Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Committee

Our Commitment to a Diverse and Inclusive Community

The Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital is committed to the advancement of a culturally competent and diverse faculty, staff and trainee community. We welcome individuals from all backgrounds, genders and gender identities, races, ethnicities, abilities and sexual orientations. We know that we are stronger through our collective differences.

The department’s DEI committee aims to ensure a welcoming environment where all members of the department can experience a true sense of belonging. One of our department’s core beliefs is that everyone deserves respect—it doesn’t matter where they’re from, how they identify, the color of their skin, who they love or how they experience faith.

Our Mission

We cultivate a safe and supportive environment by embedding diversity, equity and inclusion into the fabric of the department, using continued education to alleviate disparities in health care and addressing the unconscious biases that harm both quality of care and workplace culture. We are committed to fostering an inclusive and collaborative community, celebrating the diverse perspectives and identities of every individual, creating equitable access to opportunities for departmental advancements and eliminating inequities in patient care.

We stand firm against discrimination of race, age, color, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, religion, national origin, migratory status, disability/abilities, political affiliation and socioeconomic background.

Our Initiatives

We advocate for the expansion of opportunities for those who are underrepresented in medicine (URiM).

We achieve this through:

• Advancing equitable and inclusive hiring, recruitment and career development strategies
• Organizing training and research efforts to further our collective understanding of implicit bias, racism and disparities in health care
• Curating educational programming and community interventions to help faculty and staff further the DEI mission
• Implementing mentoring pathways for URiM medical students, trainees and junior faculty
• Arranging DEI committee-run social events with the purpose of bringing people of all backgrounds together outside of work
• Hosting annual webinars to introduce URiM medical students to the Mass General Anesthesia Residency Program, hosted by a diverse group of faculty and trainees
• Confronting and correcting disparities in obstetric labor analgesia education, as part of the Mass General Brigham United Against Racism (UAR) campaign

Meet Our Team

Amy Du, MD, MS
DEI Committee Director
Anesthesiologist, Mass General
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Country of origin: South Africa
Languages: English, Mandarin, some Spanish

Yvonne Lai, MD
Associate Program Director, Anesthesia Residency Program
Anesthesiologist, Mass General
Pronouns: She/her/hers
Country/State of Origin: New Jersey, U.S.
Languages: English, Mandarin

Gabriel Washington, MD
Anesthesia Resident, Mass General
Pronouns: He/him/his
Country/State of Origin: Nevada, U.S.
Language: English