Plenary Speaker

Plenary Room

12:30 - 1:15 p.m.

Dr. Karen Morris-Priester is a board-certified anesthesiologist working in Allentown, PA. She gained national attention when she appeared as a guest on a segment of The Oprah Winfrey Show entitled “Cheers to You.” Ms. Winfrey invited Dr. Morris-Priester to the show to illustrate that it is never too late to follow your dreams. Oprah highlighted the extraordinary resilience, dedication, and sacrifice that allowed Dr. Morris-Priester to complete medical school as a single mother of five and for being the first grandmother to graduate from the Yale University School of Medicine.

Her appearance on the Oprah show was the high point of a long journey. Raised in public housing, she realized that education was her best ticket out of a crime-ridden neighborhood. After a family medical emergency showed her the transformative power of a compassionate physician, she set her sights on a career in medicine. Her college dreams were shattered, however, when she became a teenage mother at the age of 17. By the age of 26, she had a husband and 4 more children. After divorcing her husband, she raised her five children alone while working full-time and putting herself through college. She would go on to earn her associate degree in nursing from Harrisburg Area Community College and a bachelor’s degree from York College of Pennsylvania.

Despite the overwhelming odds, she still had dreams of becoming a physician. Years after a teenage pregnancy derailed her plans, and ignoring the skepticism of friends and colleagues, she finally gathered the courage to resurrect her original dream. She started taking premed courses and completed the Minority Medical Education Program - a six-week summer program run by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). Dr. Morris-Priester credits this program with helping her gain admittance to the Yale School of Medicine at the age of 40. After attending medical school, she completed her residency in anesthesiology at a Harvard-affiliated program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

Dr. Morris-Priester never forgot the many obstacles she faced while applying to medical schools, from lack of funds to lack of knowledge about the process. In 2012, she was asked to join the AAMC’s Alumni Advisory Board. Since being on the Board, she has helped to create a scholarship fund for financially disadvantaged students and a mentoring program to guide students interested in pursuing careers in healthcare.

Dr. Morris-Priester is now married to William Priester, and her family has grown to include 7 grandchildren. Since appearing on the Oprah Show, she has traveled across the country as a motivational speaker. She was featured in the documentary, “Black Women in Medicine” and in the book, “Against All Odds.” She is currently working on her autobiography. Dr. Morris-Priester works as an anesthesiologist at Lehigh Valley Hospital.

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