Thelma B. Wright is an associate professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM). A faculty member of UMSOM’s Department of Anesthesiology, she is also medical director of the University of Maryland Rehabilitation and Orthopaedic Institute’s Pain Management Center and also the program director of UMSOM’s Pain Medicine Fellowship. She has served in this role since 2006, supervising a very busy academic pain practice, which sees about 10,000 patients annually in the Greater Baltimore area. She supervises a staff of physicians, psychologists, nurse practitioners, social workers, nurse managers, practice administrators, nurses, administrative staff, residents, fellows, and medical assistants. Wright is president of the medical staff and chair of the Medical Executive Committee at the University of Maryland Rehabilitation and Orthopaedic Institute. ln addition, she chairs the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) Pain Subcommittee.

Wright earned her medical degree at the Howard University College of Medicine. Subsequently, she completed a residency in one of the top anesthesiology training institutions, University of Virginia in Charlottesville, where she also did her pain medicine fellowship. She is board certified in both anesthesiology and pain medicine.

Wright also has her JD from the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law and has been admitted to the Maryland Bar since 2013. She has a certificate in health law and mostly focuses her practice on medical malpractice, state Physician Board review, and physician peer­review matters. Wright received an MBA from the University of Maryland Robert H. Smith School of Business in 2022.

Wright is a member of various University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC) committees including the Bioethics Executive Committee, co-chair of the UMMS Opioid Stewardship Committee, and the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) UMBrella Advisory Board. As a graduate of several leadership training/coaching courses, Wright is recognized as a leader at UMMC and has coached junior faculty especially women to reach their full potential and get promoted. Wright was recently awarded the UMBrella Person of the Year-Leading the Way award, which recognizes a member of the UMB community who has demonstrated leadership as a role model, coach, and/or mentor to assist others in reaching their personal and professional goals in alignment with the mission and programs offered by UMBrella. Wright is passionate about equity, inclusion, and diversity.

Wright served on the advisory board for the recently promulgated State of Maryland Prescription Drug Monitoring Program. She also peer reviews cases for the Maryland Board of Physicians. She has been awarded the U.S. News and World Report Top Doctor designation in pain management on multiple occasions. Wright is currently interested in the use of medical cannabis and its role in offsetting the use of chronic opioids.