Dr. Takijah Heard has rightfully earned this year's honor as Physician Mentor of the Year. Dr. Heard joined as a mentor in 2017 and since Day 1, she has been a mentee favorite. She is the physician that you can ask to take another kid when we run short of mentors. She totes her mentees around everywhereshe goes, they are truly a part of her family. From family dinners, to time on the beach to shadowing in the clinic, Dr. Heard is the total package. She is warm, kind and always exudes positive energy. Any mentee with her will believe they can do anything because she truly believes in them.

Dr Takijah Heard is currently the Division Head of Pediatric Neurology and Epilepsy and the Director of Pediatric Neurophysiology at Northshore University HealthSystem. She has established a pediatric epilepsy surgery program at Northshore and continues to teach medical students and residents about pediatric neurology and epilepsy in hopes of broadening the field. Dr Heard’s teaching skills have been honored as she was the recipient of the Dean’s Excellence in Teaching Award during her first position as the Assistant Professor at the University of Texas at Houston. She has worked extensively with the Epilepsy Foundation of Texas and Greater Chicago.

She currently serves on the Physician Advisory Board for the Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Chicago. Dr Heard’s passion for epilepsy has been shared on National Public Radio (NPR). She has been named as one of 2013’s Top America Doctors. Dr Heard has authored chapters in books focused on pediatric epilepsy. Additionally, she has been featured in a book called “Against All Odds Celebrating Black Women in Medicine,” that has recently turned into a documentary renamed Changing the Face of Medicine which was released in 2017. But to us and the mentees of
I AmAbel Foundation she is our beloved physician mentor and truly represents Chicago's best.