
Dr. Laura Ramzy
Psychologist and DEI Researcher
Company: Denver Health/University of DenverRole: Session Presenter
Laura Ramzy, PhD, and Samantha “Sam” Pelican Monson, PsyD, are psychologists with Denver Health Medical Center (DH) and assistant professors with the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. Laura and Sam have dedicated their research careers to understanding the race dynamics within primary care clinic teams and identifying barriers to change. They previously received Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) funding to uplift the experiences and voices of DH Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) employees by conducting focus groups across 13 FQHC clinics with 122 frontline staff workers.
Through their quality improvement work, Laura and Sam have identified key factors that help create safety for participants in equity work, thereby supporting authenticity and meaningful change. Laura and Sam have graduate training in multicultural practices and a collective 18 years working together with underserved populations, including refugee and immigrant patients, at Denver Health’s Lowry Family Health Center.
Laura identifies as a woman of color and as a second-generation Egyptian American. Sam is a cisgender woman, White, and her family has been in Colorado for four generations; she is a person with a previously invisible disability that has been made visible through the COVID-19 pandemic.