2023 Breaking Barriers Award Nominees
The ElevateMeD Breaking Barriers Award was established to recognize physician leaders whose work addressing healthcare disparities is positively and innovatively impacting diversity within medicine.
Annually, the ElevateMeD Board of Directors votes upon an outstanding individual to receive this honor. These leaders directly support the Scholars Program by providing our Scholars with a unique opportunity to engage intimately with them while learning more about their journeys in medicine. We formally recognize award recipients at our ElevateMeD events.
Keep scrolling to learn more about each nominee and read their full biographies
More about Nominees
Dr. Erica Montes
Highlights
SPECIALTY
OB/GYN (practice in PHX since 2012)
EDUCATION
Medical School: UT Health San Antonio
Residency: UT Southwestern Medical Center-Parkland Hospital (elected one of three chief residents at the largest program in the nation)
Fellow of the American College of OB/GYN
AFFILIATIONS
HonorHealth
Executive Board Member of LatinaStrong Foundation
Online Blogger: The Modern Mujer Blog was created to provide women with a place to find expert information about female health. https://www.themodernmujer.com/en/about
Biography
Dr. Erica Montes is a Board-Certified Gynecologist who joined the practice in January 2023. She received her medical degree from the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio. She completed her OB/GYN residency at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center-Parkland Hospital where she was elected one of three chief residents at the largest program in the nation. Born and raised in Texas she graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a BA degree in Biology with Honors.
Dr. Montes has worked in the Valley since completing residency in 2012 and is well-known by her patients for her compassionate approach to care.
Dr. Montes is robotically trained on the DaVinci Robotic Surgical System and excels in minimally invasive surgical procedures and in-office procedures offering patients quick recovery with great outcomes. Medical interests include abnormal uterine bleeding, PCOS, uterine fibroids, and vulvar conditions, as well as preventive medicine and family planning. In addition to her excellent clinical and surgical skills, Dr. Montes is fluent in both Spanish and English.
Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her husband and three sons, traveling, and medical blogging. The Modern Mujer Blog was created to provide women with a place to find expert information about female health. She provides an online wealth of knowledge, encourages women to take charge of their health, and provides a platform for empowerment and patient advocacy.
Dr. Rachel Bond
Highlights
SPECIALTY
Cardiology
EDUCATION
Medical School: NYU School of Medicine
Residency: Internal Medicine at NYU School of Medicine and Cardiovascular Disease at Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine at North Shore University Hospital and Long Island Jewish Medical Center
AFFILIATIONS
System Director of Women’s Heart Health at Dignity Health
Board Member at Association of Black Cardiologists
Board Member at Phoenix American Heart Association
Arizona Chapter of the American College of Cardiology
American Society for Preventive Cardiology
Biography
Dr. Rachel M. Bond is a board-certified attending cardiologist who has devoted her career to the treatment of heart disease through early detection, education, and prevention. She is the System Director of Women’s Heart Health at Dignity Health, in Chandler, Arizona. Dr. Bond is the Co-chair of the Women in Cardiology Committee, as well as Chair of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee for the Arizona Chapter of the American College of Cardiology. She most recently has been appointed to serve on the Women in Cardiology Section Leadership Council for the National Chapter of the American College of Cardiology. She holds a faculty position as Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine at Creighton University School of Medicine.
Dr. Bond earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the seven-year accelerated medical program at the Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude and earned her medical doctorate from NYU School of Medicine. She completed her training in internal medicine at NYU School of Medicine and in cardiovascular disease at Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine at North Shore University Hospital and Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New York.
Dr. Bond is the author of several review papers referencing sex and gender differences and cardiovascular conditions that predominantly affect women, along with opinion pieces aimed at addressing health equity, reducing health disparities, and promoting the professional development of women and minorities in the health-science profession. She has a passion for advocacy of education and mentorship and has served as an expert source for multiple news and media outlets. Her clinical interests include heart disease prevention, pregnancy-related heart conditions, and cardio-oncology and lipid disorders. Her research interests currently include the heart-mind connection, cardio-rheumatology, and gender disparities in valvular heart disease.
Dr. Bond is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology and a member of the American Society for Preventive Cardiology, Association of Black Cardiologists, and the American Heart Association, where she is a national spokesperson for the “Go Red for Women” campaign and sits on the board of directors.
Dr. Maria Manriquez
Highlights
SPECIALTY
OB/GYN + Addiction and Pain Medicine
EDUCATION
Medical School: University of Arizona College of Medicine - Tucson
Residency: Banner - University Medical Center Phoenix
AFFILIATIONS
Physician at Banner Health
Professor at University of Arizona College of Medicine - Phoenix
Trustee at Vitalyst Health Foundation
Biography
Maria Manriquez, MD, a University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson alumni, directs and supervises activities of pre-matriculation curriculum for pipeline programs. One of the premier programs is the Pathway Scholars Program (PSP), which is a master in medical studies. Ten students are selected by the admission committee for the PSP to spend a year optimizing learning styles, leadership principles and fundamental basic sciences before beginning medical school. The students are selected as either being identified as underrepresented in medicine or committed to serving an underrepresented population in their ultimate physician practice.
Additionally, Dr Manriquez is the physician lead for the Pain and Addiction Medicine Curriculum at the UArizona College of Medicine – Phoenix; she has worked with the Department of Health Services in the development of a curriculum that educates the Undergraduate Medical Education and Graduate Medical Education learners on pain and addiction.
Her service commitments have included multiple leadership positions with the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and as an oral examiner for the American Board of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. She is board-certified in Addiction Medicine by the American Board of Preventative Medicine.
Dr. Manriquez continues clinical practice, focusing on substance use disorders in pregnancy and parenting women. Her research and advocacy focus is aimed at investigating innovations in prenatal care models addressing maternal morbidity and mortality, preterm delivery rate and substance use disorders in pregnancy.