2025 Diversity Award Recipients Advance Equity, Access, and Representation Within the PA Profession

PAs of Color is Working to Build a More Diverse PA Workforce

May 8, 2025

By Dorsey Griffith

Physician Assistants of Color (ThePAC) is the recipient of the 2025 Diversity Award. Founded in 2017 by Jasmine Cofield, MS, PA-C, while she was still a PA student, ThePAC is dedicated to impacting patients, communities, and the PA profession. The organization champions diversity, equity, and inclusion while fostering mentorship, education, and professional excellence.

The Diversity Award recognizes a PA or PA group that champions diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) within the PA profession and/or the patient population or community they serve.

“What’s most important to me as a PA and leader of an organization is advancing equity, access, and representation within the profession, while maintaining a high standard of care and compassion for the patients and communities we serve,” Cofield says. “I believe it is essential to not only be clinically excellent but also socially conscious, culturally responsive, and committed to uplifting those who have historically been left out of spaces like this.”

ThePAC is an affinity group for underrepresented in medicine (URiM) PA students and professionals, boasting 5,300 members on Facebook, 1,969 on GroupMe, and more than 10,000 on Instagram. Since 2019, the group has conducted over 1,000 mentorship meetings—more than 840 hours of guidance on coursework, CASPA applications, personal statements, interview preparation PA school social support, and early-career mentorship.

Led by Cofield, Samora Lungu, PA-C, and Menerva Yole-Lobe, MPAS, PA-C, ThePAC has demonstrated its impact in bringing more people of color into the PA workforce. During a Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA) forum with the National Society of Black PAs in 2024, the group was able to demonstrate that PAEA’s report of a 69% increase in Black PA school applicants from 2018 to 2023 was largely attributable to their efforts.

“We believe that a healthcare workforce that reflects the diversity of the communities it serves fosters greater patient trust, psychological safety, and ultimately better health outcomes,” Lobe says. “Being part of that transformative impact is a responsibility we value and a mission we are proud to uphold.”

As part of its efforts to diversify the PA workforce, ThePAC in 2023 launched its Diversity Matters scholarship, awarding $10,000 among 10 recipients in two years, to recipients who are at different stages of their PA education or professional careers.

“This award honors the work we do in helping to coach, train, and prepare the next generation of PAs,” Lungu says. “It means that what we’re doing is making a difference and I feel honored to be  part of it.”

Beyond mentorship, ThePAC collaborates with other PA organizations and groups to advance representation, as well as engage in PA education, leadership, research, clinical preceptorship, and work in medically underserved areas.

For example, in 2021, ThePAC collaborated with the Duke University PA Program on a virtual admissions information session, connecting pre-PA students from underrepresented groups in medicine with program faculty, administrators, and students. Since then, ThePAC has continued to collaborate with PA schools and organize events as part of its sustained efforts to engage pre-PA students.

Cofield, Lobe, and Lungu feel strongly that people need to know about the breadth of the PA field, especially in its role to improve access to care for all.

“We are highly skilled, compassionate, and adaptable medical providers who are deeply committed to patient-centered care,” Cofield says. “Our ability to bridge gaps, build trust, and bring care to communities that need it most is what sets us apart, and our impact continues to grow as we advocate for equity, innovation, and excellence in medicine.”