About Us

The Leadership Institute for Growth, Health and Transformation at UMass Chan grew from an initiative of the 2021-2022 UMass Chan SNMA (Student National Medical Association) eboard upon their establishment of the SNMA Mentorship Program under the leadership of Mark Johnson, MD, PhD - Chair of Neurosurgery at UMass Memorial. The two parties had a shared goal of promoting equity and providing students the opportunity to choose their own faculty mentor. In the pilot round of this work, students often chose mentors who shared identities, inspired them, or helped the student explore their interests through new opportunities.

Since then, the MD/PhD program, and the American Medical Women's Association (AMWA) at UMass Chan have developed mentorship programs and have joined UMass LIGHT adopting similar ideologies to serve their respective populations.

Today, UMass LIGHT has grown to become a community of more than 300 students and faculty. Everyday the UMass LIGHT leadership team continues to develop the vision, strategy, and activities necessary to foster a strong community and accelerate students' personal and professional development.

The strategy, vision, and implementation plans for SNMA Mentorship Program were adopted by AMWA (American Medical Women's Association) and students in the MD/PhD program who saw a similar need for mentorship and leadership development within their respective populations. 

This work has been an extraordinary opportunity and we are excited to see UMass LIGHT promote the development of leaders. Welcome to our page and thank you for your continued support of UMass LIGHT. Please feel free to navigate through our website to learn how you can join a mentorship program, read our leadership development material, and attend one of our events.