CMCA Faculty and Staff

Gary C. Butts, MD
Director
Dr. Butts is a Professor in the Departments of Pediatrics & Medical Education, and an Associate Dean for Diversity Programs, Policy, and Community Affairs at Icahn School of Medicine. Dr. Butts has been the recipient of numerous honors and awards and has authored a number of professional articles. Dr. Butts has had several notable accomplishments; some of his most significant originate from his term as a Deputy Commissioner for the New York City Department of Health (1993-1998). In this capacity, he developed and implemented the Mayoral primary care expansion Communicare program for the New York City Department of Health, opening two community clinics to support improved primary care capacity for children and adults seeking health care in the public sector. He was also responsible for providing oversight to broker resources through the "Healthy Start NYC" Infant Mortality Initiative to support community-based partnerships to reduce barriers to early prenatal care, achieving greater reductions in infant mortality rates in targeted communities. Dr. Butts received his medical degree from Cornell University Medical College and his postdoctoral training from Icahn School of Medicine.

Edward J. Ronan, PhD
Associate Director, Academic Learning and Support
Dr. Ronan is the Associate Director for Academic Support and is responsible for coordinating and arranging academic support and enrichment activities for MSSM medical students. Dr. Ronan serves as the Director of our Summer Enrichment Pre-Matriculation Program (SEP), Associate Director of The Icahn School of Medicine Humanities and Medicine Program, and Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs at The Mount School of Medicine. He also is an Assistant Professor of Pharmacology and Biological Chemistry at MSSM.

Ray Cornbill, MBA
Consultant, Research and Development Unit
Mr. Cornbill is a consultant for our Research and Development Unit which provides career and research development coaching and mentoring to our Faculty Scholars, students, and trainees and supports access to the tools and resources necessary to be successful in academic medicine..

Ann-Gel S. Palermo, DrPH, MPH
Associate Director of Operations
Dr. Palermo is primarily responsible for responsible for overseeing day-to-day activities and the implementation programs and activities that ensure the successful graduation of medical students underrepresented in medicine and the recruitment, training, and retention of faculty underrepresented in medicine such that they are equipped with what it takes to be a successful faculty member in academic medicine. Dr. Palermo is also an Assistant Professor in Pediatrics and Medical Education. Dr. Palermo has worked in the area of community-based public health with a principal focus on issues related to social determinants of health using a community-based participatory research approach. She earned a Masters of Public Health degree (majoring in Health Policy) in 1999 from the University of Michigan and a Doctorate of Public Health in 2012 from the CUNY Graduate Center School of Public Health at Hunter College. Since 1999, Dr. Palermo has served as the chairperson of the Harlem Community Academic Partnership (HCAP) which is a diverse partnership of representatives from community and academic organizations committed to identifying social determinants of health and implementing community-based interventions in Harlem. Dr. Palermo also serves as a board member of the East Harlem Community Health Committee and Board Chair of the Board of Directors for the Manhattan-Staten Island Area Health Education Center. Her previous community research experience includes research and analysis on issues related to diabetes care in East Harlem, benefit and coverage issues for low-income Medicare beneficiaries, and health financing issues affecting the Medicare program and the health care system in general.

Sharon M. Batista, MD
Associate Director of Recruitment and Retention
Dr. Batista undertook her undergraduate studies at Harvard University, where she earned a bachelor's degree in Biological Anthropology in 2002. She then attended Icahn School of Medicine, obtaining her MD in 2006 and stayed on in the Department of Psychiatry as both a resident and chief resident, graduating from the residency in 2010. Upon finishing the residency program, Dr. Batista joined the voluntary faculty at the Mount Sinai Department of Psychiatry as Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry. Dr. Batista completed a fellowship in Psychosomatic Psychiatry at New York University in 2011, and has now returned to the Icahn School of Medicine to join the Center for Multicultural and Community Affairs as Associate Director for Recruitment and Retention. ogether with the faculty and staff of CMCA, Dr. Batista will be involved in mentoring programs to encourage under-represented minority students to pursue careers in science and medicine, as well as serve as a resource for current medical students at the School of Medicine. In addition to her responsibilities at CMCA, Dr. Batista continues to work in the community as an attending psychiatrist at the Center for Comprehensive Health Practice, a family-oriented treatment program for persons with addictions as well as medical illnesses, and she also works in private practice. Dr. Batista's research and clinical interests are focused on understanding the relationships between addictive disorders and severe and complex medical as well as psychiatric illness.

Edward Poliandro, PhD
Associate Director, Diversity in Medicine Program; Culture and Health Work Group
Dr. Poliandro is responsible for coordination and integration of Culture and Medicine initiatives and implementation of new initiatives for high school/collegiate programs, medical students, residents, and faculty. Dr. Poliandro is also the Chair, Northeast Regional Consortium for Cross Cultural Medical Education.

Michelle L. Sainte
Assistant Dean for Administration of MSSM
Ms. Sainte has worked with the Center for Multicultural and Community Affairs since its inception and serves as the administrative partner between CMCA and the Department of Medical Education in her role as Assistant Dean for Administration for all educational activities in the School of Medicine; this includes the Graduate School, pipeline programs, as well as professional development activities.

Carmen A. Duran-Santos
Office Manager and Executive Assistant
Ms. Duran-Santos has been with Icahn School of Medicine for more than ten year and manages the administrative operations of the CMCA and is the assistant to CMCA Director Gary Butts, M.D.

Sherria P. McDowell, MPH
HCOP-Northeast Regional Alliance Program Coordinator
Ms. McDowell is the Coordinator for Special Funded Projects. She is responsible for coordinating the day-to-day activities of the HCOP grant and managing our URM faculty, house staff, and trainee database. Sherria earned her MPH from NYU School of Education in Community Health.

Denise Y. Delbrune, MPA
Morgan Stanley / CMCA Financial Literacy Partnership Program Coordinator
Ms. Delbrune coordinates financial education and resources programming activities for URM students, faculty, trainees, and with local community partners. She received her MPP from Stony Brook University.

Alyson Davis, MSW
Center for Excellence in Youth Education Program Assistant
Alyson Davis has worked the research field surrounding determinants of public health in the East and Central Harlem area for the past two years. She received her Master's in Social Work with a concentration in policy and research from Columbia University. Ms. Davis is committed to enhancing the quality of life for these communities through education and medicine.