Biography

Senior Associate Dean for Admissions and Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity; Professor

Clinical Science

Dr. Lindia Willies-Jacobo came to Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, where she had served as Professor of Pediatrics since 1996 and as the Assistant Dean for Diversity and Community Partnerships and Director of the Program in Medical Education-Health Equity (PRIME-HEq) for 10 years. Her scholarly interests include healthcare workforce diversity, cultural humility in the practice of medicine, advocacy for underserved populations, and combating health inequities. Dr. Willies-Jacobo developed an Implicit Bias and Microaggressions curriculum for medical students, conducted implicit bias workshops for faculty and residents, and has  spoken  widely  on  these  topics. She was the Principal Investigator on two Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) grants, which focused on developing a diverse healthcare workforce. She has received numerous teaching, faculty service and diversity awards.

At KPSOM, Dr. Willies-Jacobo leads and manages the KPSOM admissions process, from initial outreach to matriculation. She is also responsible for all aspects of development, implementation, and oversight of EID strategy throughout the school. Dr. Willies-Jacobo serves as an ad hoc journal reviewer for Academic Medicine, Pediatrics, and the Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health. She served as the Western Regional Representative for the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Group on Student Affairs - Committee on Student Diversity Affairs, and is a subject matter expert for the AAMC Situational Judgment Test (SJT) content and scoring review process. She is the school representative to the AAMC Group on Diversity and Inclusion (GDI).

Dr. Willies-Jacobo received her bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry and Cell Biology from UC San Diego, followed by medical school, Pediatrics residency, and Chief Residency at UC San Diego School of Medicine.

A headshot of Lindia J. Willies-Jacobo, MD