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Rachel J. Thornton, MD, PhD is Vice President and Chief Health Equity Officer at Nemours, where she leads work on health equity strategy to support the organization’s vision to create the healthiest generations of children. With hospitals in the Delaware Valley and Central Florida, Nemours is one of the largest integrated pediatric health systems in the United States. Dr. Thornton has committed her career to health equity research and practice, including organizational transformation.

Prior to joining Nemours, Dr. Thornton was Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and the inaugural Executive Director for Clinical Services in the Johns Hopkins Medicine Office of Population Health, where she led population health management services and community health. A practicing primary care pediatrician, Dr. Thornton served as a Health Policy advisor at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development from 2011–2013. As a nationally recognized innovator in health equity research and practice, she served as a member of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine study committee on Shaping Summertime Experiences, Opportunities to Promote Healthy Development ²¹²Ô»åÌýWell-Being for Children and Youth and as a member of the Strategy Group on COVID and Rental Evictions.

Dr. Thornton received a BA from New York University, an MD from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and a PhD in Health Policy and Management from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. After residency, she completed fellowship training in general academic pediatrics.

Theresa L. Proctor is the Senior Director, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion for Nemours. With more than 30 years of health care and Human Resources experience, she leads the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Alignment (IDEA) Program Management, Diversity Practitioner and Education teams across the enterprise. In this role she leads efforts to advance DEI and health equity strategic planning, educational programming, the support of Associate Resource Groups, and develop transparent and effective dashboards to support accountability for a diverse and thriving workforce of more than 9,000 associates. From policies and processes to associate engagement, she is focused on creating and supporting a workplace culture that values diversity, equity and inclusion and eliminating health care disparities. As a senior leader in a multistate children’s health system, Theresa understands how to effectively advance diversity, equity and inclusion goals within fast-paced industry environments. Her commitment to workforce diversity is both mission-driven and strategic.

Prior to joining the IDEA leadership team, Theresa led Nemours as Director, Human Resources Solutions where she was responsible for managing the Enterprise HR Solutions team in onboarding and Human Resources Information Systems (HRIS), developing and leading enterprisewide strategic initiatives and processes, leading the administration of HR policies and procedures and managing HR’s regulatory/corporate compliance functions. In her 11 years as an HR professional at Nemours, she has also served as Talent Acquisition Manager for enterprise physician recruitment and Florida nonphysician recruitment, Senior Recruiter and Interim Director, Fund Development for Central Florida. In addition, Theresa served five years in the Arkansas Army National Guard as a Paralegal Noncommissioned Officer in the 39th Infantry Brigade Judge Advocate General’s Corps. During her assignment, she completed one tour of duty in Operation Iraqi Freedom II.

Theresa holds a BS in Business Administration-Management from the University of Arkansas — Pine Bluff.

Justin Andrade is the Director, DEI Education & Learning Initiatives for the IDEA team at Nemours. In his role, Justin leads the development of inclusive education, resources and tools to improve workforce diversity, equity and inclusion.

Justin has more than 15 years of experience focused on creating inclusive education, opportunities and initiatives. Prior to joining Nemours, Justin spent more than 10 years at the University of Central Florida, leading efforts that included building organization-wide civil discourse education and dialogue programs, LGBTQ+ and multicultural population education and resource building, diverse recruitment and retention strategies, community engagement, and strategic planning with leadership to enhance the experience of the workforce and constituencies. During his tenure, he built resources and programs for the LGBTQ+ community, which led the university to achieve a designation as the most LGBTQ+ inclusive institution in the state of Florida. Justin received his BS in Psychology from the University of Central Florida and MS in Higher Education from Drexel University.

Lavisha Pelaez is the Health Equity Operations and Evaluation Scientist for the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity & Alignment team at Nemours. She is responsible for leading efforts to apply research and evidence-based practices to health equity initiatives across the enterprise. She supports development of evaluations and interventions and implementation efforts for population health, quality improvement, workforce development and other related initiatives, with a specific focus on health equity, outcome disparities, social drivers of health and other related factors.Ìý

Lavisha’s professional background is centered around improving pediatric health outcomes and addressing disparities in care. She has worked within internationally recognized health systems, nonprofit organizations focused on services for children, and academia with responsibilities that included public health and clinical research, program evaluation, project data management and consulting.Ìý 

Lavisha earned dual BS degrees in Community Health and Kinesiology, and an MPH in Epidemiology from the University of Maryl²¹²Ô»åÌý— College Park. Lavisha is currently pursuing her Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) in Health Equity and Social Justice from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.