Brenda D. Lee is a pioneer in understanding the impact of racial inequities and developing solutions to combat them, especially for people who have been historically excluded from educational opportunities such as medical school. Lee served the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry (SMD) for nearly 30 years, retiring in 2016 from the position of assistant dean for medical education and student affairs.
Long before universities and other organizations were embarking upon ambitious initiatives to address systemic racism, Lee applied her lived experience and insight to conquer some of the uncharted barriers that contributed to a dearth of diversity in health care professions. She became a national advocate for inclusion and diversity, working to replicate New York’s successful initiatives in other states. In 1990, she convened with deans from other medical schools in New York to write a federal grant that launched the first-of-its-kind postbaccalaureate program to help prepare promising, historically excluded students for success in medical school. SMD has since become one of nine medical schools in the state to participate by recommending qualifying students for the free, 12-month enrichment program that, upon completion, leads to acceptance into that medical school. Since 1991, 94 percent of those who have completed the program have gone on to medical school, creating some 600 practicing physicians. It is one stellar example of how her ideas, energy and insight have brought institutions and individuals together to devise practical, real-world strategies for increasing diversity in medicine.
She also was a leader in the Science and Technology Entry Program (STEP), a University program that supports historically underrepresented and economically disadvantaged students in preparing to enter college, launching them toward careers in health-related and other STEM fields.
Lee’s determination and foresight opened the doors of medical and health professions to hundreds who would have never imagined such a career could be within their reach. She earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Wisconsin and a master’s degree in education from Antioch University.