Charisse
As an ABOS Board Certified Orthopaedic Trauma Surgeon with MD licenses in six states, Dr. Sparks completed her trauma fellowship at Harvard Medical School and residency at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. She holds an MD from the University of Kansas School of Medicine and a BS in Biological Sciences and Mathematics from Wichita State University. Dr. Sparks played varsity basketball, volleyball, and softball, and was on the varsity track team in high school. She played Division I basketball while at Wichita State and played summer league softball all through college. Throughout her educational career she received numerous awards and recognition for leadership and community involvement.
Her mother says Charisse told her that she would be a doctor from age five. From giving a ‘speech’ in the second grade about Dr. Daniel Hale Williams (first African American and one of the first surgeons to do open heart surgery) to completing an Orthopaedic Trauma Fellowship at Harvard Medical School, Dr. Sparks has pursued her passion of impacting the lives of others through medicine.
This journey was not always a straight line. Charisse has survived two successful ACL reconstruction surgeries and was able to return to sport. She put her education on hold to run a successful general construction company for several years. But, the desire to be a physician never waned, and she returned to and completed her undergraduate studies, applied to and was accepted into medical school, and never looked back.
Dr. Sparks has built her career on the solid reputation of positively disrupting hospital services and medical device development. As one of the first three African American female Orthopaedic Trauma Surgeons in the country, she has driven meaningful innovation for patients in both clinical practice and industry. In her six years at Johnson & Johnson and her tenure at AppliedVR, Dr. Sparks has influenced the future of medical devices for trauma, extremities, craniomaxillofacial, animal health (TECA) and digital therapeutics across the entire development process.
When not working, Dr. Sparks enjoys some classic distractions consistent with her Texas heritage: swimming with dolphins, playing golf, riding Harleys, riding and training her Palomino (Doc), enjoying her Australian Cobberdog (Bailey), and, of course, Dallas Cowboys Football. She also advises Black Kids| White Coats, Inc., a not-for-profit promoting African Ancestry students to become doctors.