A Conversation With the Magical Dr. Dara Kass

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Magical is how I would describe Dr. Dara Kass.

She is an Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at Columbia University Medical Center, where she also serves as the director of Equity and Inclusion for the Emergency Department. 

After completing her residency at SUNY Downstate Medical School and Kings County Hospital, she served as faculty of Staten Island University Hospital, where she facilitated the start of their EM residency program. 

She previously served as the director of undergraduate medical education at NYU. As director, she introduced longitudinal career advising, innovative educational modalities, and numerous clinical experiences. 

She is the founder of FemInEM, an organization dedicated to the achievement of gender equity in emergency medicine. FemInEM serves as an open access resource for women in EM: a community focused on career development, physician support, and seeing women in medicine thrive. What began as a blog is now a movement—a multi-faceted community comprised of women in medicine all over the world. 

I can tell you that words are not enough to understand the magic and energy Dara brings to everything she is involved in. 

In this conversation we talk about Dara’s childhood, what it was like growing up in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, in a duplex house with her grandparents on the ground floor. 

Dara shares her story about the spark that led to the founding of FemInEM.

We hear about how she went from a simple supporter of Mayor Pete in the Democratic primaries to a member of his campaign.

And the most amazing part of this conversation is that just a couple days before the recording, Dara tested positive for the coronavirus causing COVID-19. 

So, I spoke to her while she was in quarantine at her house, isolated from her kids, but still on the frontlines by continuing to care for patients through telehealth. 

Dara is a locomotive when it comes to getting things done, but I can also tell you that she is someone who brings everyone together, finds the best in them, and builds something where the whole is greater than the parts. 

So without further ado, please sit back, relax, and enjoy my conversation with the amazing Dr. Dara Kass.