Keynote Speakers

Jenny Bloom is a Full Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Research Methodology at Florida Atlantic University (FAU). In addition, she is the Coordinator of the Higher Education Leadership Master’s Degree Program and Founder of the Office of Appreciative Education https://www.fau.edu/oae/) at FAU. 

She previously served as a Clinical Professor and Director of the M.Ed. program in the Higher Education & Student Affairs Program at the University of South Carolina. Prior to UofSC, she served as the Associate Dean for Student Affairs & the Medical Scholars Program at the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Urbana-Champaign. 

Dr. Bloom served as the 2007-08 President of the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA) and was named the recipient of NACADA’s Virginia N. Gordon Award for Excellence in the Field of Advising in 2017. Dr. Bloom has co-authored six books and numerous articles and has presented her work at over 500 higher education institutions and conferences.

Dr. Bussey-Jones is a Professor of Medicine in the Department of Medicine of Emory University’s School of Medicine.  She received her BS in Sociology and later her MD from Emory University. She currently serves as the Chief of Grady General Medicine and Geriatrics, the Vice Chair for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for the Department of Medicine, and the Assistant Dean for Professional Development for Emory at Grady. Dr. Bussey-Jones has nationally recognized educational expertise in the areas of minority health, health equity, as well as patient and provider education. 

She has developed several program initiatives addressing health promotion and disease prevention for vulnerable populations.  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 award winning 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.