Join us for the inaugural Sistas in Science Symposium presented by ACIRE. 2021 sees the graduation of two very special Medical Students from UC Irvine. Kaosoluchi Enendu and Kelley Butler both matched with premiere health and research institutions – Yale and UCSF respectively. Before their departure we pass the mic to them to tell their stories in a lunchtime symposium as they declare their futures and share their journeys toward being medical doctors.

May 21st 2021
12:00 PM – 1:30 PM

Download the Event Flyer

Co-sponsors:

AICRE – Africana Institute for Creativity, Recognition and Elevation
Leadership Education to Advance Diversity–African, Black and Caribbean
School of Engineering (LEAD ABC)
OVPTL – Office of the Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning
School of Medicine
Henry Samueli School of Engineering
School of Biological Science
California Alliance for Minority Participation (CAMP)
Center for Medical Humanities
School of Biological Science, Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Co-organizer Dr S. Ama Wray for AICRE

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Additional Information:

Sistas in Science is a project developed by AICRE to highlight women of color in the STEM field primarily within UC Irvine but also beyond, aiming to amplify the space of Black Thriving on campus. This moment is a very special one for the campus because one of the women we are highlighting as a speaker at this inaugural event, Kaosoluchi Enendu, was a biology major at UC Irvine. Dr. Enendu is an incredible example of grit and grace, paying it forward (service) to her community as she strove to achieve her goal of becoming a medical doctor. Our other speaker, Kelley Butler, is from an HBCU, coming to UC Irvine to complete her education with the new challenge of doing so within an HWI. Dr. Butler will also give remarks.

Both of these women have powerful stories to share and are now part of a critically important UCI alumni network. By creating Sistas in Science: A Platform for Insight and Celebration for them to speak to their journey and future goals we are signaling to the academic community that their legacies matter, and for those underrepresented minority students the opportunity to see models of success that reflect them is a powerful boost at a time when student morale is at an all-time low, while pressure to succeed remains high. The event date Friday May 21st 2021 at 12pm-1.30pm.

More about the presenters:

Kaosoluchi Enendu, MD, MBA

Kaosoluchi was born in New York to Nigerian immigrants. As an undergraduate at the University of California, Irvine (UCI), Kaosoluchi chartered the UCI chapter of the Minority Association for Pre-medical Students (MAPS). She also supported the creation of the UCI Academic Excellence Black Scholars House, which fosters equity in access to resources and a sense of belonging for students underrepresented in academic institutions. Kaosoluchi’s advocacy for equity and belonging in higher education continued when she matriculated to the UCI School of Medicine. She championed and is the co-founder of a four-year academic thread entitled LEAD-ABC (Leadership in Education Advancing Diversity- African, Black, and Caribbean) for the purpose of “producing future physicians who are committed to serving African, Black and Caribbean communities in California, the United States, and beyond.” LEAD-ABC is an institutionalized student support structure that also promotes wellbeing and optimizes each student’s ability to excel as a trainee. The program helped achieve a historic moment in 2020 when the UCI medical school matriculated a record 12 Black medical students when just three months prior, the class of 2020 graduated without any Black students. She was inducted into the Gold Humanism Honor Society and served as the chapter’s co-president. She was also an active leader in the Student National Medical Association (SNMA) during her four years of medical school, serving as chapter President, Associate Regional Director, and Co-Chair of the National Mental Health Initiative Committee. While in medical school, Kaosoluchi also completed her MBA with a Physician and Healthcare Executive concentration in order to optimize reform efforts to create systems that address the needs of underserved communities through a business of medicine lens. Kaosoluchi is interested in student mental health and well-being, specifically for minoritized students and trainees. She participated in an Association of American Medical Colleges panel discussing best practices to support minority medical students. Kaosoluchi works to address health inequities, with a focus on racial trauma – stress stemming from the experience of racial discrimination. She aims to treat patients holistically, taking their racial and social context into consideration. Eventually, Kaosoluchi would like to advise institutions on how to do this on a larger scale and consult on the creation of other mission-based programs like LEAD-ABC around the country. For fun, Kaosoluchi loves to travel, go on new adventures, work on graphic designs for her clothing line, and spend time with loved ones.

> Learn More Here

Kelley Butler, MD

Dr. Kelley Butler is a 2021 graduate of the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine. Hailing from Los Angeles, Kelley has committed herself to serving marginalized communities. She is an active member in various causes dedicated to students and professionals of color, people suffering from substance use disorder and addiction, and people experiencing houselessness. On her medical campus, Dr. Kelley is known for her work in social justice, health advocacy and initiatives targeted for minoritized students.
Dr. Kelley completed her Masters of Public Health in Health Policy at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health. There, she lead organizing efforts in juvenile justice reform and prison divestment, presented research on substance use and addiction treatment, completed a fellowship in Equity, Diversity and

Inclusion, increased civic engagement on campus through the Harvard Votes Campaign and oversaw a workshop series on Imposter Syndrome. Following her masters studies, she went on to serve rural and frontier communities in Oregon as an Opioid Response Program Associate for Greater Oregon Behavioral Health Inc. She recently matched at UCSF in Family Medicine

Kelley graduated from Howard University in 2015 with a passion for serving communities without access to health insurance, quality healthcare or education. As such, she’s dedicated herself to educating and serving both local and international communities in need. She’s traveled to Panama, Kenya and Angola on medical missions thus far and looks forward to continuing to be of service to all mankind.