Fri Mar 28, 2025: Mastering the Admissions Process: What Kaiser Permanente SOM Wants in their Future Medical Students

Dr. Lindia Willies-Jacobo came to Kaiser Permanente School of Medicine from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine where she had been on faculty since 1996. She served as Professor of Pediatrics, and for 10 years served as the Assistant Dean for Diversity and Community Partnerships, and Director of the Program in Medical Education-Health Equity (PRIME-HEq). Her scholarly interests include healthcare workforce diversity, cultural humility in the practice of medicine, advocacy for underserved populations, and combating health inequities. 
She developed an Implicit Bias and Microaggressions curriculum for medical students, conducted implicit bias workshops for faculty and residents, and has spoken widely on these topics. She was the Principal Investigator on two Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) grants which focused on developing a diverse healthcare workforce. Dr.Willies-Jacobo was the recipient of numerous teaching, faculty service, and diversity awards.
At KPSOM, Dr. Willies-Jacobo leads and manages the KPSOM admissions process, from initial outreach to matriculation. She’s also responsible for all aspects of the development, implementation, and oversight of EID strategy throughout the school. Dr. Willies-Jacobo serves as an ad hoc journal reviewer for Academic Medicine, Pediatrics, and the Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health. She served as the Western Regional Representative for the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Group on Student Affairs – Committee on Student Diversity Affairs, and is a subject matter expert for the AAMC Situational Judgment Test (SJT) content and scoring review process. She is the school representative to the AAMC Group on Diversity and Inclusion (GDI).
Dr. Willies-Jacobo completed her bachelor’s degree at UC San Diego where she majored in Biochemistry and Cell Biology, followed by medical school, pediatrics residency, and chief residency at UC San Diego School of Medicine. 

Agasia Lanier is an Admissions Counselor and Recruitment Coordinator with Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine. In these roles, Agasia guides and counsels prospective pre-medical school applicants through the admissions process and she is responsible for creating the Office of Admission’s recruitment strategy. She is also the staff advisor for the Admissions Ambassadors, a group of current students who participate in various activities with the Office of Admissions.
Prior to joining Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine, Agasia worked as the Assistant Director for Nursing and Transfer Admission at Mount Saint Mary’s University (MSMU) in Los Angeles. In this role, Agasia guided and counseled prospective nursing applicants through the admissions process. She also supervised a small team of transfer admission counselors.
Agasia graduated from Mount Saint Mary’s University in Los Angeles with a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration with an emphasis in management. She also holds a Master of Education in Higher Education from Abilene Christian University, located in Abilene, Texas. Agasia also earned a Master of Science degree in Counseling Psychology at MSMU.