STFM Member Gilberto Granados, MD, associate clinical professor, David Geffen School of Medicine, co-director, Summer Urban Health Fellowship, and director, Third and Fourth-Year Family Medicine Clerkship at the University of California, Los Angeles, has been an STFM member since 1999.

Gilberto's Story: Recalling my first STFM Annual Spring Conference, I remember having a sense of finding my professional home. A wide array of sessions bolstered my skillset, and keynote addresses nourished my soul. Each year, I looked forward to meeting and rekindling the spirit with colleagues from across the country, leaving reenergized and inspired to continue the important work of educating our next generation of doctors and health advocates. I feel a sense of fulfillment now, as past students and residents invite me to their presentations at STFM Conferences. 

STFM has also provided Underrepresented in Medicine (URM) faculty and students a space to have our voices heard. From the Minority and Multicultural Collaborative to this year’s preconference session “Achieving Equity in the Workforce: Exploring the Very Low and Declining Rates of Black Males in Medicine," STFM is committed to issues of health equity and diversity. 

As a former member of the conference committee and a current STFM Foundation Trustee, I am keenly aware of the many fellowships, scholarships, and faculty development opportunities available for teachers and leaders. As the chair of the Foundation's New Faculty Scholars program, I am inspired by the breadth of diverse applicants from across the country. Their talent, innovation, and leadership, as well as their amazing coaches and mentors, assure me that the future of family medicine is in good hands. 

Paying It Forward: We all need to generously support STFM programs. To support the Foundation is to support STFM. I am humbled and proud to be a part of the Light the Torch Club, which provides an opportunity to invest in our future.

Light the Torch: Transforming the future of family medicine would not be possible without the generosity of Gilberto Granados, MD and countless other STFM members and supporters. Through these donations, the STFM Foundation supports STFM's priority to develop the pipeline for academic family medicine.