Torchbearer: Dr. Christine Ngaruiya. Kenyan-American
Torchbearer: Dr. Christine Ngaruiya
Profession: Medical Doctor; Associate Professor; Medical Researcher
Organization: Stanford Department of Emergency Medicine
"My big picture mission is quite clear to me, one being - contributing to advancing equity around non-communicable disease care in Africa. I believe that is the social justice issue of our time.”
Christine has taken the time to understand what she loves to do and what type of impact she wants to make. This was not always the case. Throughout her life she has been brave enough to make her voice heard. While growing up in Kenya and Nebraska, she faced a fair amount of bullying from peers that made her feel like an outsider.
"I’ve sort of been an outsider in a lot of different phases of my life - being born in the US to immigrants. Then moving to Kenya and being bullied there because I’m this Kenyan person with a US accent - it made me an easy target.
Thankfully, I had mentors, sponsors and believers along the way."
She always dreamed of being a medical doctor and she made that dream her reality. With the support of her community of believers and her own brilliance and tenacity, she found a space to share her gifts within the medical research field, exploring topics around noncommunicable diseases - becoming Director and Assistant Professor at Yale and now Stanford University's medical school. She has won teaching awards and her research is widely recognized. We haven't even touched on the non-profit organization she co-founded - Kenyan Doctors USA!
As we said earlier, Dr. Christine's mission is clear - and she is not holding back. The world is grateful.
On This Episode
In our podcast we talk about:
Removing the mystery around her role - what's happens in her day
Learning how to create work boundaries
Being an outsider - being bullied in Kenya and dealing with racism in the US
Recognizing her role as a leader and advocate
Starting a medical care program for refugees while in medical school "Bridge to Care"
Her career accomplishments