Pamela Mays McDonald is a retired Fine Arts Museums director from San Francisco, who relocated to Philadelphia in 2017, specifically to pursue historical research. She completed her PhD studies in Linguistics at Georgetown University, was a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellow, a Fulbright Award recipient in Brazil, a lecturer for the US Information Agency, and began her museum career as a Graduate Fellow at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. In the museum world, she developed a specific interest in the ways that African and African American art and culture has been an historically influential presence in not only American art, but in arts and cultures around the world. She has lectured and taught museology around the world, her work has been published in several languages, and her graduate and undergrad students have moved on to illustrious careers.

Her presentation on this topic is informed by her unique background. Growing up in a military family, her mother was a Biology teacher and father was a longtime professor of medicine, including Chair of Medicine at Meharry Medical College, Clinical Professor at the University of California, consultant for the VA, the NIH, the Army and the Air Force, who specialized in Internal Medicine, particularly Pulmonary and Infectious Diseases. He published and presented numerous peer-reviewed scientific research articles in journals and medical textbooks throughout his long career and received numerous medals and honors. Moreover, he was a “race man.” Before his death, he had been called “The Black Dr Fauci’ and predicted the future of the COVID-19 pandemic. Pamela was fortunate to have been his most avid student and carries his legacy as a researcher and educator. Her personal motto is: “Yesterday’s histories explain today’s mysteries.”

Read Dr. Laurencin's June, 2021 article for the Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities,"Adressing Justified Vaccine Hesitancy in the Black Community"

Cato T. Laurencin, M.D., Ph.D. is the University Professor and Albert and Wilda Van Dusen Distinguished Endowed Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Connecticut. He is Professor of Chemical Engineering, Professor of Materials Science and Engineering and Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the school. He serves as the Chief Executive Officer of The Connecticut Convergence Institute for Translation in Regenerative Engineering and the Director of the Raymond and Beverly Sackler Center for Biomedical, Biological, Physical and Engineering Sciences at UConn. Dr. Laurencin is a top-rated physician and surgeoun, a pioneering biomedical engineer who has been pivotal in the development of the field, and an expert on racial and ethnic health disparities. He .

Dr. Laurencin earned a B.S.E. in Chemical Engineering from Princeton University, and his M.D., Magna Cum Laude, from the Harvard Medical School, and received the Robinson Award for Surgery. He earned his Ph.D. in Biochemical Engineering/Biotechnology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he was named a Hugh Hampton Young Fellow. A practicing sports medicine and shoulder surgeon, Dr. Laurencin has been named to America’s Top Doctors for over fifteen years. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, a Fellow of the American Orthopaedic Association, a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and a member of the American Surgical Association. He received the Nicolas Andry Award, the highest honor of the Association of Bone and Joint Surgeons, and the Kappa Delta Ann Doner Vaughn Award from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Dr. Laurencin served as Dean of the Medical School and Vice President for Health Affairs at the University of Connecticut.

A Philadelphia native and son of beloved family physician Dr. Helen Moorhead Laurencin, Cato Laurencin is active in mentoring, especially underrepresented minority students. He received the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Mentor Award, the Beckman Award for Mentoring, and the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Math and Engineering Mentoring in ceremonies at the White House. The Society for Biomaterials established The Cato T. Laurencin, M.D., Ph.D. Travel Fellowship in his honor, awarded to underrepresented minority students pursuing research. Dr. Laurencin is also active in addressing Health Disparities. Dr. Laurencin completed the Program in African-American Studies at Princeton University. He is a core faculty member of the Africana Studies Institute at the University of Connecticut, and is Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, published by Springer Nature. He co-Founded the W. Montague Cobb/NMA Health Institute, dedicated to addressing Health Disparities, and served as its Founding Chair. The W. Montague Cobb/NMA Health Institute and the National Medical Association established the Cato T. Laurencin Lifetime Research Achievement Award, given during the opening ceremonies of the National Medical Association Meeting. He is a recipient of the Herbert W. Nickens Award from the Association of American Medical Colleges recognizing his work advancing social justice and equity.

Read Dr. Laurencin's full biography.

• My professional background in healthcare, includes clinical expertise in adult patient education over the last 30 years. Prior to early retirement from PENNMEDICINE, my last 15 years were in business aspect of healthcare. Including Corporate Compliance and Medicare auditing, procuring additional services for patients through the managed care office. Educating patients and families on the complexity of the finances of healthcare. After an early retirement from PENNMEDICINE system in 2003, I resumed a clinical work as an RN in the homecare, palliative/hospice specialty area for 14 years.
• Case Manager with Aetna and Independence Blue Cross 6 years and educating members with chronic long diseases for better management.
• Community work included: 26 years as a volunteer and Board member for Womens' Way, Philadelphia, PA.TWIGs, INC., North MontCo Chapter. Offices held: Chair Nominating committee, Ways and Means and Chapter President.
• Theta Chapter, CHI ETA PHI Sorority, INC., Historian, Health committee, Retention and Recruitment.
• NCNW, Del Val Chapter- Covid initiative GHW/CDC
• ASALH- Member, Philadelphia and Speaker National Meeting Atlanta GA.
2007