Alarmed by the disproportionate number of African Americans becoming sick and dying from the novel coronavirus, Dr. Ala Stanford took to the Philadelphia streets, establishing the Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium (BDCC) to provide education and barrier-free testing and vaccinations in the city’s at-risk Black communities. A practicing physician and pediatric surgeon, Dr. Stanford also serves on the Philadelphia COVID-19 Vaccine Advisory Committee and as a medical correspondent for local and national news outlets. Among many other honors for her advocacy, Dr. Stanford was named a CNN Hero in 2021.