Being the "good" doctor an fitting into the box has meant many things for Dr Kerri, including continuing residency during breast cancer, trying to work through adult diagnosis of ADHD, until she couldn't. But what seemed like a closed door, opened Dr Kerri into the amazing work she does now training others to in Justice Equity Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) from a trauma informed lens.
Article mentioned in podcast: The relationship between parental income and academic performance of medical students
Dr. Kerri M. Lockhart is a westside Chicago native, born and raised near Humboldt Park. She graduated from Northwestern University, with a BA in Psychology.
Dr. Lockhart pursued her lifelong desire to become a physician via Southern Illinois University’s MEDPREP program, graduating from SIU School of Medicine. Her first-choice residency match in general pediatrics at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, Illinois, represented a full-circle moment, bringing her home to Chicago, and the community she loves and desired to serve.
Dr. Lockhart’s practice at community health centers on the West and South sides of Chicago allowed her the opportunity to serve people who struggle to access healthcare, which was a familiar experience from childhood, and a driving force behind her commitment to medicine.
Her academic position at Rush University Medical Group allowed her to blend her commitment to serve, with her love and skill as a
teacher and mentor for physicians in training. While there, she also served as the pediatric department’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee chair, and was recipient of the 20-21 Excellence in Humanism Award and voted the 20-21 Outstanding Medical Student Educator.
Dr. Lockhart anticipated retiring as a clinician. After nearly 10 years in practice, the limitations to affect impactful changes around inclusion and health inequities were undeniable. In order to contribute more meaningfully, she stepped away from clinical medicine. Common values and a shared vision led her to become a Certified Professional Coach and to her current position as Director of Justice Equity Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) with Lodestar Consulting and Executive Coaching and also a senior coach and facilitates her teams internal growth and development around the intersection of trauma and oppression and JEDI. She helps facilitate trauma informed and trauma responsive leadership trainings in organizations including but not exclusively healthcare. She spends some of my time doing keynotes or presenting at conferences about this topic as well.
And lastly, she coaches clients around topics for which they would like support with a trauma informed/trauma responsive lens.
Lastly, Dr. Lockhart is a board-certified pediatrician and a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics and holds a Leading
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion certification through Northwestern University
She is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., the National Medical Association, American Academy of
Pediatrics (AAP), and the Illinois Chapter of the AAP. And when time allows, she enjoys traveling, live music, and reading fiction and non-fiction.
