National Conference on Health Disparities: Full Schedule

8:00am EDT

Continental Breakfast

Thursday September 8, 2022 8:00am - 9:00am EDT
Emerald Ballroom Prefunction

8:00am EDT

General Conference Registration

Thursday September 8, 2022 8:00am - 3:00pm EDT
Opal Promenade

9:00am EDT

Opening Remarks

Ms. Carolyn Sawyer, Conference Facilitator
Communications Strategist, Tom Sawyer Company

The Honorable John J. Tecklenburg, Charleston Mayor, Charleston, SC

Dr. David Cole, President, Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), Charleston, SC

Dr. Melinda Downing, Environmental Justice Program Manager, Legacy Management, U.S. Department of Energy, Washington, DC

Mr. Mark F. Cline, PE, CEO, Charleston Water System, Charleston, SC

Dr. Oluwole Ariyo, Associate Professor of Biology Director & PI, AU Environmental Justice Institute, Allen University, Columbia, SC

Moderators

Ms. Carolyn Sawyer

Conference Facilitator, Tom Sawyer Company

Speakers

The Honorable John J. Tecklenburg

Mayor of Charleston, South Carolina

Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg spent much of his career as a businessman and entrepreneur--a family legacy that began with the opening of his great-great-grandfather's corner grocery store at St. Phillip and Wentworth streets in 1867. Mayor Tecklenburg founded Southern Oil Company... Read More →

MUSC President David J. Cole, M.D., FACS

President, Medical University of South Carolina

Under President David J. Cole’s visionary leadership, MUSC is becoming a preeminent and innovative academic health system. Dr. Cole’s drive to transform health care, research and education elevates innovation to the center of MUSC’s culture and purpose.As a physician-scientist... Read More →

Mr. Mark F. Cline, PE,

CEO, Charleston Water Systems

Dr. Melinda Downing

Environmental Justice Program Manager, Department of Energy

Melinda Downing currently serves as the Department of Energy’s Environmental Justice Program Manager. She carries out her duties in the Office of Legacy Management (LM). Prior to transferring to LM, Ms Downing carried out her duties in the Office of Intergovernmental and Public... Read More →

Dr. Oluwole Ariyo

Associate Professor of Biology Director & PI, AU Environmental Justice Institute, Allen University

Oluwole Ariyo, a Molecular Biologist/Virologist and a tenured Professor of Cell and Molecular Biology joined Allen University, South Carolina, USA in 2006. He served as Chair, Division of Mathematics and Natural Sciences between 2009 and 2011. Prior to that, he was the Biology Coordinator... Read More →

Thursday September 8, 2022 9:00am - 9:30am EDT
Emerald Ballroom

9:30am EDT

Panel One: The Social Determinants of Health

Discussion: Addressing the Social Determinants of Health -- such as Poverty, Educational Attainment, Housing, and Air and Water Quality -- to reduce Health Disparities

Panelists
Dr. Earlexia Norwood, Service Chief, Family Medicine, Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital; Director, Practice Development, HFMG; Director, Community Health Education, HFMG; Assistant Clinical Professor, Wayne State University School of Medicine; Organization of Physicians, Academicians, and Executive Leaders (OPAL), Detroit, MI

Dr. Tom Ellison, Medical Services Director and Principal
Investigator, PROJECT H.E.L.P. USA; Alabama State
Director, Doctors For America, Inc., Birmingham, AL

Dr. L. Toni Lewis, Founder, Liberation Health Strategies, Brooklyn, NY

Moderators

Dr. Kimberly Butler Willis

Co-Founder and Managing Director, GOODSTOCK Consulting, LLC

Speakers

Dr. Earlexia Norwood

Service Chief of Family Medicine, Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital

"Find solutions, not excuses" is the mantra of Dr. Earlexia M. Norwood. Dr. Norwood is a board certified Family Medicine physician, who has practiced at Henry Ford Health System (HFHS) since 1993. She seeks partnerships and alliances to make Detroit the healthiest city in the country... Read More →

Dr. Tom Ellison MD, PhD

Medical Services Director and Principal Investigator, PROJECT H.E.L.P. USA; Alabama State Director, Doctors For America, Inc., Health Education Linkage Programs Inc.

Dr. L. Toni Lewis

Founder, Liberation Health Strategies

Dr. Luella Toni Lewis pursued a career in social justice through medicine and earned her Bachelor's Degree and Medical Doctorate from Georgetown University. From 2010 to 2016, Dr. Lewis served as Chair of the 1.1 million-member labor organization SEIU Healthcare where she helped... Read More →

Thursday September 8, 2022 9:30am - 10:30am EDT
Emerald Ballroom

10:30am EDT

BREAK

Thursday September 8, 2022 10:30am - 10:45am EDT
Emerald Ballroom Prefunction

10:45am EDT

Panel Two: Mental Health & Substance Use

Discussion: The many sides of a growing national challenge, including Gun Violence, Homelessness, Substance Use, and Suicide

Moderator
Ms. Audrey J. Whetsell, CEO, Resource Partners, LLC, Charleston, SC

Panelists
Dr. Ashley B. Hink, Assistant Professor of Surgery, Medical Director; MUSC Turning the Tide Violence Intervention Program, MUSC Department of Surgery, Division of Trauma, Burn & Surgical Critical Care, Charleston, SC

Ms. Siobhan A. Morse, MHSA, CRC, CAI, MAC; Director of Clinical Services and Research-Special Projects, Behavioral Health Division, Universal Health Services, Inc, Brentwood, TN

Dr. Mackenzie Soniak, Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Capacity Building Director, South Carolina's Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation Network, Charleston, SC

Moderators

Audrey J. Whetsell, MA, CPHIT, NCQA CCE

CEO, Medical Home Development Group, LLC

Speakers

Dr. Ashley Hink

Assistant Professor of Surgery, Medical Director; MUSC Turning the Tide Violence Intervention Program, MUSC Department of Surgery, Division of Trauma, Burn & Surgical Critical Care, Medical University of SC

Ms. Siobhan A. Morse

Ms. Siobhan A. Morse, Director of Clinical Services and Research-Special Projects,, Universal Health Services, Inc

As Product Director for Substance Use Disorder Services, Siobhan Morse is charged with spearheading the research, clinical operations management and new product development focusing on substance use disorder treatment for the Behavioral Health Division of Universal Health Services... Read More →

Dr. Mackenzie Soniak

Capacity Building Director, South Carolina's Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation Network

Dr. Soniak is the Capacity Building Director of South Carolina's Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation Network. She earned her doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Antioch University New England. Dr. Soniak completed her postdoctoral fellowship at the University... Read More →

Thursday September 8, 2022 10:45am - 11:45am EDT
Emerald Ballroom

11:45am EDT

Break

Thursday September 8, 2022 11:45am - 12:00pm EDT
Emerald Ballroom Prefunction

12:00pm EDT

Luncheon and Keynote Speaker

Luncheon & Keynote Speaker

Mr. Marcus Amaker, Poet, Academy of American Poets Fellow, and Musician, Charleston, SC

Keynote Speaker
Mr. Glenn Ellis, CEO, Strategies for Well-Being, LLC,
Philadelphia, PA

Speakers

Marcus Amaker

Marcus Amaker was named Charleston, SC’s first Poet Laureate in 2016. In 2021, he became an Academy of American Poets fellow. He’s also the award-winning graphic designer of a national music journal (No Depression), an electronic musician, an opera librettist, the creator of ... Read More →

Mr. Glenn Ellis

CEO, Strategies for Well-Being, LLC

Glenn Ellis, MPH, CHCE is an educator, lecturer, medical historian, and media commentator and healthcolumnist. Ellis is currently a Visiting Scholar at the National Bioethics Center at TuskegeeUniversity and was both a Research Bioethics Fellow and Narrative Ethics Fellow at HarvardMedical... Read More →

Thursday September 8, 2022 12:00pm - 1:15pm EDT
Emerald Ballroom

1:30pm EDT

Panel Three: Proven Program Success Stories

Panel Three: Success Stories

Discussion: Cutting-edge community-based programs

Moderator
The Honorable Donna M. Christensen MD, President of the Christensen Institute for Community Health and Empowerment; Former Delegate to U.S. Congress for the U.S. Virgin Islands, St. Croix, USVI

Panelists
Ms. Michelle Spencer, Associate Director of the Bloomberg American Health Initiative and Associate Scientist in the Department of Health Policy and Management, John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD

Mr. Luis Belen, CEO, National Health IT Collaborative for the Underserved, Baltimore, MD

Ms. Debra Fraser-Howze, Founder and President, Choose Healthy Life, New York

Rev. Nelson B. Rivers III, Charity Missionary Baptist Church, North Charleston, SC

Mr. Darold Hamlin, President and Executive Director, Emerging Technology Consortium, Washington, DC
Q&A

Moderators

Dr. Donna Christensen

Former Delegate to U.S. Congress for the U.S. Virgin Islands, President of the Christensen Institute for Community Health and Empowerment

Speakers

Dr. Michelle Spenser

Associate Director of the Bloomberg American Health Initiative and Associate Scientist in the Department of Health Policy and Management; Associate Scientist in the Department of Health Policy and Management, John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, John Hopkins University

Michelle Spencer, MS, is the Associate Director of the Bloomberg American Health Initiative and Associate Scientist in the Department of Health Policy and Management. She provides programmatic and strategic oversight for the implementation of the Bloomberg American Health Initiative.Spencer... Read More →

Rev. Nelson B. Rivers, III

Pastor, Charity Missionary Baptist Church

Mr. Luis Belen

CEO, National Health IT Collaborative for the Underserved

Mrs. Debra Fraser-Howze

Founder and President, Choose Healthy Life

Thursday September 8, 2022 1:30pm - 2:30pm EDT

2:30pm EDT

Closing Keynote Speaker

Speakers

Dr. Reed V. Tuckson

Managing Director, Tuckson Health Connections, LLC

Reed V. Tuckson, MD, FACP, is Managing Director of Tuckson Health Connections, LLC, a vehicle to advance initiatives that support optimal health and wellbeing through the intersection of health promotion and disease prevention; applied data and analytics; enhanced quality and efficiency... Read More →

Thursday September 8, 2022 2:30pm - 3:30pm EDT
Emerald Ballroom

3:30pm EDT

Closing Thoughts & Tribute

The Honorable Rev. Jimmy Gallant, Former Charleston City Councilmember, Charleston, SC

Speakers

The Honorable Rev. Jimmy Gallant

Former Charleston City Councilmember

Thursday September 8, 2022 3:30pm - 4:00pm EDT
Emerald Ballroom

4:00pm EDT

Networking Reception

Thursday September 8, 2022 4:00pm - 5:00pm EDT
Emerald Ballroom Prefunction

8:00am EDT

Continental Breakfast

Friday September 9, 2022 8:00am - 9:00am EDT
Emerald Ballroom Prefunction

8:00am EDT

General Conference Registration

Friday September 9, 2022 8:00am - 1:00pm EDT
Opal Promenade

9:00am EDT

Introduction of Keynote Speaker

Speakers

Dr. Melinda Downing

Environmental Justice Program Manager, Department of Energy

Friday September 9, 2022 9:00am - 9:30am EDT
Emerald Ballroom

9:30am EDT

Keynote Address

Speakers

The Honorable James E. Clyburn

South Carolina, District 6, Majority Whip, U.S. House of Representatives

Friday September 9, 2022 9:30am - 10:30am EDT
Emerald Ballroom

10:30am EDT

Panel Four: Environmental Justice and Health Disparities

Discussion: While Environmental Justice has been recognized for decades as a factor in health disparities, we must ask how the drive for justice has impacted environmental quality, human health, and economic development. Do we see measurable progress in outcomes, lifespans, and well-being at the community level?

Moderators

Mr. Byron Marshall

IPM Solutions, LLC

Speakers

The Honorable Harold Mitchell

Former SC State Representative, South Carolina State Legislature

Harold Mitchell founded Regenesis, a non-profit national model for an integrated environmental justice strategy. The Regenesis project has leveraged over $250 million in revitalization, cleanup, housing, federally qualified health centers, job training initiatives, and infrastructure... Read More →

Mr. Milton Bluehouse

Professor and Government Relations Entrepreneur

Milton Bluehouse, Jr., is a citizen of the Navajo Nation and is the former Deputy Chief of Staff for the Office of the President and Vice President of the Navajo Nation. Currently, Mr. Bluehouse is a professor in the School of Business and Social Science at Dine College. Mr. Bluehouse... Read More →

Mr. Stephen Williams

Houston Health Department

Friday September 9, 2022 10:30am - 11:30am EDT
Emerald Ballroom

11:30am EDT

Break

Friday September 9, 2022 11:30am - 11:45am EDT
Emerald Ballroom Prefunction

11:45am EDT

Panel Five: Student Research Forum: Building the Student Pipeline

Panel Five: Student Research Forum: Building the Student Pipeline
Under the visionary leadership of the late Dr. David E. Rivers, NCHD Chairman, the Undergraduate and Graduate Student Research Forum was launched in 2011 at the 5th National Conference on Health Disparities to build high-quality biomedical research presentation capacity in primarily underrepresented undergraduate and graduate/professional students. This unique research training and professional development opportunity has trained close to 500 students.
This panel will highlight four student leaders.

Moderators

Dr. LaVerne E. Ragster

Co-Chair, NCHD Undergraduate and Graduate Student Research Forum; Professor (Retired) and President Emerita, University of the Virgin Islands

LaVerne Ragster, born and raised in St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands, is a retired Professor of Marine Biology and President Emerita of the University of the Virgin Islands. She has conducted research and training in the areas of algal physiology and natural resource management, presented... Read More →

Speakers

Ms. Dionne Shell

Oakland University

Dionne Shell, PT, CLT is a school Physical Therapist with the Detroit Public Schools Community District (DPSCD) as well as a Certified Lymphedema Therapist with the Detroit Medical Center. She received her Bachelor of Science in Communication Disorders from Central Michigan University... Read More →

Ms. Sade Shofidiya, MBA

CEO, BEEnevolent

Sade Shofidiya is a Savannah State University graduate from Chicago, Illinois. She’s passionate about helping communities, environmental stewardship, and interdisciplinary research with education backgrounds in Information Technology, Psychology, Business Administration, and Accounting... Read More →

Ms. Lavonne Martin

Ms. Sydney Jackson

College of Medicine, Medical University of SC

Sydney Reed Jackson, a native of Columbia, SC, is a fourth-year medical student at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) going into the field of Pediatrics. She is passionate about humanistic patient care, health equity, and underrepresented minorities in medicine which... Read More →

Friday September 9, 2022 11:45am - 12:45pm EDT
Emerald Ballroom

12:45pm EDT

Break

Friday September 9, 2022 12:45pm - 1:00pm EDT
Emerald Ballroom Prefunction

1:00pm EDT

Networking Luncheon

Friday September 9, 2022 1:00pm - 2:15pm EDT
Emerald Ballroom

2:15pm EDT

Break

Friday September 9, 2022 2:15pm - 2:30pm EDT
Emerald Ballroom Prefunction

2:30pm EDT

Panel Six: From Research to Response

Discussion: How do we develop, enact, and apply public policy to reduce health disparities? What is the connection between health and economic development in creating healthy and sustainable communities?

Moderators

Dr. Jennifer Friday

President and Principal Researcher, The Friday Consulting Group

Speakers

Mr. Matthew L. Myers

President, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids

Matthew L. Myers is President of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids is a leading force in the fight to reduce tobacco use and its deadly toll in the United States and around the world. In 1996, Mr. Myers helped to found the Campaign for Tobacco-Free... Read More →

Mr. Derrick Watchman

Sagebrush Hill Group LLC

Derrick Watchman is President of Sagebrush Hill Group LLC, a tribal affairs, financial advisory services and economic development advisory company. Derrick is a member of the Navajo Nation and was raised on the Navajo reservation. He has over 35 years of experience including being... Read More →

Dr. Georges Benjamin

Executive Director, American Public Health Association

Georges C. Benjamin, MD, is the executive director of the American Public Health Association, the nation's oldest and largest organization of public health professionals. Formerly, he was Secretary for Health for the state of Maryland. A graduate of the Illinois Institute of Technology... Read More →

Friday September 9, 2022 2:30pm - 2:45pm EDT
Emerald Ballroom

3:30pm EDT

Closing Keynote Speaker

Closing Keynote Speaker
Dr. Britt Rios-Ellis, Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, Oakland University, Rochester, MI

Speakers

Dr. Britt Rios-Ellis

Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, Oakland University

Friday September 9, 2022 3:30pm - 4:00pm EDT
Emerald Ballroom

6:00pm EDT

Closing Reception featuring The Black Diamond Band

Live Music by The Black Diamond Band

The Black Diamond Band is an elite live music experience specializing in weddings, private events & dance parties. The Black Diamond Band was born in 2014 when Christian Smalls, Tony Cobin, Shelton Desaussure, & Paul Quattlebaum all met while performing together at Mister B’s in downtown Charleston. In 2018, the band recruited lead guitarist Greg Loney, one of Charleston’s finest jazz influenced guitar players. The band has brought together their many influences and inspirations ranging from pop, soul, funk, jazz, & blues to create an exciting experience that continues to delight crowds in Charleston and beyond. The recent addition of keyboard player, Richard Harris White, Jr. and AJ Jenkins on drums/vocals, has brought a new & unique dimension to the Black Diamond band.

Remarks

Ms. Carolyn Sawyer, Conference Facilitator
Communications Strategist, Tom Sawyer Company

The Honorable James E. Clyburn, Majority Whip, U.S.
House of Representatives, South Carolina, District 6 (INVITED)

Ms. Marcia Conner, Executive Director, National Forum of Black Public Administrators (NFBPA), Washington, DC

The Honorable Dudley Gregorie, Charleston City Council, District 6, Charleston, SC

Speakers

The Honorable Dudley Gregorie

District 6, Charleston City Council

Ms. Marcia Conner

Executive Director, National Forum For Black Public Administrators

Marcia L. Conner is the Executive Director of the National Forum for Black Public Administrators, (NFBPA). NFBPA is an independent, nonpartisan, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to preparing African Americans for top leadership positions in state and local government. Ms... Read More →

The Honorable James E. Clyburn

South Carolina, District 6, Majority Whip, U.S. House of Representatives

Friday September 9, 2022 6:00pm - 9:00pm EDT
Courtyard & Topaz Room