At AMI Expeditionary Healthcare, we are inspired every day by the women who dedicate their lives to delivering healthcare worldwide and #BreaktheBias for equity, inclusion, and diversity. Observing International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month, we salute our female employees who are clearing the path for future generations.

Today, we feature Dr. Dezheen Zebari DO, AMI’s Medical Director for Vaccine and Testing Programs. Dr. Zebari was born in Kurdistan to a family of 15 children. At the age of eight, her family fled to a refugee camp in Turkey. After being processed by the United States military in Guam, she eventually arrived in New York, US without knowing any English.

“As a child refugee, I was inspired to become a physician by UN doctors working in my camp,” shared Zebari. To fulfill her dreams, she became fluent in English, achieved academic excellence, and was accepted into NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Dr. Zebari joined AMI in January 2020 as Clinical Lead of the COVID-19 Testing and Vaccination Task Force for the Navajo Nation project. She then went on to become a member of our HQ clinical team and was the sole female clinician responsible for administering vaccines and boosters to the entire AMI HQ office.

“As a child, I was always running away from devastating instability. I knew I wanted to be leading the efforts to help one day,” confided Dr. Zebari. During the summer of 2021, Dr. Zebari volunteered to deploy to Afghanistan for an AMI project despite the escalating tensions. Dr. Zebari is breaking the bias this International Women’s Day, as she is every day.