June may be over, but we couldn’t be more excited to announce the winners of the 2024 Health Equity Leadership & Social Justice LGBTQ+ Pride Month Awards!
These awards are given out by the Office of Health Equity, Diversity & Inclusion at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University, and honor our Temple Health colleagues who have done extraordinary work on behalf of the LGBTQ+ community while also helping to elevate the culture of our institution.
This year’s winners have demonstrated exceptional dedication and commitment, leading by example and inspiring their peers and coworkers. You can read more about them below—and if they’re one of your colleagues, be sure to offer your congratulations!
Medical Student
Nicky Hackenbrack
MD’26, The Lewis Katz School of Medicine
“Nicky focuses their energies on people that society would prefer to ignore and uses their skills to ensure that others have the avenue to do the same. Nicky keeps themselves busy with several roles that put them in a position to enact such change: 2023-2024 owLGBTQ+ and Allies in Medicine President, Class of 2026 student representative on the Philadelphia Campus on the Curriculum Committee (a responsibility for all 4 years of medical school), and a harm reduction and wound care volunteer in Kensington."
Administration/Staff
Rjaa Ahmed
Communications Associate, The Hope Center for College, Community and Justice, The Lewis Katz School of Medicine
“Rjaa has led the way in making sure our internal culture reflects the mission of Hope: treating students as humans first and ensuring a world in which basic needs insecurity is eradicated. They’ve led in the design of more than two dozen beautiful and comprehensive reports, ensuring that the center’s deliverables live up to its mission to inform the public about the unjust disparities students around the country face.”
Jess Tomchick
Victim Advocate/Volunteer Coordinator, The Lewis Katz School of Medicine
“Jessica Tomchick, a Temple graduate with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies, currently serves as a victim advocate and volunteer coordinator for Philadelphia CeaseFire. She has served as a LGBTQ advocacy trainer and has provided a lifeline for hundreds of victims of violent crime, including LGBTQ victims, for over 10 years. She is kind, patient, a good listener, and always goes the extra mile for her clients.”
Faculty/Physicians
Jamie Garfield, MD
Professor of Thoracic Medicine & Surgery, The Lewis Katz School of Medicine
“Dr. Garfield has shaped her personal and professional career around advocacy and care for the LGBTQIA community. She has lectured to national audiences and published in peer reviewed journals on disproportionate tobacco use within the LGBTQIA community. Her clinical practice includes many LGBTQIA patients interested in tobacco cessation and lung cancer screening. She led a research project enlisting gender diverse community members to develop standardized patient cases to improve the education of LKSOM students and Temple University Hospital medical residents caring for LGBTQIA people.”
Roland Dunbrack, PhD
Professor, Fox Chase Cancer Center
“Roland Dunbrack embodies the core values of LKSOM/TUHS through his active engagement in social justice work. Since his arrival in 1997, Roland has been the only openly LGBTQ laboratory principal investigator at Fox Chase Cancer Center. In 2000, long before [the legalization of] same-sex marriage, he convinced Fox Chase leadership to provide same-sex partner benefits. For two decades, he has used social media accounts to advocate for the rights of LGBTQ people in science and public life. Roland’s ability to integrate his passions for science, music (as a member of an LGBTQ choral group), and social justice makes him an exceptional candidate for this award."
Other Health Profession Student
Christopher Ramos
Temple University Hospital
“Topher deserves this award because he is a person of kind character and an ally of the community. He strives to help anyone in need and has been known to participate in several community events. He is outspoken about his involvement and is well-known throughout the campus. This leadership and social justice award should go to someone who embodies the spirit of it and lives their life through it. I believe his values align with TUH and the LGBTQ+ community as well. He is an exemplary candidate and I hope to see him gain the recognition he deserves.”