2025 Stanford Conference on Disability in Healthcare and Medicine | MSDCI and SMADIE
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Lasting change in disability inclusion requires collective action and leadership. This keynote explores how collaborative, multi-role leadership teams transform health professions education by uniting learners, clinicians, educators, DRPs, and institutional leaders to drive precision change and quality improvement.
Dr. Meeks will highlight how shared leadership and policy transformation move institutions beyond compliance to create meaningful inclusion. Attendees will be invited to join this collective effort, reimagining a future where disabled healthcare professionals thrive.
Clinical Assistant Professor: Assistant Residency Director
University of Michigan Department of Family Medicine
Heidi Joshi received her doctoral degree in clinical psychology from Alliant International University: The California School of Professional Psychology and did her internship and postdoctoral residency in primary care psychology from UC Davis Department of Family and Community Medicine. She is fellowship trained in Behavioral Science and Family Systems Education from the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine and is certified in Integrated Primary Care from the University of Massachusetts.
She currently is a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Michigan in the department of Family Medicine and also serves as an Assistant Residency Director. Here, she focuses on teaching the behavioral medicine curriculum to family medicine residents. She has research interests in patient-centered communication skills and medical providers and learners with disabilities.
Her lived experience working in medicine as a clinical provider, administrator and teacher, and as a woman who is blind come together to give her a unique perspective on disability, health care and medical education.
Professor, Department of Medical Education
University of Illinois College of Medicine
Dr. Lisa Meeks is a Professor in the Department of Medical Education at the University of Illinois Chicago and Executive Director of the Docs With Disabilities Initiative (DWDI), where she is a driving force in advancing disability inclusion in health professions education.
Internationally recognized for her expertise, Dr. Meeks collaborates with health professions associations to transform policy and practice, ensuring equity and accessibility for learners and professionals with disabilities. She is the co-creator of the #DocsWithDisabilities social media campaign, co-host of the Docs With Disabilities Podcast, and co-developer of the AAMC Disability Webinar Series. Her leadership in creating impactful resources includes serving as the lead author of the AAMC Special Report: Accessibility, Inclusion, and Action in Medical Education: Lived Experiences of Learners and Physicians with Disabilities. Dr. Meeks also spearheads projects in graduate medical education, including co-leading the 2024 Macy Catalyst Award-winning project Multimedia Resource Hub for Disability Inclusion in GME and advising the ACGME committee on diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Dr. Meeks has authored and edited eight influential books and published over 100 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters in leading medical journals. Her work has also been featured in major media outlets, including TIME Magazine, NPR, CNBC, and Bloomberg Law.
At the heart of Dr. Meeks’ work is a profound commitment to mentoring the next generation of disabled physicians and scholars, fostering environments where they can thrive and lead. Beyond her professional accomplishments, she treasures her role as a grandmother, finding her time with her grandson, Charlie, among the most rewarding and fulfilling experiences of her life.
