Office of Primary Care and Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) Program

Gary Scott (right), who recently moved to Vermont from Texas for a job with the UVM Health Network, with Tino Rutanhira at a BIPOC social gathering organized by VtPOC in Burlington (Photo courtesy of Gary Scott)

(DECEMBER 5, 2024) In a VT Digger article, Courtney Fleisher, Ph.D., clinical assistant professor of psychiatry and pediatrics at the Larner College of Medicine and a clinical psychologist at the University of Vermont Medical Center, praised a new program offered by Vermont Professionals of Color Network that pairs a potential out-of-state employee with a long-term Vermont resident who, through their already established networks, can help dispel the notion that Vermont is unwelcoming and lacking in communities of color.

Launched in the spring, the Newcomer Nexus program has so far helped recruit and relocate two people to private companies in Chittenden County and held information sessions for a dozen candidates considering the psychology residency program at the UVM Medical Center. The network helps connect a new recruit to an “ambassador” in the area of similar age, interests, and background. They show them what it’s like to live in Vermont, help them navigate services, outline the challenges a person of color can face, and explain why many choose to stay despite it.

Courtney Fleisher, a clinical psychologist at UVMMC, said her team is focused on providing equitable care and attracting more residents of color to the program. She reached out to VTPoC, heard about the new program, and helped design Zoom meetings for residency candidates this year.

Fleisher said the program is important for the medical school because it can help provide new perspectives from people of color, and cultivate opportunities for BIPOC residents to find providers who look like them.

“I think that diversity is a driver of excellence and that it’s imperative for us to navigate the aspects of Vermont being a very white state to do the best that we can to create an inviting environment, a supportive environment, so that everybody can benefit,” she said.