Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Leaders
At the University of Maryland Medical System, we understand that to make the changes outlined in our Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Roadmap we need a experienced leadership team dedicated to the tasks before us.
Roderick K. King, MD, MPH
Senior Vice President, Chief Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Officer
University of Maryland Medical System
Dr. King oversees equity, diversity and inclusion efforts across the System, working collaboratively with member hospitals to implement the System’s equity, diversity and inclusion strategic plan. Dr. King’s responsibilities include:
- Developing organizational goals for equity, diversity and inclusion
- Building a System-wide infrastructure designed to foster institutional change
- Providing executive-level guidance to integrate equity, diversity and inclusion best practices into our System operations
- Developing and executing an ongoing training and education strategy focused on equity, diversity and inclusion
Dr. King's father, a primary care physician in Brooklyn, worked with his mother for more than four decades, caring for the underserved and helping to address the social determinants of health.
Dr. King earned a BS in biomedical engineering from Johns Hopkins University and his medical degree from Weill Cornell Medicine. He completed his pediatric training at Children’s National Medical Center. After working in West Africa, he returned to complete a Master of Public Health degree from Harvard School of Public Health as a Commonwealth Fund/Harvard University Fellow in Minority Health Policy.
Dr. King also serves as an adjunct professor at the University of Maryland School of Public Health in their Department of Health Policy and Management. Prior to his current role, Dr. King served as Chief Executive Officer of the Florida Institute for Health Innovation and in multiple roles at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine including the inaugural Senior Associate Dean for Diversity, Inclusion and Community Engagement.
Dr. King has received numerous national and international honors and previously served as chairman of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Advisory Committee on Minority Health, New England director for the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and as senior advisor for HRSA’s Bureau of Primary Health. He co-founded the Massachusetts General Hospital Disparities Solutions Center.
Joseph L. Wright, MD, MPH
Vice President and UMMS Chief Health Equity Officer
Dr. Wright is developing strategies to improve the equitable delivery of health care across UMMS. His specific areas of focus include:
- Developing policy to support health equity
- Engaging with the communities we serve to reduce and eliminate disparities
- Positioning UMMS as a national thought leader in this area
- Promoting overall health and well-being for patients and their families.
Dr. Wright brings commitment and vast experience in health equity to his role as well as an emphasis on the needs of underserved communities. He began his medical career as a community-based pediatrician in the National Health Service Corp working in his hometown of Brooklyn, NY. That deeply grounding experience has been the touchstone that has framed all of his later activities and efforts.
Before taking on this new position, Dr. Wright served as the senior vice president and chief medical officer at UM Capital Region Health for three years. He is an adjunct professor of health policy and management and teaches at the University of Maryland School of Public Health, where he also serves on the school’s Community Advisory Council. He also maintains an adjunct appointment as professor of pediatrics at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.
A nationally known expert in pediatric emergency medicine, Dr. Wright has provided national leadership to several organizations, including the Association of American Medical Colleges, the March of Dimes and the National Academy of Science, Engineering and Medicine. He also served on the Pediatric Advisory Committee of the Food and Drug Administration during the Obama administration. Dr. Wright is an elected member of the American Academy of Pediatrics Board of Directors and chairs the Board Committee on Equity.
He was very active in health equity work during his time at UM Capital Region, leading the Health Recovery Committee of the Prince George’s Forward COVID-19 Task Force, as well as serving on the District of Columbia Commission on Health Equity. Dr. Wright was recognized as a 2020 Diversity in Business Leader by the Washington Business Journal.
Dr. Wright earned a BA from Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT, his MD from Rutgers University, and a Master of Public Health in Administrative Medicine and Management from George Washington University.
