements that boldly articulate your commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion and what that means within your program and sponsoring institution. This DEI Toolkit is not a prescriptive, one-size-fits-all solution. It offers the flexibility to be used in the context of your institution’s mission, vision, and values.

Access the Toolkit Today

Inclusive Excellence Advancement Scholarship

PAEA is committed to helping member programs build more diverse, equitable, and inclusive environments for PA faculty, staff, and students to prepare future PAs to practice and care for patients. One of the significant barriers to advancement is the lack of funding for faculty development. The Inclusive Excellence Advancement Scholarship funds scholarships up to $3,000 for expenses for conferences and training courses that help PAEA members meet the diversity, equity, and inclusion requirements of ARC-PA Standard A1.11. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. If you have questions about this scholarship, please contact the EDI team at bbuesking@PAEAonline.org or call (703) 651-8540.

Project Access Toolkit

Project Access is an outreach recruitment program that aims to encourage high school students from underrepresented minoritized groups to consider the PA profession as a career. The program aims to help students become competitive candidates for PA programs by preparing them early in their education. Ultimately, these efforts will help to increase the number of underrepresented PAs, provide more accessible primary care, and eliminate health disparities.

Learn More & Host a Project Access Event

Webinar Series: Elevating DEI in PA Education

PAEA’s four- part webinar series, “Elevating DEI in PA Education” is designed to equip PA educators with tools and resources to bolster diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts at their programs. Watch the series to learn best practices from PA education JEDI leaders. This series was developed in collaboration among PAEA’s Diversity, Faculty Development, Leadership, and Research Mission Advancement Commissions.

Watch the Series

Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion in PA Education: A Review of the Evidence for What Works Webinar

In a dynamic discussion among members from the Diversity & Inclusion and Research Mission Advancement Commissions along with Carolyn Bradley-Guidry, DrPH, MPAS, PA-C, and her research team, the group provided evidence-based practices and insight to successfully promote diversity among PA students.

BIPOC Faculty Development

The Black, Indigenous, people of color (BIPOC) Faculty Development webpage was created as a space where BIPOC PA educators can not only find tools to support professional growth but also resources to nurture healthy lives.

Visit the Page

Reading Between the Lines: A Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Bookclub

Join the DIMAC as we dive deep and read between the lines of books that impact our patients, our communities, and each other. We will amplify and highlight diverse communities and their intersections with our healthcare system.

Our 2023 book selection is  Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez. On the author’s website, the book is described as “Inspired by true events that rocked the nation, a searing and compassionate new novel about a Black nurse in post-segregation Alabama who blows the whistle on a terrible injustice done to her patients.”

Join the Between the Lines Bookclub

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EDI in Action

Every month PAEA’s EDI team identifies a PA program that is seeing success in anti-racist and inclusive programming. While many programs are eager to support their underrepresented in medicine (URiM) students, faculty, and staff, some are unsure what to do. We hope these examples serve as inspiration and a model that other programs can follow.

Join the Conversation

PAEA Professional Learning Communities are a space to have conversations that matter in an easy and convenient format. We encourage you to utilize this space to engage in critical discussions about creating safe spaces for underrepresented PA students and faculty.

Begin a Conversation Today

Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Staff

Emma Sellers, PAEA Chief Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Officer

Emma Sellers, MS

Chief Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Officer

Brent Buesking, MPA

Program Manager, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

Ranya Shannon

Program Manager, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

K. Ashley Phayme, MPA, CMP, Coordinator, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

Coordinator, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

Diversity and Inclusion Mission Advancement Commission (DIMAC) Members

Anthony A. Clare, DMSc, MSPAS, PA-C

Elon University

Dadalia Garces Mejia, MD, MPH

Miami Dade College

Gerald Glavaz, DHSc, PA-C

Chapman University

Lillie Hudson, MSPA, MPH, PA-C

University of Southern California

Charles Mininger, DMSc, PA-C

Northwestern University

Lillian Navarro-Reynolds, MS, PA-C

Oregon Health and Sciences University

Samuel Paik, MSPAS, PA-C

Drew University

Susan Solman, DPM, RPh

Florida International University

Monique J. Williams, PhD, MSPA

California State University, San Bernardino