Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility

I am passionate about promoting diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility in academia and the health professions. My commitment to this goal is based on my personal beliefs that every individual should be treated equally and with respect regardless of race, gender identity, political views, religion or anything else society may choose to use to segregate us and choose to celebrate what makes each individual special and unique. Providing a supportive, positive and welcoming environment that enables all to grow professionally, academically and personally is my focus. I work to help others find success in the classroom, after graduation, and beyond the job because what really matters is being part of a community and feeling valued and respected.

As my lived experience is primarily privileged, I began my mentoring as an advocate for pre-med students, seeing some of the challenges and inequities these students faced during the application process. As a member of the BUSM Admissions committee, I learned about holistic review and checking my “bias” when reviewing applications. I readily expanded my advocacy to peers, near peers and female students and supporting their career and academic advancement. Sharing my journey, I have worked to encourage other women to be parents, partners, scientists and clinicians. I support them as they learn work-life balance and managing different identities and areas of their lives. This is something I have lived as a woman in science, and mother of four and I want others to never stop striving for a full career with a family when they feel imposter syndrome creep up and try to hold them back.

As a relatively newcomer to DEIA, I have learned by serving my students, initially in the Medical Sciences (MAMS) and now Oral Health Sciences (OHS) program. I know there is much more to learn, and I am committed to that goal. OHS is a pipeline master’s program that I have directed since 2012 and I have worked for the past 10 years to grow the program and continue its mission to increase the number of students entering the field of dentistry from underrepresented groups, including those who are first in their family to attend college, and/or students from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds. I tirelessly support these students by providing personalized mentoring. These efforts have led to the implementation of an enrichment series to assist with academic and career development, a near-peer mentoring program, and a ‘soft-skills’ critical thinking and ethics course to prepare students for dental school success. I find working with diverse students incredibly rewarding. Many students have overcome adversity or faced personal or financial challenges, others share their ‘distance traveled’ and really need an ally, mentor, and advocate, something they have never had. I do my best to be that person. I am passionate about educating students, especially underrepresented students of color who have had unequal access to support and opportunities.

Since 2017, I have served as the GMS Liaison for Disability & Access Services for GMS. This was a role that I did not seek out but have truly become passionate about. I have worked with many students over the past 5 years, including some very hard years during COVID-19, to provide students with the support they need to receive equitable access to education. Although challenging, it has been tremendously rewarding. DAS is an area that has received much less visibility over the years and is finally gaining some backing. I’m proud to be an advocate in this endeavor to move forward to providing opportunities to more individuals.

Lastly, I was instrumental in the launch of GMS’ C3 – Community Catalyst Center in August 2021. Our goal, especially following COVID-19 was to foster student success by helping them acclimate to Boston, GMS and the advancing academics of graduate school while gaining a sense of belonging at GMS. This center welcomes all GMS students, including international (gGlobal), first-generation college graduates (gFIRST), students of color (gSOC), LGBTQIA+ (gPLUS), veterans and military-affiliated students (gMAV). This fall we are starting our Disability Support group as well!

RECENT PRESENTATIONS

TA Davies, MA Kelley (2020) Effective Communication Skills Promote Cultural Awareness. Presented remotely via recording at 2020 American Dental Education Association Annual Session & Exhibition (remote COVID-19).
TA Davies, M Murphy-Phillips, E Stocks (2019) The Road Less Traveled: Student Affairs Careers in Graduate and Professional Schools. Presented at the All of the Above Conference, Boston College, Boston, MA.
TA Davies, JM Calabrese, CW Leone, LG Dunham (2019) Boston University’s MS in Oral Health Sciences Program Advances the Diversity Initiative of the Goldman School of Dental Medicine through Collaborative Programing. Presented at 2019 ADEA
Diversity and Inclusion Workshop, Portland, OR.
TA Davies, LG Dunham, GM Johnson, ES Lacy, C Leone (2018) Meeting the Diversity Imperative through Post-Baccalaureate Programs. Presented at the 2018 American Dental Education Association (ADEA) Annual Session & Exhibition, Orlando, Fl.

RELEVANT PUBLICATIONS

Davies TA, Kaye E, Stahlberger M, Abbas M, Sarkis C, Reed L, Dunham L, Schreiber BM, Leone C, Mascarenhas AK. Improving Diversity of Dental Students Through the Boston University Masters of Oral Health Sciences Postbaccalaureate Program. J Dent Educ. 2019 Mar; 83(3):287-295. PMID: 30692183

INSTITUTIONAL ROLES AND ACTIVITIES PROMOTING DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION, AND ACCESSIBILITY

2021-present Launch and Manager of new C3 Community Catalyst Center in GMS
2020-present Graduate Medical Sciences, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Steering Committee
2017-present GMS Disability & Access Services Liaison
2012-present Program Director, MS in Oral Health Sciences (Pipeline focus)

RECENT TRAININGS ATTENDED

FDD Seminar: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Accessibility (DEIA) on CVs & BU Profiles. Seminar by Faculty Development, BUSM. (May 2022)
Why Diversity Statements are Needed from Faculty Candidates. Workshop sponsored by Graduate Medical Sciences DEI Steering Committee & BU DEI Inclusion Catalyst Grant. (Apr 2022)
A Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Approach to Graduate Student Access and Outcomes. Boston University Newbury Center and Graduate Affairs at Boston University Diversity and Student Success in The Graduate School at The University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill (Apr 2022)
Listening Session on Inclusive Pedagogy. Sponsored by BU Diversity & Inclusion (May 2021)
Inclusion, Diversity, Equity: Confronting racism and bias through student organizations. Presented at the American Dental Education Association Annual Session & Exhibition (Mar 2021)
Missing at the Table: Exploring Administrative Pipeline Gaps and Solutions. Presented at the American Dental Education Association Annual Session & Exhibition (Mar 2021)
Implicit Bias & Microaggressions, Graduate Medical Sciences, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Initiative. (Feb 2020)
ADEA Diversity Workshop Creating a Climate of Inclusiveness, Portland Oregon, Three-day conference with wide range of presenters addressing current issues facing inclusiveness in the dental admissions and education. (Oct 2019)
ACPA New England Chapter – Deans & Directors Spring Dinner – Responding to Issues of Free Speech: A Campus Wide Collaboration. (Oct 2019)
Mission-Driven Admissions: A Holistic Perspective Presented at Council of Graduate Schools, Washington, DC (Dec 2018)
Implicit Bias & Microaggressions: How our Brain Takes Short Cuts. McCahan Education Day, Boston University School of Medicine. (May 2018)

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In addition to these self-described keywords below, a list of MeSH based concepts is available here.

Mentorship
Under-represented groups
Professionalism
Graduate Education
Dental School Admission
Student Advocacy
Diversity and Inclusion
Marketing
Graduate Medical Education
Professional Development
Recruitment
Student Affairs
Graduate Affairs
Curriculum Development
Program Development
Remote Teaching
Recruitment and Retention in Higher Education

Available to Mentor as: (Review Mentor Role Definitions):

• Advisor
• Career Mentor
• Diversity Mentor
• Education Mentor
• Research / Scholarly Mentor
• Work / Life Integration Mentor