GLMA Launches HEAL Fellowship to Develop LGBTQ+ and BIPOC Health Equity Leaders
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 1, 2025
Contact: Eli Duffy
Director of Communications & Strategic Partnerships
eduffy@glma.org
WASHINGTON, DC - GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBTQ+ Equality is proud to launch the LGBTQ+ Health Equity & Advocacy Leadership (HEAL) Fellowship, a bold new initiative to develop and sustain LGBTQ+ and BIPOC health professionals prepared to lead systemic change in healthcare policy and practice.
Applications for the 2025 – 2027 inaugural cohort are now open and will be accepted through August 31, 2025.
The HEAL Fellowship strengthens a national network of equity-focused health professional leaders through structured training, mentorship, and real-world leadership placements. Fellows will gain the tools and support needed to influence policy, advance inclusive care, and transform health systems to better serve LGBTQ+ and BIPOC communities.
The two-year fellowship includes monthly virtual workshops, two in-person retreats, coaching, and a capstone project focused on systems change. In the second year, fellows are paired with experienced mentors and placed in leadership roles across health organizations, advocacy coalitions, or institutional working groups.
“GLMA launched the HEAL Fellowship to build the infrastructure our communities need to lead lasting change,” said Alex Sheldon, Executive Director of GLMA. “LGBTQ+ and BIPOC health professionals are too often passed over for leadership, expected to fix broken systems without the tools to change them, and left to burn out in institutions that were never built for us. HEAL builds capacity in our communities by supporting a new generation of leaders ready to shape policy, build coalitions, and transform health systems from within.”
“LGBTQ+ and BIPOC health professionals are often asked to lead equity efforts without the mentorship, recognition, or institutional support they need.” said Jona Tanguay, MS, PA-C, AAHIVS, CAQ-Psych. “That pattern doesn’t just limit careers; it limits public health progress. When those closest to the challenges are sidelined from decision-making, the solutions fall short. By developing GLMA’s HEAL Fellowship, we are cultivating a cohort of leaders with lived experience, strategic training, and real institutional influence. Together, we are building the conditions for better care, stronger systems, and lasting health equity.”
The fellowship is open to early-career professionals and advanced graduate students across clinical, behavioral, public, and allied health fields.
You can learn more about GLMA’s HEAL Fellowship and start the application process
here.
Applications close August 31, 2025.
About GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBTQ+ Equality
GLMA is a national organization committed to ensuring health equity for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) communities and equality for LGBTQ+ health professionals in their work and learning environments. To achieve this mission, GLMA utilizes the scientific expertise of its diverse multidisciplinary membership to inform and drive advocacy, education, and research.
www.glma.org