Minority Dental Faculty Development and Inclusion Profiles of Success

Since its inception in 2004, the ADEA/W. K. Kellogg Foundation Minority Dental Faculty Development and Inclusion (ADEA MDFD/MDFDI) program has been unparalleled in its efforts to achieve diversity, equity and multicultural value in dental education. As a result of several rounds of funding by the Kellogg Foundation, 14 dental schools across the United States have developed, mentored and supported underrepresented minority students and faculty entering academic careers. The bonds established by the partnerships that the program funds facilitate advanced training, career development and community outreach. Here, we document the cascading effects that mentoring has had on their careers and the lives of others who continue to benefit from their leadership and mentoring. Originally profiled in the 2011 leadership manual Growing Our Own, the MDFD/MDFDI participants' stories are as diverse as the communities from which they come and the institutions that they attended. These stories are now updated and are being shared for their inspiring value to others in pursuit of professional careers, and in appreciation of the institutions and mentors who continue to build diversity leadership capacity for the future.