We're excited to share our series of Stepping Stones of Women in Leadership podcasts, where Mary Dankoski, PhD, ELAM '11, executive associate dean for faculty affairs, professional development, and diversity, Indiana University School of Medicine, interviews ELUM deans.

• Episode 4: Allison Brashear, MD, MBA, ELAM '07, dean, UC Davis School of Medicine
• Episode 3: Cherae Farmer-Dixon, DDS, MSPH, ELAM '00, dean, Meharry Medical College School of Dentistry
• Episode 2: Adriana Segura, DDS, MS, ELAM '15, associate dean for academic, faculty and student affairs, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio Dental School
• Episode 1: Veronica Mallett, MD, ELAM '07, former dean of Meharry Medical College School of Medicine

This podcast series is co-produced by Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine, Drexel University College of Medicine, and the Stepping Stones of Women in Leadership program at Indiana University School of Medicine.

Read the ELAM program's 2023 annual report.

Nancy Spector, MD, executive director of the Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine program and the Executive Leadership in Health Care program, in the College of Medicine, was quoted in a March 6 Philadelphia Inquirer article about how more than 1,300 women have trained in the ELAM program for leadership roles in academic medicine.

Women Last in Medical Deanship Positions Just as Men Do - Why Do So Few Get an Offer? A study recently published in the journal Academic Medicine found that, from January 2006 to June 2020, of 528 deanships at medical schools nationwide, men held 85% of permanent deanships. Additionally, those few deanships held by women are more likely to be short-term: 30% of dean roles held by women were interim only; while only 20% of the roles held by men were limited to an interim position. (Drexel News Blog) Read more.

Nancy Spector, MD, coauthored "Centering Women of Color to Promote Excellence in Academic Medicine" with colleagues from UC San Francisco and UC Davis. The article was published in the New England Journal of Medicine (January 2024).

Nancy Spector, MD, and Kheyandra D. Lewis, MD, MEd, a faculty member in Drexel's Department of Pediatrics, are two of the authors of "Association of Patient and Family Reports of Hospital Safety Climate With Language Proficiency in the US," which was published in JAMA Pediatrics (June 2022).

The ELAM program is pleased to announce the selection of its 2022-2023 class of fellows and the fellows for its new program, Executive Leadership in Health Care (May 2022).

Nancy Spector, MD, Barbara Overholser, MA, and Jennifer K. O'Toole, MD, of University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, were co-editors of Women in Pediatrics: The Past, Present and Future, which was published by Springer (May 2022).

Nancy Spector, MD, was interviewed on the osmosis.com podcast, Raise the Line. Her episode was titled "Bringing Gender Diversity to Medical Education Leadership" (January 2022).

Nancy Spector, MD, was one of the authors of "The Path Forward: Using Metrics to Promote Equitable Work Environments," an article that is part of a Women in Medicine supplement published in Pediatrics (September 2021).

The ELAM program is pleased to announce the graduation of its 2021–2022 class of fellows (July 2021).

The ELAM program is pleased to announce the selection of its 2021–2022 class of fellows (May 2021).

Read the ELAM program's 2020 Annual Report [PDF] (April 2021).

Nancy Spector, MD, and Barbara Overholser, MA, co-authored "Building a New Framework for Equity: Pediatric Hospital Medicine Must Lead the Way," which appeared in the Journal of Hospital Medicine (January 2021).

ELAM is pleased to announce the graduation of its 2020 class of fellows (October 2020).

Nancy Spector, MD, received the SheForShe Award at the 2020 Women in Medicine Summit on October 10.

Nancy Spector, MD, received the AAMC's Group on Women in Medicine and Science Leadership Award for an Individual, in recognition of her profound influence and "wonderful track record of academic leadership [that] clearly demonstrates a career-long commitment to developing women leaders" (September 2020).

Nancy Spector, MD, is a co-author of "Collateral Damage: How COVID-19 Is Adversely Impacting Women Physicians" and "Leadership & Professional Development: Dis-Missed: Cultural and Gender Barriers to Graceful Self-Promotion," both of which appeared in the Journal of Hospital Medicine (August 2020).

ELUM Rehma Jagsi, MD, DPhil, and ELAM Executive Director Nancy Spector, MD, co-authored "Leading by Design: Lessons for the Future From 25 Years of the Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) Program for Women" in the July 7, 2020, issue of Academic Medicine, the journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges (July 2020).

ELAM is pleased to announce the selection of its 2020-2021 class of fellows (May 2020).

Nancy Spector, MD, has been chosen as the recipient of the Elizabeth Bingham Award, presented by the Philadelphia chapter of the Association for Women in Science. The award recognizes a "distinguished local scientist who has significantly influenced the advancement of women in science" (March 2020).

The September 2019 paper coauthored by Nancy Spector, MD, was cited in Promising Practices for Addressing the Underrepresentation of Women in Science, Engineering, and Medicine: Opening Doors, a publication of the National Academies Press (March 2020).

Nancy Spector, MD, was quoted in a Philadelphia Inquirer article about women outnumbering men at medical colleges both in Philadelphia and nationwide (December 2019).

Nancy Spector, MD, was featured in a Philadelphia Inquirer story about leading a recently published study on the myths behind the gender imbalance in pediatrics leadership. The study was also featured in WIA Report (November 2019).

Nancy Spector, MD, and Barbara Overholser, MA, authored Is Academic Medicine Making Mid-Career Women Physicians Invisible?, along with colleagues at Thomas Jefferson University, Harvard Medical School, Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein Medical College, and Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. The article was published online in the Journal of Women's Health (October 2019).

ELAM has signed on as a strategic partner for the #NeedHerScience campaign. The goal of the campaign is to raise awareness about gender bias in publishing by asking health care professionals and scientists to pledge, when determining where to submit manuscript, to look at whether journals' editorial boards have equitably included qualified women at every level (October 2019).

Nancy Spector, MD, was quoted in an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer about the underrepresentation of women on boards of Philadelphia area hospitals and medical schools (October 2019).

Nancy Spector, MD, wrote a tribute to D. Walter Cohen, DDS, which was published in the journal Compendium of Continuing Education in Dentistry, volume 40, issue 9. Dr. Cohen was the founder of the ELAM program, and the founding editor of the journal (October 2019).

Nancy Spector, MD, coauthored Women in Pediatrics: Progress, Barriers, and Opportunities for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion with colleagues at Northeastern University, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston, Boston University, Washington University in St. Louis, and the Mayo Clinic. The article is to published in the journal Pediatrics, Volume 144, Issue 5 (September 2019).

Research conducted by Nancy Spector, MD, and colleagues at Drexel and Harvard Medical School, was highlighted in the 2019 issue of Drexel's EXEL Magazine. The researchers found that female pediatricians, despite being a 62% majority in their field, were underrepresented as authors in high-impact pediatric journals (August 2019).

Nancy Spector, MD, was quoted in a Philadelphia Inquirer story about Philadelphia-area doctors fighting sexual harassment and gender pay gaps by joining Time's Up Healthcare. Drexel University College of Medicine is a signatory of the organization (August 2019).

Nancy Spector, MD, was interviewed for the Drexel News Blog about the importance of striving for gender equity in the field of academic medicine, and combating existing disparities (July 2019).

Nancy Spector, MD, and Barbara Overholser authored an editorial in JAMA Network Open about gender disparities in medicine (June 2019).

Nancy Spector, MD, told the story of her path to academic medicine, faculty development and ELAM, and discussed the importance of sponsorship, mentorship, gender equity and leadership, on the Faculty Factory podcast (June 2019).

ELAM is pleased to announce its 25th anniversary class of fellows (May 2019).

Read the ELAM program's 2018 Annual Report [PDF] (April 2019).

Nancy Spector, MD, authored a blog post on achieving equity in leadership in academic medicine and the health care industry. The post appeared in the Hospital Leader, the blog of the Society of Hospital Medicine.

Nancy D. Spector, MD, executive director of ELAM, is a founding member of TIME'S UP Healthcare, the newest affiliate of TIME'S UP, joining a network of women organizing across industries to create safe, fair and dignified workplaces for women of all kinds. Drexel University College of Medicine is a signatory organization in this effort. Learn more about Drexel's role in TIME'S UP Healthcare.

Nancy Spector, MD, executive director of ELAM, is one of the authors of "Assessment of Women Physicians Among Authors of Perspective-Type Articles Published in High-Impact Pediatric Journals," which appeared in JAMA Network on July 20, 2018. The research was highlighted in Physician's Weekly, where Dr. Spector was quoted about practical steps that could be taken to rectify the underrepresentation of women as lead authors in such articles. The paper was also covered in the Drexel News Blog.

The graduates of ELAM’s 23rd class presented Executive Director Dr. Nancy D. Spector and Associate Director Dr. Mary Anne Delaney with gifts and pledges of $23,030 towards ELAM’s Legacy Fund, which supports programming and networking support for ELAM Alumnae. Learn more about the ELAM Legacy Fund. (April 2018)

ELAM is proud to announce the selection of its 2018-2019 class of fellows: Learn more (May 2018)

ELAM is pleased to announce the graduation of the Class of 2018: Learn more (April 2018)

Read the ELAM program's 2017 Annual Report [PDF] (March 2018)

The 2018 ELUM Professional Development Program took place from January 11 – 13 in Denver. Learn more (January 2018)

Betsy Ripley's participation in the 2017 – 2018 ELAM fellowship was highlighted on the VCU School of Medicine website. Read her story. (January 2018)

Director Diane Magrane Travels to Brazil for International ADEA Conference [PDF]
Sometimes, it can take traveling to a different hemisphere to reconnect with some familiar faces. (September 2010)

2010 ELAM graduating class pledges more than $75,000 to ELAM Legacy Fund! [PDF]
(April 2010)

ELAM Program to participate in national study evaluating barriers to success for women in academic medicine [PDF]
NIH-supported research will analyze recruitment, retention, and promotion. (October 2009)

Information about the ELAM Program

Fast Facts about the ELAM Program

ELAM Forum Overview

Articles about ELAM

"Finding Next Steps in Past Accomplishments"
Inside Higher Ed (February 15, 2018)

"Mentoring Women in Medicine: A Personal Perspective"
The Lancet (February 10, 2018)

"How May We Help You? From Dixie Chicks to a New Pain Paradigm"
American Society of Anesthesiologists (December 2006)

"Zutter to join program for women in health leadership"
The Reporter (June 2, 2006)

"Women Deans Optimistic about Increasing their Numbers"
AAMC Reporter (February 2005)

"Mentoring May Increase Ranks of Women in Top Medical Jobs"
Wall Street Journal (October 21, 2003)

"Health center trio takes part in leadership program for women"
Advance (October 20, 2003)

"Inside ELAM: Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine"
Alabama Medical Alumni Bulletin, Vol. 29(2) (Summer 2003)

"ELAM Program gives midcareer boost"
The University Record (May 7, 2001)

"Breaking out of the Male Mold: Increasing Female Leadership in Academic Medicine"
Association of American Medical Colleges Reporter, Vol. 10(5):6-7 (February 2001)

 
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