Sonia L. Sugg, MD (she/her/hers)

Clinical Professor of Surgery, Breast and Endocrine Surgery, Provider Communication Facilitator, Faculty Development and Diversity Officer for the Department of Surgery

What does Women’s History Month mean to you?

An opportunity to look back and recognize the women who paved the way and made it possible for me, and others like me, to aim high and accomplish our personal and professional goals.

Please share an accomplishment that you are proud of.

 Learning how to ride a tandem bicycle.

Isabella Grumbach, MD, PhD (she/her/hers)

Professor, Internal Medicine/Cardiology and Radiation Oncology, Vice-Chair for Research, Internal Medicine

What does Women’s History Month mean to you?

Every year, I am amazed by how many resourceful and accomplished women paved the way for where women are right now. The other realization is that what I take for granted (equal pay and opportunities) is not a given.

Please share an accomplishment that you are proud of.

Rather than listing this grant, that paper or the last promotion, I would say it’s being in the position that I can spend most of my day doing what I love.

Amal Shibli-Rahhal, MD, MS (she/her/hers)

Clinical Professor of Internal Medicine- Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism; Assistant Dean for Student Affairs and Curriculum- CCOM; Endocrinology fellowship program director

What does Women’s History Month mean to you?

Women’s history month is a great time to remember and recognize all the women who have paved the path for us to be who we are today and to give us a voice in society and a place at the table. But we are not fully there yet, and so this month should also be a time to renew our commitment to empower and support future generations of women. It is important however not to let this designated period of celebration reduce the value and recognition of women to a time-limited protocol.  In reality every day is a day to celebrate women and all the ways they enrich and sustain life with their endless capacity for love, care, wisdom, intelligence, hard work, creativity and resilience.

Please share an accomplishment that you are proud of.

My father grew up in a community and family that did not invest in the education of women. He had 5 sisters who were illiterate and fully dependent on the men in their life. When I was born, my father committed to empower me to be successful and independent and he put every one of his limited resources toward that goal.  I can still hear him say (translated from Arabic): “I want you to be so well equipped so you land on your feet whichever way life throws you, because life is not kind to women.” Later in life he told me that his investment and hard work paid well. That will forever be my most cherished badge of honor.

Denise Zang, MBA, FACMPE (she/her/hers)

Clinical Department Administrator, Department of Internal Medicine

What does Women’s History Month mean to you?

I am fortunate to be part of a generation where so many women before me made such a difference.  Both my mother and grandmother did not graduate high school let alone have a chance to attend college but I did.  I’m the first in my family to do so.  And now both my daughters have graduated college and gone onto professional careers.  For the first time ever women account for more than half of medical school graduates.  We have a woman Vice President and three women on the supreme court.  Women CEOs, as a percent of the total in the United States, are steadily increasing year over year.  Our daughters and granddaughters have so many opportunities in their futures because of the women that have gone before them.

Please share an accomplishment that you are proud of. 

I am most proud of my two daughters.  They are amazing women, wives, and mothers.  Being a mother is the most important thing I have ever done.  As I’ve watched them grow into the women they’ve become, I hope my love and support have influenced them in some way.  I’ve tried to instill in them that they can be anything they want to be, achieve anything they set their mind to and now they are both  shaping the lives of their own children.  I couldn’t be more proud.  My life was not typical in that I didn’t go to college right after high school.  I received my bachelor’s degree when my daughters were in their teens and my master’s degree when they were grown.  I tried to demonstrate you can achieve what you want to and they have done that.  They are amazing.

Please click here to learn more about the incredible women that practice medicine at UI Health Care

Prepared by executive board members of the CCOM Chapter of the American Medical Women's Association (AMWA)  - Claire Boettcher, Kelsey Blocklinger, and Rebecca Lank