Keynote Speakers
Marci Bowers, M.D.
Pelvic and Gynecologic Surgeon
Pronouns: she, her, hers
Marci Bowers, M.D. of Burlingame, California, is acknowledged as a pioneer in the field of Genital Reassignment Surgery and is the first woman worldwide to hold a personal transgender history while performing transgender surgery. She is also the first US surgeon to learn the technique of functional clitoral restoration after Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).
Dr. Bowers is a pelvic and gynecologic surgeon with more than 28 years’ experience. She is a University of Minnesota Medical School graduate and former class and student body president. After Ob/Gyn residency at the University of Washington, she continued in Seattle as an Obstetrician/Gynecologist at the Polyclinic and Swedish Medical Center. She then apprenticed with Dr. Stanley Biber in Trinidad, Colorado in 2003, eventually redefining US transgender surgery. Dr. Bowers relocated her surgical practice to the San Francisco Bay Area in 2010.
Dr. Bowers parlayed her pelvic surgery expertise by learning FGM clitoral restoration from noted French surgeon, Dr. Pierre Foldes in 2007-2009. Dr. Bowers is now additionally sought after as a speaker and worldwide surgical educator on FGM and clitoral restoration and has been featured in numerous documentaries and news features including the Guardian, BBC, Times of London, Esquire and many others.
Dr. Bowers is a member of WPATH, and has served on the board of directors for both GLAAD and the Transgender Law Center. In 2016, she joined the faculty at Mt. Sinai-Beth Israel in New York to establish the first transgender surgical educational program in the US and performed the first live surgical vaginoplasty in a WPATH-sponsored surgical educational program in 2018. Her transgender work has been highlighted by appearances on Oprah, CBS Sunday Morning and Discovery Health. In addition to many accolades, Dr. Bowers is recognized as one of the 100 most influential LGBT people on the Guardian’s World Pride Power List and one of Huffington Post’s 50 Transgender Icons.
Juno Obedin-Maliver, M.D., M.P.H., M.A.S.
Assistant Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences
University of California, San Francisco
Co-Director, The PRIDE Study
Pronouns: she, her, hers
Dr. Obedin-Maliver is a board-certified obstetrician/gynecologist who is both clinically and academically active. Dr. Obedin-Maliver is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at The University of California, San Francisco and The Chief of Gynecology at The San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center (SFVAMC) where she provides full-spectrum gynecology care. Her academic focus is on promoting the health of and well-being sexual and gender minorities (SGM) which include but are not limited to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people. A special emphasis that combined her clinical and academic interests is the focus on the reproductive health of transgender and gender expansive individuals.
Dr. Obedin-Maliver, is the Co-Director of The PRIDE Study (pridestudy.org), an online prospective longitudinal cohort of sexual and gender minority individuals based at University of California, San Francisco. She is Co-Investigator of PRIDEnet, a participant powered research network of sexual and gender minority people (pridestudy.org/pridenet) whose mission is to help catalyze LGBTQ Health Research. She also serves on the medical advisory board of the UCSF Center of Excellence for Transgender Health and is the Gynecology Lead on the Transgender Quality Improvement project at SFVAMC and is involved in many other national and international research projects that promote health equity for LGBTQ and SGM people.
Mitchell (Mitch) R. Lunn, M.D., M.A.S., FASN
Assistant Professor of Nephrology
University of California, San Francisco
Co-Director, The PRIDE Study
Pronouns: he, him, his
Mitchell (Mitch) Lunn, M.D., M.A.S., FASN is an Assistant Professor in Division of Nephrology of the Department of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and the co-director of The PRIDE Study (pridestudy.org) – a national, online, longitudinal health cohort study of the physical, mental, and social health of sexual and gender minority (SGM) people with more than 11,500 participants.
Mitch is a long-standing advocate for SGM inclusion in research and higher education who lectures around the country on SGM medical education, SGM health, and SGM community engagement. As an internist and nephrologist with a strong interest in technology and SGM health, his research is designed to characterize the health and well-being of these populations. Through the use of existing and emerging technologies, he focuses on improving understanding of the factors that positively and negatively influence SGM health including research on SGM health disparities, SGM societal experiences (in and out of health care), provider education about SGM health, and institutional climate towards SGM people. The PRIDE Study employs innovative technologies to bridge research gaps in the health of medically underserved and vulnerable SGM communities.
Mitch co-directs PRIDEnet, a PCORI-funded participant-powered research network of SGM people that engages SGM communities at all stages of the biomedical research process: research question generation and prioritization, study design, recruitment, participation, data analysis, and results dissemination. PRIDEnet accomplishes its goals through a highly active Participant Advisory Committee (PAC) and a national Community Partner Consortium comprised of 41 SGM-serving health centers, community centers, and service/advocacy organizations across the country.
Mitch earned his Bachelor of Science degree with highest thesis honors from Tufts University in 2004, his Doctor of Medicine degree from Stanford School of Medicine in 2010, and his Masters in Advanced Studies degree in Clinical Research from UCSF in 2017. He completed internal medicine residency training at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (Boston, MA) in 2013 and nephrology fellowship at UCSF in 2016. In recognition of his SGM health work, he received the 2015 UCSF Chancellor’s Award for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Leadership.
Darin Latimore, M.D.
Deputy Dean for Diversity and Inclusion
Yale School of Medicine
Pronouns: he, him, his
Bio coming soon
Jennifer Potter, M.D.
Professor of Medicine, Advisory Dean and Director of the William B. Castle Society
Director of Wellness
Harvard Medical School
Co-Chair, The Fenway Institute
Pronouns: she, her, hers
Dr. Potter is Professor of Medicine, Advisory Dean and Director of the William B. Castle Society, and Director of Wellness at Harvard Medical School. Formerly Director of the Women’s Health Program at Fenway Health, a Boston-based LGBTQ health center, she now serves as Co-Chair of The Fenway Institute and Director of its LGBT Population Health Program. As a clinical innovator, educational leader, and quality improvement researcher, Dr. Potter’s scholarly work focuses on improving care for underserved and marginalized communities– in particular, LGBTQ populations. Dr. Potter’s home institution at Harvard is Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, where she founded a primary care women’s health clinic that also offers consultation on cancer survivorship and female sexual health.
Dr. Potter has focused her medical education work on similar topics; deliverables include a vast array of both print and online teaching products, as well as curricular guidelines. Of these, she is most proud of her work as a founding member of the Association of American Medical Colleges’ AXIS Committee, which published a groundbreaking medical education guideline entitled: Implementing Curricular and Institutional Climate Changes to Improve Health Care for Individuals Who Are LGBT, Gender Nonconforming, or Born with Differences in Sex Development. On the quality improvement research front, Dr. Potter’s completed projects, all conducted at Fenway Health, include: enhancing HPV vaccine rates among previously unvaccinated young adults; implementing cross-clinic intimate partner violence screening; increasing uptake of long-acting, reversible contraception; utilizing trauma-informed care principles to increase cervical cancer screening rates among hard-to-reach patients; and exploring the acceptability and performance characteristics of patient-centered alternatives to cervical Pap testing.
Rob Stewart
Host, Rob on the Road
KVIE
Pronouns:
Bio coming soon
Conference Presenters
John Davis, M.D., Ph.D.
Associate Dean for Curriculum
Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases
University of California, San Francisco
Pronouns:
Dr. Davis’ clinical care and research interests are in infections of the immunocompromised host (including people living with or at risk for HIV infection). He is also interested in sexual and gender minority health (including LGBT health). His educational interests are in curriculum development, especially around the experiences of LGBT learners in the academic medical center setting, and how curriculum can help address LGBT/SGM health(care) disparities.
W. Suzanne Eidson-Ton, M.D., M.S.
Professor of Family & Community Medicine and Obstetrics & Gynecology
Director, Rural-PRIME
University of California, Davis
Pronouns: she, her, hers
Bio coming soon
Katherine Gardner, M.D.
Family Medicine Physician
Sutter Health
Medical Director
Gender Health Center
Pronouns: she, her, hers
Bio coming soon
Jason Gritti, M.D.
Internal Medicine Physician
Kaiser Permanente South Sacramento
Pronouns: he, him, his
Bio coming soon
Ben Hudson
Executive Director
Gender Health Center
Pronouns: he, him, his
Bio coming soon
Leon (Lee) Jones, M.D.
Associate Dean for Students
University of California, San Francisco
Pronouns: he, him, his
Bio coming soon
Richard Keegan, D.N.P., M.S.N.
Assistant Professor of Nursing
California State University, Sacramento
Pronouns:
Bio coming soon
Scott MacDonald, M.D., FACP
Medical Director, Electronic Health Records
UC Davis Health
Pronouns: he, him, his
Bio coming soon
Ed Mills, Ph.D.
Vice President for Student Affairs
California State University, Sacramento
Pronouns: he, him, his
Ed Mills began in public higher education as a financial aid coordinator over 32 years ago and has since devoted his career to developing and implementing new strategies for enrollment management, student services and enhancing student engagement and well-being. At Sacramento State, Ed currently serves as the Vice President for Student Affairs overseeing more than 50 departments and programs. He received his bachelor’s degree from Kansas State University, a master’s degree from Pennsylvania State University and his Ph.D. in Higher Education Leadership/Human Resource Studies from Colorado State University.
Helping students succeed is Ed’s passion. He is very accessible to students and spends a considerable amount of time each week meeting with individual students or attending events and programs. Ed participates in new student orientation meetings with students and their families, and enjoys interacting with students at commencement. He also teaches a freshmen seminar course each fall. Ed is always looking for new and innovative ways to serve students. Current initiatives include the development of a new Financial Literacy program as part of a larger focus to enhance student wellness on-campus. He and Student Affairs are investing in multiple strategies to help promote a more welcoming and caring campus for all students.
Locally, Ed serves as a board member for the Future Foundation of Sacramento. This non-profit organization seeks out high-achieving, low-income high school students in the Sacramento area and provides them with mentoring and up to $35,000 in scholarship funding for their college education. He is also on the Rainbow Chamber Foundation, providing scholarships for LGBTQ students in the Sacramento area as well as a board member of Teen Impact Drivers. Teen Impact’s mission is to change the culture of the preventable crisis of teenage reckless and distracted driving through a nationwide educational program.
Queer Voices
Sacramento LGBT Community Center
The Queer Voices panel is sponsored by the Sacramento LGBT Community Center. The Center works to create a region where LGBTQ people thrive – “We support the health and wellness of the most marginalized, advocate for equality and justice, and work to build a culturally rich LGBTQ community”.
Swati Rao, M.D.
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences
University of California, Davis
Pronouns: she, her, hers
Bio coming soon
Manny Rios
HIV Partner Services Specialist, Office of AIDS
California Department of Public Health
Pronouns: he, him, his
Bio coming soon
Hyman Scott, M.D., M.P.H.
Clinical Research Medical Director, Bridge HIV
San Francisco Department of Public Health
Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine
University of California, San Francisco
Pronouns: he, him, his
Dr. Scott received his MD from Yale School of Medicine; and completed his Internal Medicine residency, Chief Residency, Infectious Disease fellowship, and post-doctoral research training in the Traineeship for AIDS Prevention Studies at UCSF.
He has a particular interest in the epidemiology of HIV-related racial/ethnic disparities among men who have sex with men (MSM), and interventions to reduce these disparities. Dr. Scott currently has a NIMH K23 award to develop and test a mobile app-based combination HIV intervention of home HIV self-testing, STI self-collection, and Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) uptake among young Black and Latino MSM in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Paul David Terry, M.N.A.
Digital Marketing and Communications Specialist, Graduate Studies
University of California, Davis
Pronouns: he, him, his
Bio coming soon
Hendry Ton, M.D., M.S.
Interim Associate Vice Chancellor for Diversity & Inclusion
Associate Dean for Faculty Development & Diversity
Clinical Professor of Psychiatry
University of California, Davis
Pronouns: he, him, his
Dr. Ton is the Interim Associate Vice Chancellor for the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion office, Associate Dean for Faculty Development and Diversity, and a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science. He serves as the Director of Education at the UC Davis Center for Reducing Health Disparities where he authored a training program to teach health care leaders how to make culturally and linguistically appropriate system changes at academic, county, and state health organizations. He is also the founding medical director of the Transcultural Wellness Center of Asian Pacific Community Counseling; a community clinic that specializes in serving the mental health needs of Sacramento’s diverse Asian and Pacific Islander communities.
Dr. Ton received the UC Davis Chancellor’s Achievement Award for Diversity and Community in 2005; the 2007 Dean’s Award for Excellence in Community Engagement for his work with communities, ethnic minorities, and cultural competence; and the National Alliance on Mental Illness’ Exemplary Psychiatrist Award in 2016.
Dr. Ton has presented nationally on the topics of cultural competence, education, and system change and regularly receives teaching, leadership, and community awards for his work with health care professionals and underserved communities. His areas of interests include diversity and inclusion, professionalism, cultural psychiatry, humanistic psychology, medical student education, and faculty development.
Nix Zelin, M.D.
Resident Physician, Psychiatry
Stanford School of Medicine
Pronouns: she, her, hers
Dr. Nix Zelin is a Psychiatry intern at Stanford Medicine. She graduated earlier this year cum laude from the Yale School of Medicine. In her time at Yale, she founded and chaired the Dean’s Advisory Council for LGBTQI+ Affairs, served as President and Executive Board Member of the LGBTQ health professional group, co-led the development of an integrated four year LGBTQ health thread in the medical curriculum, led multiple research projects pertaining to sexual orientation and gender diversity in the healthcare workforce and LGBTQ health topics, and served on the Dean’s Committee of Diversity, Inclusion and Social Justice, the Association of American Medical College’s Committee on Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Sex Development, and as Vice President of the Northeast Medical Student Queer Alliance.