Additional Titles

• Dean for Multicultural and Community Affairs, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

 

Biography

Dr. Butts is currently Executive Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer, Mount Sinai Health System and Dean for Multicultural and Community Affairs, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. He is a visionary leader with over 25 years’ experience in designing, developing, implementing and managing DEI programs and strategies in executive level academic healthcare. Dr. Butts has overseen the development of one of the nation’s (if not world’s) most comprehensive, full thickness and impactful DEI programs for an academic health care system. In these roles, Dr. Butts is responsible for oversight, management and integration of all aspects of diversity and equity programs and policies for the Mount Sinai Health System, including the medical and graduate schools (over 3,800 faculty and 650 students), graduate medical education (nearly 3,000 trainees) and the Mount Sinai Health System hospitals (42,000+ employees). In 2019, as Principle Founder, he co-founded the Diversity Innovation Hub (DIH): A Mount Sinai Venture. A first for a health care system, the DIH intentionally intersects priorities of diversity and inclusion with innovation and technology, addressing the lack of inclusion of women and people of color in the health innovation and technology space by expanding the diversity and capacity of entrepreneurs with tech and innovation pathways targeting high school, college and medical students and resident trainees. In 2020, Dr. Butts chaired the MSHS Task Force to Address Racism across the health system and is a key lead implementing its strategies.

Under his tenure, the medical school and health system have been recognized annually by Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED), the Human Rights Campaign for LGBTQ inclusion and quality care and by DiversityInc for the Top 10 Hospitals and Health Systems for 4 consecutive years, achieving #1 ranking in 2017 and 2018. In addition, MSHS has achieved status as Forbes Top 20 employers for Diversity in the nation in 2018 and 2019 and the Diversity Innovation Hub was awarded the Rock Health Diversity Innovations award in 2020.

Dr. Butts has been the leading senior representative and voice for diversity deans and leaders in New York State through Associated Medical Schools of New York as Chair for the Committee on Diversity and Multicultural Affairs since 2006 and has mentored dozens of leaders in D&I for medical schools and health systems.

Dr. Butts completed his training in pediatrics at Mount Sinai Hospital after graduating from Cornell Medical College. He holds joint appointments as Professor with tenure in the Departments of Pediatrics, Medical Education, and Environmental Medicine/Public Health.