Dr. Robert Sternszus is a pediatrician and an associate professor of Pediatrics and Health Sciences Education at McGill University in Montreal. He holds a master’s degree in educational psychology. Dr. Sternszus has been active in residency education in Canada, serving as Pediatrics residency program director and Competence Committee chair at McGill University, a member of the Pediatrics Specialty Committee and the Residency Accreditation Committee of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, as well as a co-chair of the Professional Role Expert Working Group for the ongoing CanMEDs project. Dr. Sternszus’ scholarship focuses on the areas of resident role modeling, professionalism and professional identity formation.

Dr. Justin Bullock is a fellow in Nephrology at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle and co-director of the Docs with Disabilities Initiative. Dr. Bullock is deeply committed to promoting safe environments in medicine. He advocates for a place where every medical professional is encouraged to bring their authentic selves to work. Passionate about medical education, Dr. Bullock is a teacher, researcher and lifelong learner. His primary research focuses on how educators can foster identity safety in the learning environment. In addition to his education scholarship, Dr. Bullock is outspoken about his lived experience as a Black, bipolar physician.

Dr. Jamiu Busari is an associate professor of medical education at Maastricht University in the Netherlands and an adjunct professor and scientist at the Institute for Disability and Rehabilitation Research at Ontario Tech University in Oshawa. He is also a consultant pediatrician at the Horacio Oduber Hospital in Aruba.

Dr. Busari’s dedication to medical education has led him to serve as a former executive member of the Netherlands Association for Medical Education and a founding member of Sanokondu, an international community of practice dedicated to fostering health professional leadership education worldwide.

Dr. Sharda is the inaugural associate dean of equity and inclusion for the Faculty of Health Sciences at McMaster University. She is a former medical advisor and equity, diversity and inclusion lead at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO). There, she led cross-organizational work to embed an EDI and anti-racist lens into complaints processes, provincial policy and the ongoing education of committees and CPSO Council.

Dr. Sharda holds a master’s and fellowship in medical education and was awarded the Currie Fellowship Award during her time at the Wilson Centre at the University of Toronto. Her scholarship is rooted in theories of power, hierarchy, anti-oppression and identity formation.

Dr. Tasha Wyatt is vice chair of research in the Center for Health Professions Education at Uniformed Services University in Bethesda, Md. Her interests include the study of race, ethnicity and culture, and the ways these elements intersect with educational systems. Dr. Wyatt’s areas of research include the professional identity formation of racially minoritized physicians, strategies for professional resistance in medicine and time as a form of oppression in medical education.

Dr. Simon Fleming is an orthopedic hand and wrist surgeon with a PhD in medical education. A culture change advocate, he has garnered an international reputation for his work. Dr. Fleming is a founding and executive board member of the International Orthopaedic Diversity Alliance. He is also on the executive board for the NIHR Clinical Education Incubator and an associate editor for Medical Education, The Clinical Teacher and the British Journal of Surgery. Dr. Fleming has held significant leadership positions, including serving as the former vice chair of the United Kingdom’s Academy of Medical Royal Colleges Trainee Doctors’ Group and as the past president of the British Orthopaedic Trainees’ Association.

Dr. Joshua Hartzell currently serves as vice chair of Faculty Affairs within the Department of Health Professions Education at the Uniformed Services University. He holds a master of science degree in health professions education from MGH Institute of Health Professions. A board-certified internist and Infectious Diseases physician, he is also professor of medicine at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences where he previously served as assistant dean for Faculty Development. Dr. Hartzell achieved the rank of colonel serving for 25 years in the United States Army. He was formerly program director for the National Capital Consortium Internal Medicine Residency and assistant chief of Graduate Medical Education.

“Leadership is a partnership, not a hierarchy.” That is one of the tenets of Dr. Melanie Lewis, who serves as the chief wellness officer for the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of Alberta (U of A). From 2010-2021, as associate dean in the Office of Advocacy & Wellbeing at the U of A, Dr. Lewis supported 2,000 undergraduate learners across five programs, as well as Faculty of Medicine postgraduate and graduate learners. Dr. Lewis is a professor of Pediatrics, a consultant pediatrician at the Stollery Children’s Hospital and director of the Edmonton Down Syndrome Clinic which she also co-founded.

Dr. Olamide Oguntimehin is an award-winning NHS junior doctor, leadership fellow and charity leader. She is the founder and chief executive of Melanin Medics, a national charity that advocates for racial equity in medical education and training. Dr. Oguntimehin authored a report about racial bias and pulse oximetry during the COVID-19 pandemic which garnered national attention and subsequently led to a government review of racial bias in medical devices. She has served on the British Medical Association Equality & Diversity Advisory Board and is currently a Marx Leadership Fellow at the General Medical Council, working within professional standards and ethics. She is an alumnus of the Healthcare Leadership Academy and a fellow of the Institute of Leadership and Management.

Dr. Javeed Sukhera is the chair of Psychiatry at the Institute of Living and chief of Psychiatry at Hartford Hospital in Hartford, Conn. He is also an associate clinical professor of Psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine and an associate professor at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine. Dr. Sukhera is responsible for advancing the Institute of Living’s clinical, research and educational missions, including training programs in Psychiatry, psychology, social work, and nursing, as well as several endowed research centres. He is an internationally recognized health professions education researcher and thought leader.

The closing plenary is named after Dr. Maria Elizabeth Montaño Fernández, an incredible advocate for LGBTQ2S+ rights, who left a lasting impact on the ICRE community.

At the 2019 ICRE, she shared her experiences as a transgender doctor and educator working in Mexico. Revisit part of this inspiring debate. (Note: This video is available only in English.)

In June 2020, she was found dead in Morelos, Mexico. In 2021, the closing plenary was named in her memory to honour her legacy as an LGBTQ2S+ advocate and a human rights defender.