Dr. Julianne Adams Birt was born and raised in Harrisburg PA. She received her B.S. degree from Clark Atlanta University where she majored in Biology, Pre-Med. She then taught Health and Science in the Atlanta Public Schools before deciding to go to medical school. Dr. Birt received her M.D. degree from Morehouse School of Medicine in 2001. In 2005 she completed her residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh, PA. where she was the first Black female to graduate from that program.
Dr. Birt is a board-certified obstetrician/gynecologist and she is a fellow of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology. She founded and owns Radiant Women’s Health in 2011. Her drive became to serve the women of metro Atlanta on her terms to provide healthcare on a personal level and to educate them in the process. She founded Dr. Ju Delivers where she continues to educate and speak to women to enhance health literacy. Most notably, Dr. Birt has become an advisor for national pharmaceutical companies and is an enthusiastic proponent of advancing female sexual health speaking to lay women locally but also at national conferences to physicians and other health care professionals.
In her leadership roles, she has previously served as Chief of the Obstetrics & Gynecology Departments at DeKalb Medical Hillandale and Rockdale Medical Centers. Since 2013, she is the medical director at the Refuge Pregnancy Center in Conyers, GA. A past president and chairman of the board for the Atlanta Medical Association, current executive board member of the Georgia State Medical Association and selected to the Council on Concerns of Women Physicians of the National Medical Association, her engagement is evident. She has recently been nominated and selected to the Georgia Physician Leadership Academy in Class XII in the Medical Association of Georgia. Recognized by the Atlanta Medical Association for her contributions in 2015, she was named Young Physician of the Year and received an honorable President’s Citation Award for her community service involvement.
Dr. Birt continues to inspire the next generation of physicians. Many young, impressionable patients who share their dreams of medicine have seized the opportunity to shadow her in her office. She can be found at Career Day programs seeking to encourage middle school and high school students interested in medicine. She is an Assistant Professor for the Department of Community Medicine at Mercer University School of Medicine and mentors with the Atlanta Medical Association’s S.H.A.D.O.W. (See How a Doctor Organizes their Work) program. Speaking life into the future is Dr. Birt’s repayment to those who paved the way in medicine before her.
Ndubuisi Ahuruonye (Nd for short) grew up in metro-Atlanta after relocating from The Bronx, NY in 2002. He attended The University of Georgia where he majored in Cellular Biology and minored in Spanish. Following graduation from The University of Georgia, he attended Mississippi College where he obtained a Master of Science in Medical Sciences degree. Nd is a 2018 graduate of Indiana University SOM. While matriculating there, he discovered his love for neurology. Nd is currently a PGY-2 Neurology Resident at Emory University S.O.M.
In his free time, Nd enjoys staying physically active, practicing his rusty Spanish, traveling, watching/playing soccer, and spending time with family/friends. He has a strong commitment to giving back to the community and he is involved in several community service projects including the Hosea Feed the Hungry Foundation where he has a leadership role.
Nd is very passionate about mentoring because he is the product of several meaningful and productive mentoring relationships and he looks forward to mentoring the next generation of minority doctors.
Nd is a proud member of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc..
Leadership: Dr Brown is a member of the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) and board certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology. She participated in AAO Leadership Developement Program in 2019 and currently works on the AAO Young Ophthalmologist Advocacy Committee. Dr. Brown is a member of the American Glaucoma Society and Atlanta Medical Society. She is currently on the board of the Georgia Society of Ophthalmology and previously served as a board member of the North Carolina Society of Eye Physicians and Surgeons. She is also the vice president of the Atlanta Medical Association and chair of the Mentoring Committee.
Outreach: Dr Brown began participated in multiple medical missions to India, Haiti, and Ethiopia as a Duke medical student then fellow. Most recently, Dr Brown volunteered at St Joseph Hospital in La Valee de Jacmel with ahdhhaiti.org to perform cataract and glaucoma surgery. Locally, Dr Brown is a board member of Prevent Blindness Georgia which funds vision screening for children and underserved adult populations throughout Georgia.
Dr. Jada Bussey-Jones is a Professor in the Department of Medicine at Emory University School of Medicine. She is also theVice Chair for Diversity and Inclusion in the Department of Medicine. Dr. Bussey-Jones received her BS in Sociology and her M.D. degree from Emory University. She currently serves as the Chief of Grady General Medicine and Geriatrics and the Director of Education for Emory’s Urban Health Initiative – leading community-based participatory programing and training of health professionals to improve the health and decrease disparities among diverse populations in Atlanta.
Dr. Bussey-Jones has nationally recognized educational expertise in the areas of minority health, health equity, as well as patient and provider education. She developed and directed curricula on cultural competence, disparities, and social determinants of health for students, residents and faculty and was recognized with an Educational Innovation Award for this work. She has also chaired the National Disparities Education Task Force for the Society of General Internal Medicine organization and served as editor for a special issue of the Journal of General Internal Medicine dedicated to disparities education. In this role, her leadership resulted in an awardwinning national disparities course, web based educational modules, and two national symposia on disparities at both the Society of General Internal Medicine and at the American Association of Medical Colleges. She is a 2013 graduate of Leadership Atlanta.
Dr. Bussey-Jones has mentored hundreds of minority students, residents, and faculty in her long faculty career. She has participated in the admissions committee process for many years where she has had the opportunity to interview and deliberate on hundreds of applicants. This experience has provided her with an in-depth knowledge of the admissions process.
Dr. Bussey-Jones is married to Dr. Frank K. Jones and they have two sons, Kelvin and Jayden. She is a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc..
Dr. Byron “B.K” Edmond is a 1986 graduate of Morehouse College. He received his medical degree from Harvard Medical School in 1990 and in 1994 he completed his residency in Anesthesiology at Harvard’s Anesthesia program at The Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He is Board Certified in Anesthesiology ,served Seven Years in the Army Medical Corps and has held an academic affiliation with the Uniformed Services Medical School in Bethesda since 1994. Dr. Edmond has been practicing Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology at Walter Reed Military Hospital and instructing in Echocardiography for 25 years. He is also on staff at Johns Hopkins Hospital.
Dr Edmond is one of the founders the Thomas J. Blocker Society, a Morehouse College Alumni support organization for students pursuing careers in health sciences. Over the years he has been instrumental in organizing events designed to increase alumni student engagement. Each homecoming for seven years he and his sister Cassandra Edmond coordinated The Why We Can’t Wait Office of Health Professions Mentoring Breakfast. In February 2019 the same team coordinated A Why We Can’t Wait Super Bowl event with over 250 regional pre-med and pre-dent students and 200 trained health professionals.
He is a member of the National Association of Health Professional Advisors and has mentored hundreds of developing health professionals over the course of his career.
He is married to Dr. Regenia Edmond and he is the father of Jordan Edmond. Dr. Edmond and Dr. Frank Jones have been friends for over 35 years and have worked together on numerous projects.
Dr. Edmond is excited to be part of Dr Jones team.
Frank K. Jones, M.D. is a Board Certified General Surgeon in Atlanta, Georgia. He is a graduate of Morehouse College and Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM). He completed his residency in General Surgery at Howard University, and his fellowship in Trauma/Critical Care at the University of Maryland. He also earned a Masters in Public Health degree from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill.
Dr. Jones has always been passionate about helping students get into medical school, especially students of color. For 22 years he served on the admissions committee at MSM and on the Surgery Residency selection committee at MSM for 16 years. Over the course of his career, he has taught and mentored over a thousand students and residents. Currently Dr. Jones holds the titles of Adjunct Associate Professor of Clinical Surgery at Morehouse School of Medicine and Adjunct Professor of Clinical Education at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine-GA. Campus. His current clinical focus is as a wound care surgeon at Piedmont Fayette Wound Care Center. Dr. Jones is the president of the Atlanta Medical Association.
Dr. Jones is the founder of the S.H.A.D.O.W. (See How A Doctor Organizes Their Work) Program. This is a mentoring program that he runs in association with the Atlanta Medical Association. He has been a frequent speaker for many schools, colleges, and pre-med organizations. Dr. Jones founded Pre-Med Solutions so that he can devote more time to advising pre-med students.
Dr. Jones is married to Dr. Jada Bussey-Jones and they have two sons, Kelvin and Jayden. He is a proud member of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc..
Kevin J. Watt, MD is a graduate of the Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine. He is also a former faculty member. He served as chief resident in the ophthalmology residency program of Akron City Hospitals/Summa Health System before returning to Wright State University in 1999 as a clinical instructor of ophthalmology. Dr. Watt is the former Assistant Dean of Diversity and Inclusion at Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine. He served as the AAMC Central Region Representative to the Group on Diversity and Inclusion (GDI) from 2013-2015. In addition to his work with the medical school and the Office of Student Affairs and Admissions, Dr. Watt participates in a private ophthalmology practice in Dayton, Ohio. Before earning his medical degree, Dr. Watt received his B.S. degree from Morehouse College in Atlanta, and he completed a post-baccalaureate program at the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine MEDPREP program. Dr. Watt has been instrumental in mentoring hundreds of minority pre-medical students around the country, and he has played an integral role in getting many of them accepted to medical school.
In my opinion, mentorship and service are the most fulfilling ways to for me to give back to the youth. I absolutely love working with teens and kids, and used to work at the 4th Street Boys and Girls Club during my undergraduate studies at the University of Georgia. Not only did this job show me how important mentorship is in professional and personal development.
Moreover, considering the social impact of COVID-19 on all youth, it is important to that they have an outlet to express their frustrations and a support system to help. I want to be that support system. With my history in academic and personal mentorship, I am confident that I would be an enthusiastic mentor for pre-medical and non-premedical students.
