Page 10 - NYC Imagine Awards Journal

Meet the Judges
Dr, Sharon Gonzalez
Founder
Blacklining Foundation
Dr. Sharon Gonzalez is a dedicated educator
and founder of the Blacklining Foundation,
an organization committed to reversing the
negative effects of redlining through initiatives
and programs centered on health, wealth, and
legacy. With over 20 years of experience working
in underserved communities, Dr. Gonzalez has
spent the last five years in the nonprofit sector,
focusing on creating opportunities and fostering
positive change. Her passion for education and
community empowerment drives her work,
ensuring that every effort is made to address racial injustices, inequities, and
inequalities.
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Meet the Judges
Dianna Jacob Caldwell
Principal
Dianna Jacob, LLC.
Dianna is a consultant in Caldwell’s Life
Sciences and Healthcare Practice and a member
of the New York office. With more than 20
years of experience as a healthcare executive
in academic health systems, she has extensive
experience in leadership development and
recruitment of top talent into hospital C-suite
roles, both clinical and non-clinical, as well
as medical school deans and administration.
She has the unique experience f leading the
department chair search process, including
implementing process improvements to increase the quality and efficiency of
the searches.
Experience
Dianna joined Caldwell after serving as chief operating officer at NYC Health
+ Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health, Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hospital, where she
led the organization through the COVID-19 pandemic, opened a new 11-story
hospital in 2023, and successfully recruited a new chief quality officer, chief
medical information officer and associate executive director for operations.
She began her career as a physician assistant in orthopedic surgery at Montefiore
Medical Center. Subsequently she served as vice president for education, faculty
and academic affairs at NYU School of Medicine, where she was responsible
for faculty affairs, including departmental chair searches, undergraduate medical
education, graduate medical education, continuing medical education. Dianna
then rejoined Montefiore as vice president/executive director of the Wakefield
Campus, a 325-bed acute care hospital, where she led strategic and operational
planning, patient safety, quality, and fiscal management. In 2018 she took a year
off and traveled abroad solo to over 24 countries throughout Africa, the Middle
East, Scandinavia and Asia. Upon her return, she served as partnership executive
at a digital health startup prior to joining NYC Health + Hospitals.
Education
Dianna earned her bachelor’s degree from St. John’s University, graduating
magna cum laude. She received her certification as a Physician Assistant from
St. Vincent’s Catholic Medical Center followed by her master’s in business
administration with a focus on healthcare administration.
More About Dianna
Outside of work, Dianna is passionate about equity, social/racial justice and
health and wellness. She serves on the board of EAC Network, a social services
nonprofit, as well as on the growth council of South Asian Soar, a nonprofit
working to end gender-based violence in the South Asian diaspora in the US.
She is also an executive coach for women in leadership focused on social impact.