Toi Harris, MD, Senior Vice President, Chief Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Officer for Memorial Hermann Health System, was recently recognized by the Houston Business Journal as a 2022 “Women Who Mean Business” honoree. The awards program honors women who have excelled in career achievement, contribution to company and city success, community involvement and leadership.
“I am thrilled that the Houston Business Journal has honored Toi for her commitment to making the lives of our patients, employees and the community as a whole, better,” said David L. Callender, MD, President and CEO of Memorial Hermann Health System. “Her commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion is unwavering and we are proud to have her as a part of our team. A well-deserved honor.”
In her role, Dr. Harris builds on the organization’s existing Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) initiatives by identifying and championing opportunities to further EDI, both inside the system’s facility walls as one of Houston’s largest employers, and out in the community as Houston’s largest not-for-profit health system. Dr. Harris brings a unique perspective to the role of Chief EDI Officer – that of an EDI expert and also a clinical practitioner. She has been a practicing psychiatrist for 25 years and is double board-certified in psychiatry and child and adolescent psychiatry. Her visionary work and contributions in health equity is one of the many reasons she was named one of the Top 100 Diversity Officers by the National Diversity Council in 2021 and 2022.
“It’s an honor to be recognized by the Houston Business Journal alongside all of the other talented female leaders who have all made great contributions to their institutions and to our great city,” Dr. Harris said. “Throughout my career I’ve learned that in order to effectively move a system forward in achieving health equity, one must have humility, be informed by data and continuously strive to leverage the expertise and skills of the team. I’m excited about the work we are doing at Memorial Hermann as we work to create healthier communities, now and for generations to come.”
Dr. Harris completed her undergraduate and medical degrees at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and a psychiatry residency and child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship at the Baylor College of Medicine. Throughout her career, she has published more than 40 peer-reviewed publications, co-authored a number of abstracts and book chapters, and presented nationally and internationally on a variety of psychiatry and EDI topics.
She is also actively engaged with regional and national professional organizations including the Texas Medical Association and the Association of American Medical Colleges, where she sits on the Advancing Holistic Review Advisory Committee and serves as Chair of the Group on Women in Medicine and Science.