Temara Cross is a proud Buffalo native, first-generation college graduate, and current medical student at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo. Temara’s journey is rooted in a deep commitment to advancing equity and revitalizing Western New York (WNY) through healthcare, education, and community-driven innovation.
With a multidisciplinary academic foundation – holding a Bachelor’s and Master’s in Public Health (concentration in Community Health and Health Behavior), a Bachelor’s in African American Studies, and a minor in Anthropology from the University at Buffalo – Temara combines academic rigor with cultural humility to confront the complex health challenges faced by underserved communities. Her upbringing on Buffalo’s East Side, coupled with personal health experiences and the loss of loved ones to preventable illnesses, has profoundly shaped her commitment to dismantling health disparities and expanding access to equitable, compassionate care.
Outside of the classroom and clinic, Temara is a dedicated community leader, mentor, and advocate. She serves on the Board of Directors for Say Yes Buffalo and joyfully leads the youth ministry at her church, Grace Tabernacle Church of God in Christ. As a medical student, she serves as Community Service Chair for both the Buffalo chapter of the Student National Medical Association and the Dr. Jonathan Daniels Chapter of White Coats for Black Lives, as well as President for the Christian Medical and Dental Association at Jacobs. Her leadership in faith-based, community-oriented, and academic settings reflects her belief that progress requires collective effort across sectors.
Temara is a two-time recipient of the WNY Prosperity Fellowship (2020-2022), which helped shape her professional identity and connect her with numerous meaningful experiences, including her internship with G-Health Enterprises. She helped advance initiatives related to Social Determinants of Health and supported programming to improve health access in underserved communities. Overall, her time in the Fellowship further equipped her with the tools to drive both innovation and impact across healthcare, nonprofit, and public policy sectors.
Temara’s experiences fuel her desire to become a primary care physician who not only treats illness but also addresses the conditions that drive it. She aspires to build a comprehensive health facility in her hometown of Buffalo. She envisions a future where patient-centered care considers every facet of a person’s life, empowering communities and revitalizing neighborhoods.
Her aspirations reach beyond medicine. She seeks to become a social entrepreneur whose work creates sustainable, community-centered, and mission-driven solutions. She is deeply invested in retaining and uplifting talent in her hometown, demonstrating that WNY is a place where young professionals of color can thrive, innovate, and lead.
By combining lived experience, academic training, and compassionate leadership, Temara Cross strives to “let [her] light shine” while being a committed catalyst for change. Her passions for community engagement, public health, and medicine drive her determination to bridge gaps in health, trust, and opportunity while empowering communities to transcend beyond unfavorable circumstances.