Yvonne Cuffy, MD

Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

A native of Ghana, I immigrated to the United States at an early age and grew up in New York. I completed my anesthesia residency training at Albany Medical Center and later joined the University of Cincinnati Department of Anesthesiology in 2012. I’ve had the privilege of serving as the DEI chair since the committee’s inception in 2021.

Our committee is focused on bringing awareness to issues faced by our Cincinnati community. Our department has expanded exponentially in the past few years. It is imperative that the physicians, nurse anesthetists, anesthesia assistants, and students are well prepared to serve our diverse population. Our journal club discussions along with lectures on culturally sensitive topics have helped shed light on health disparities faced by our patients. Our other goal is to increase racial, socioeconomic, religious, and gender diversity in anesthesiology. A diverse workforce helps to better address complex health challenges of patients. We want all our staff and trainees to feel accepted, supported, and empowered. We have taken several steps forward, but understand we still have some progress to make.

Melanie Russell, MD

Resident Chair of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

As a native of Cleveland, Ohio I aim to become a culturally competent physician who graciously gives back to my community. Throughout my education, I’ve strived to give back to underserved communities and serve as representation that “our dreams are attainable”. Throughout my training, I’ve had the opportunity to serve in various capacities all focused on increasing DEI amongst our patients, learners, faculty and staff.

Although I aspire to be an anesthesiologist, I also yearn to be a contributing factor of change for my community. I plan to continuously encourage and give back to our youth in every way that I can. As I progress through my residency, I have been fortunate to come across ample opportunities to better learn, develop and implement DEI initiatives that can transcend across various platforms.

I strive to champion those who have the talent, drive and knowledge but lack opportunity.