Dr. Ijeoma Nnodim Opara is an internationally recognized internal medicine and pediatric
primary care physician at Wayne Health, assistant professor at Wayne State University School of
Medicine (WSUSOM), and associate program director of the Wayne State University School of
Medicine Internal Medicine residency, Detroit, Michigan. Born in Nigeria and baked in Detroit
she is also a global public health expert, international speaker and consultant, scholar, and
activist. She equips leaders, communities, organizations, and institutions with systems-based
problem-solving tools for achieving their mission and meeting their bottom line while creating
equitable, just, antiracist, and decolonized training and working environments. She is an award
winning medical and community educator, mentor, and leader in both academic and non-
academic spheres and sits on multiple national and international boards and committees
addressing antiracism, decolonization, health equity, and health justice. A ‘liberation medicine’
practitioner, she centers Black and Indigenous African solutions in her asset-based justice and
equity work as a National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded community based participatory
translational researcher, organizer, and clinician. She has created and led various health justice
initiatives and has transformed the culture of her institution’s medical education and faculty
development programs through the initiatives she leads and co-leads respectively including
Health Equity and Justice in Medicine (HEJIM) and Global Urban Health Equity (GLUE)
programs. She is celebrated for her masterful communication, moderation, and facilitation skills
especially when engaging in challenging conversations regarding racial justice and systems
transformation as demonstrated in her roles as co-chair of the Canada-US Coalition to End Race
Correction in Healthcare (CUCERCH), co-editor of racism and health of PLOS One Global
Public Health Journal, creator of Antiracism in Medicine Action Roundtable (#AIMART),
facilitator of the Governor of Michigan’s roundtable on Reproductive Justice, and member of the
White House Office of Public Engagement Health Equity Leaders Roundtable. In appreciation
for her dedication to health justice, Dr. Opara was recently recognized by the WSU Board of
Governors for her tireless work during the COVID-19 pandemic to raise awareness about
medical and scientific racism; create new systems of training for healthcare professionals;
advocate for practice and policy changes as well as institutional accountability; create advocacy
networks of Black professionals; and centering the voices and stories of Black patients. Her
recent accomplishment are as founder of the Institute of Healing Justice which houses Opara
Dream Labs which provides a safe and nurturing container for freedom dreaming and liberation
scholarship; and founder and co-chair of the End Race Based Medicine Taskforce of the Detroit
Medical Center, Wayne State University, and Wayne Health physicians practice. She is a proud
mother to Ugochinyere, Oruebubechi, and Chimamanda; cat mom to Midnight & Goodnight; and
partner Mr. Nkemjika Opara.Dr. Ijeoma Nnodim Opara is an internationally recognized internal medicine and pediatric
primary care physician at Wayne Health, assistant professor at Wayne State University School of
Medicine (WSUSOM), and associate program director of the Wayne State University School of
Medicine Internal Medicine residency, Detroit, Michigan. Born in Nigeria and baked in Detroit
she is also a global public health expert, international speaker and consultant, scholar, and
activist. She equips leaders, communities, organizations, and institutions with systems-based
problem-solving tools for achieving their mission and meeting their bottom line while creating
equitable, just, antiracist, and decolonized training and working environments. She is an award
winning medical and community educator, mentor, and leader in both academic and non-
academic spheres and sits on multiple national and international boards and committees
addressing antiracism, decolonization, health equity, and health justice. A ‘liberation medicine’
practitioner, she centers Black and Indigenous African solutions in her asset-based justice and
equity work as a National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded community based participatory
translational researcher, organizer, and clinician. She has created and led various health justice
initiatives and has transformed the culture of her institution’s medical education and faculty
development programs through the initiatives she leads and co-leads respectively including
Health Equity and Justice in Medicine (HEJIM) and Global Urban Health Equity (GLUE)
programs. She is celebrated for her masterful communication, moderation, and facilitation skills
especially when engaging in challenging conversations regarding racial justice and systems
transformation as demonstrated in her roles as co-chair of the Canada-US Coalition to End Race
Correction in Healthcare (CUCERCH), co-editor of racism and health of PLOS One Global
Public Health Journal, creator of Antiracism in Medicine Action Roundtable (#AIMART),
facilitator of the Governor of Michigan’s roundtable on Reproductive Justice, and member of the
White House Office of Public Engagement Health Equity Leaders Roundtable. In appreciation
for her dedication to health justice, Dr. Opara was recently recognized by the WSU Board of
Governors for her tireless work during the COVID-19 pandemic to raise awareness about
medical and scientific racism; create new systems of training for healthcare professionals;
advocate for practice and policy changes as well as institutional accountability; create advocacy
networks of Black professionals; and centering the voices and stories of Black patients. Her
recent accomplishment are as founder of the Institute of Healing Justice which houses Opara
Dream Labs which provides a safe and nurturing container for freedom dreaming and liberation
scholarship; and founder and co-chair of the End Race Based Medicine Taskforce of the Detroit
Medical Center, Wayne State University, and Wayne Health physicians practice. She is a proud
mother to Ugochinyere, Oruebubechi, and Chimamanda; cat mom to Midnight and Goodnight; and life
partner to Mr. Nkemjika Opara.