Champion of health equity has one goal for her Geisinger College DEI work: joy

Geisinger Commonwealth has added Valencia P. Walker, MD, MPH, as vice dean for health equity and inclusion. Dr. Walker is a highly regarded neonatologist, noted champion for the elimination of health inequities and an expert in intersectionality, microaggressions and anti-racist praxis.

In addition to her impressive CV, what’s most striking about Dr. Walker is her philosophy. “I want to bring joy to the work,” she said. “Many people often think DEI work has to be filled with difficulty and disagreement, but I want people to experience the joy. I want them to know we can do this work together. I want people to know that they will be seen, heard and valued.”

Her infectious positivity infuses the conversation. On the professional side, she finds significant rewards in her work as a neonatologist, which she describes as “the absolute best job in the world. It’s difficult and demanding and emotional, but there’s never a day I don’t wake up and feel blessed and privileged. I take pride in doing a job where I help save babies’ lives.” On a personal note, as a native Georgian and sister of an alum, she is a Georgia Bulldogs fan and has followed their football season even while working as faculty at The Ohio State University.

Dr. Walker’s enthusiastic and unflappable approach might come in part from her educational experience in the BIONR program at Florida A&M University (FAMU), which she describes as “an incredible experience.” She treasures “amazing friends and networks from BIONR and FAMU” to this day. The grant-funded BIONR doesn’t exist anymore, but Dr. Walker speaks with admiration for the people who went through it and their subsequent successes. Designed to encourage and support underrepresented-in-medicine students interested in healthcare professions, BIONR provided opportunities to do research in college and connect with other students who loved the sciences and medicine as much as she did. More importantly, Dr. Walker highlighted the amazing and inspiring teachers they had, and “That’s how I understood the importance of caring for students and helping them realize their success with just a little guidance in a positive, supportive environment.”

That concern for students keeps Dr. Walker in academia. “I want to ensure everyone has a fair and equitable educational experience,” she said. Motivated by incidents in her own career, she decided to seek formal training in the DEI space. “There was a flashpoint for me,” she said, “but I think I was always this person. I recently found a paper I wrote in seventh or eighth grade about how unfair the levels of poverty were in Nicaragua. I felt something should be done about it. So, I think applying concepts like health equity have just been the way I’ve always seen the world.”

She went on to serve as an inaugural assistant dean of equity and diversity inclusion for the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and most recently as associate chief diversity and health equity officer for Nationwide Children’s Hospital. “I was an assistant dean at UCLA for two years, and my primary job was to advocate for students. Additionally, I was championing faculty development and creating a continuum of awareness and action. I recognized the huge impact faculty have on students and trainees. Then, my time at Nationwide Children’s Hospital allowed me to engage in DEI work for the health system. As much as that work excited me, Geisinger was an attractive opportunity because

I missed working with students and in the medical education space. Plus, it’s amazing to have a woman leader like Dr. Byerley who is so well regarded in academic medicine. I am especially looking forward to joining a young, vibrant medical school that remains connected to community and to partners who believe in and are engaged in this work.”

At Geisinger, Dr. Walker will still devote some of her time to working in the NICU. For the most part, however, she said she plans to do one simple thing for the first few months: Meet people. “I want to learn what folks are most proud of about what it means to be at Geisinger,” she said. “I am excited to be a part of the terrific team that exists here.”

Meet Dr. Walker

Walker

Before joining Geisinger, Dr. Walker was the associate chief diversity and health equity officer for Nationwide Children’s Hospital. She held joint appointments as associate division chief of health equity and inclusion for the Division of Neonatology and vice chair of diversity, equity and inclusion for the Department of Pediatrics at The Ohio State University College of Medicine.

As a neonatologist, she champions the elimination of health inequities for pregnant people and their infants. And as a physician leader within organized medicine, Dr. Walker is a member of the Executive Committee for the AAP’s Section on Minority Health Equity and Inclusion and was the central region representative for the AAMC’s Group on Diversity and Inclusion.

Dr. Walker completed her undergraduate studies at Florida A&M University, a HBCU (historically Black college or university), and received her medical degree from Emory University School of Medicine. She finished a pediatrics residency at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center and a neonatology fellowship at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. Dr. Walker also earned a Master of Public Health in Health Policy from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.