Tia Clay is a fourth-year medical student at the University of Illinois College of Medicine, pursuing a career in Family and Community Medicine. She joined the Global Shapers in the Sacramento Hub in 2019 and now serves as Vice Curator of the Chicago Hub, where she has previously been Membership Chair and Project Lead. She is also an inaugural member of Future50, the flagship partnership between the Global Shapers Community and the World Economic Forum’s Global Foresight Network.

Tia’s Shapers work centers on community well-being and reducing structural barriers to health. Most recently, she led Shred the Debt: Greater Chicago Region, which erased $1.7 million in medical debt for residents across Chicago. She continues to serve on the national Shred the Debt team, which received the 2025 Innovation Prize for scaling the initiative across the United States.

Her Shapers experience builds on her broader commitment to health equity, clinical care, and community-driven solutions. She has also contributed to food access efforts through Southside Market and has presented policy recommendations to the Cook County Commission on Social Innovation. Across every role, Tia brings together medicine, foresight, and community action to expand access to basic needs and improve health outcomes for those most affected by inequity.