Dr. Kmarie King is fulfilling a lifelong dream, not only as a surgeon but now as the first Black female chair of surgery in the nation. 

"I would just stare at the sky and want to do that, and it sounds magical, but one day said 'You're going to be a doctor.' Ended up on this long journey to becoming a liver and pancreas surgeon, and eventually going into leadership that led me here,” said Dr. King. 

Serving in this role since September at the Albany Medical Center, King is blazing the trail for countless women who she hopes will follow in her footsteps. 

While it was a joyous occasion, she says she can’t help but notice how long it took for this historical moment to happen. 

"Sometimes it makes me sad that it took this long for a Black woman to ascend into this capacity. I think George Floyd's death and the resurgence of looking at race in a different way in America has caused a lot of people to look differently at who they're looking at for leadership roles,” said Dr. King. 

King says her journey hasn’t been easy and that she’s faced obstacles of being made to feel less than as a Black woman. 

She says she’s hoping to pave the way for more Black women who come after her.