The Urology Care Foundation (UCF) may not be the organization you once knew. During the past 3 years the UCF has expanded its global vision—a fundamental element of this vision is our commitment to the elimination of disparities. We believe that embedding diversity and inclusion (D&I) initiatives within all of our education, research, and humanitarian programs is essential to our efforts.

Board Governance. Diversity starts with the Board of Directors. Recognizing the need to benefit from the guidance of experts, the UCF Board invited Dr Kathleen Reeves to serve as a D&I subject matter expert and special advisor. She is the chair and professor of Urban Bioethics and Population Science at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University. She helps educate the UCF Board on D&I matters, and helps guide us as we develop new programs within urology to help address health care disparities and identify new programmatic opportunities.

The Public Education Council and Committees (PECC). As part of our 3-year Strategic Plan, the PECC is working to ensure that succession of PECC members reflects a diverse and inclusive group of volunteers. Members are carefully selected to ensure that a wide range of candidates reflect all genders, as well as diversity in age, race, specialty area, geographic location, and professional experience or tenure. The PECC develops materials that are linguistically appropriate and reflect the global populations we serve. Our wide array of Spanish translations was recently strengthened with the release of the Latino Men’s Health poster and fact sheet, as well as the podcast interview featuring Dr Humberto Villarreal. Other recent accomplishments include the release of 5 adult gender affirmation fact sheets and a Care Blog to promote all pieces available in English and Spanish. Patient education materials are now translated and available in 9 languages, reflecting our commitment to a global presence.

Research Programs and Industry Partnerships. The Foundation funds grant programs that support the pipeline of researchers. Administered by the AUA Office of Research, a total of 48 research grants were awarded to medical students, urology residents, and research scholars in 2022, totaling $1.58 million in grant support. Thirty-nine percent of new awardees were women and 27% were individuals underrepresented in urology. The new Boston Scientific Medical Student Innovation Fellowship supports current or matriculating medical students interested in translating urology research into innovation by engaging them in a fellowship mentored by world-class urological scientists. Strong preference is given to award applicants from groups underrepresented in urology and/or projects focused on addressing health disparities in urology. Supported by Urovant Sciences, the Leadership in Education, Achievement, and Diversity (LEAD) Program supports 3 urology residents per year from racial and ethnic backgrounds that are underrepresented in urological research. These residents conduct mentored research, engage in AUA research education opportunities, and are championed through networking events as they explore research careers and learn about how research serves the urology patient community.

Humanitarian Initiatives: 3 Phases. Support for humanitarian grants and projects is intrinsic to resolving disparities, and this community of humanitarians is growing under the Foundation.

1. We are in our third year of presenting the Humanitarian Recognition Award—this year to Dr Serigne Gueye from Dakar, Senegal, for his excellent training and relationship building in several African countries.
2. We have established 12 new Humanitarian Endowments which provide grants to address health disparities in underserved populations both within and outside the United States. Supported projects in the past year include those in Rwanda, Belize, India, and Trinidad and Tobago. Two grants specifically in the U.S. are supporting community health projects in Gainesville, Florida, and Rochester, New York.
3. A third component of our Humanitarian programs is a new Health Equity Fellowship. This program is designed to train young urologists who are passionate about humanitarian work within the United States so that they may be effective in engaging with communities, especially those most marginalized. This fellowship will equip them with the skills necessary to develop and implement innovative approaches to address health inequity in urological care.

I am proud of all we are accomplishing, led by the Foundation’s dynamic, diverse, and dedicated Board of Directors and many volunteers.