Podcasts about Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

In this powerful episode, we explore moral injury in healthcare - the profound distress physicians face when they're forced to make decisions that go against the very reason they entered healthcare. We sat down with Dr. Carol Paris, a retired psychiatrist and the former President and current Vice President of Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP) to discuss their moral injury survey, part of a project funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. To learn more about moral injury in healthcare, follow the link below!https://pnhp.org/understanding-moral-injury-in-health-care/And if you are a med student or physician interested in filling out the moral injury survey, it's available at the link below. https://www.pnhp.org/surveyThe report mentioned in the episode is also available at the link below. https://www.elsevier.com/promotions/clinician-of-the-future-education-edition?utm_source=banner&utm_medium=dg&utm_campaign=cotf&utm_content=rpt#2pril6uswzbqotzfozzclmEpisode produced by: Griffin K JohnsonEpisode recording date: 4/24/25www.medicuspodcast.com | medicuspodcast@gmail.com | Donate: http://bit.ly/MedicusDonate

In this newscast: Juneau was one of nine communities selected for an annual grant by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a health philanthropy group; Flood inundation maps that model how Juneau's Mendenhall River levee should perform have finally arrived; Initial results from a study of humpback whale health in Juneau found that the area is particularly important for females and their calves, and the findings could drive the city to consider restricting the growth of the whale watching industry; A Washington state-based conservation group is suing the National Marine Fisheries Service over king salmon, again 

Green Bay is one of 9 communities across the country to receive a prestigious $250,000 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation grant. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Picture a hospital room late at night, the soft hum of machines in the background. A family gathers quietly around their loved one, unsure how to navigate the complexities of end-of-life care. It's a scene playing out every day across the country, highlighting a crucial yet often neglected part of healthcare—the way we care for people as their lives near an end. Joining me today is Ira Byock, a renowned physician, author, and passionate advocate for palliative care, whose groundbreaking work has transformed how we think about living—and dying—well. As the Emeritus Professor of Medicine and Community & Family Medicine, Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine, Ira has dedicated his career to ensuring that end-of-life care is compassionate, comprehensive, and patient-centered. From developing the influential Missoula Demonstration Project to leading the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's initiatives on end-of-life care, Ira's pioneering efforts have touched millions of lives. Drawing deeply from his early experiences in rural family medicine, Ira witnessed firsthand the profound gaps in care for dying patients, sparking a lifelong mission to humanize healthcare. His belief that moments of crisis can also be opportunities for growth and wellbeing and reshaped our understanding of what it means to care for the whole person. In this episode, we explore Ira's remarkable journey—from a young physician confronting ethical dilemmas, to a visionary leader reshaping the landscape of hospice and palliative care. We'll discuss the challenges of balancing compassionate care with a profit-driven healthcare system, the transformative power of treating patients as whole people, and Ira's innovative vision for a more humane and effective healthcare future. Do you have thoughts on this episode or ideas for future guests? We'd love to hear from you. Email us at hello@rosenmaninstitute.org.  

Dr. Joseph Ladapo is a Nigerian-American physician and health policy researcher currently serving as the Surgeon General of Florida since 2021. Born in Nigeria, he immigrated to the United States at the age of 5 with his family when his father, a microbiologist, came to continue his studies. Dr. Ladapo completed his undergraduate studies at Wake Forest University, where he was a decathlete and captain of the varsity track and field team. He then went on to earn his MD from Harvard Medical School and a PhD in Health Policy from Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. He completed his clinical training in internal medicine. Throughout his career, Dr. Ladapo has held various academic positions. He served as a faculty member in the Department of Population Health at NYU School of Medicine and as a Staff Fellow at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Prior to his current role, he was an Associate Professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. Dr. Ladapo's research focuses on clinical trial interventions and reducing the population burden of cardiovascular disease. His work has been funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and his studies have been published in leading medical journals. In recent years, Dr. Ladapo has gained prominence for his bold stance on COVID-19 mitigation measures, in which he opposed mask and vaccine mandates, questioned the safety of COVID-19 vaccines, and approved alternative treatments. Currently, Dr. Ladapo serves as a Professor of Medicine at the University of Florida College of Medicine in addition to his role as Florida's Surgeon General. He is married and has three young children.

Katsi Cook is a beacon in an array of quiet powerful worlds — a magnetic, joyous, loving presence. The public conversation we offer up here was part of a gathering where a fantastic group of young people had come to be nourished, to explore the depths of what community can mean, to become more grounded and whole. They've taken to sitting at the feet of this Mohawk wise woman, mother, and grandmother, and you will experience why.Katsi Cook is globally renowned in the field of midwifery. Her practice and teaching, based in ancient ancestral knowledge, have taken an esteemed place in research and advances in the science of environmental reproductive health. She is founder of the National Aboriginal Council of Midwives of Canada. Her work is at heart, she says, about the "reclamation of the transformative power of birth." And Katsi Cook is helping our world recover the natural human experience of cross-generational companionship and care. This conversation you'll hear between her and Krista, sitting in a room of mostly young people, was an exercise in the art of eldering — which Katsi Cook calls nothing more and nothing less than "generational wealth transmission."Katsi Cook is an Onkwehonweh traditional midwife, elder, and Executive Director of Spirit Aligned Leadership Program. She is a Wolf Clan member of the Akwesasne Mohawk Nation and resides at the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe in upstate New York. Her groundbreaking environmental research of Mohawk mother's milk revealed the intergenerational impact of industrial chemicals on the health and well-being of an entire community.  Katsi leads a movement of matrilineal awareness and rematriation in Native life. Her book discussed in this episode is Worlds Within Us: Wisdom and Resilience of Indigenous Women Elders.Find an excellent transcript of this show, edited by humans, on our show page at onbeing.org.  There you can find links that will provide context on other people mentioned in the show.Special thanks for the entire experience that brought On Being together with Katsi Cook:Reverend Don Chatfield, Tammy Saltus, and the All Souls Interfaith Gathering congregation; Megan Camp, Tre McCarney, and the team at Shelburne Farms; The Harris and Herzberber Families and High Acres Farms, Philo Ridge Farm, Spirit Aligned Leadership, Gedakina, Guaní Press, and the Akwesasne Freedom School.  Jennifer Brandel with Hearken; Mara Zepeda and MCK Keefrider with Linestone, Amelia Rose Barlow, Kristine Hill with Collective Wisdom, and Sara Jolena Wolcott with Sequoia Samanvaya, and audio engineer Abra Clawson.  The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; Wayfarer Foundation; Democracy Fund; and (m)otherboard who supported this Gathering, as well as: Aimee Arandia Østensen, Aly Perry, Amanda Herzberger, Andrew Berns, Ashley Henry, Chief Beverly Cook, Ben Von Wong, Bread and Butter Farm, Carson Linforth Bowley,  Casey Ryan, Charlotte Hardie, Christine Lai, Courtney Mulcahy, David Alder, Ethan Bond-Watts, Elizabeth Stewart, Eve Bradford, Grace Oedel, Hanna Satterlee, Heidi Webb, Jeff Herzberger, Jennifer Daniels, Jonathan Harris, John Stokes, Joey Borgogna, Josie Watson, José Barreiro, Judy Dow,  Katherine Elmer, Kathy Treat, Ken Miles, Liana Gillooly, Loretta Afraid of Bear Cook, Lynn van Housen, Mario Picayo, Michelle Dai Zotti, Paul & Eileen Growald, Raquel Picayo, Rob Anderson,  Speranza Foundation, Tom Cook, Tom Porter, Scott Thrift, Sherry Oakes-Jackson, Ssong Yang, Sue Dixon, Sydney Bolger, Vera Simon-Nobes, Waylon Cook, Wendy Bratt. ______Sign up for The Pause, a monthly Saturday morning companion for all things On Being, with a heads-up on new episodes, special offerings, event invitations, recommendations, and reflections from Krista all year round.

One of the most talked about and controversial cabinet appointments made by President Donald Trump has been that of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a known vaccine skeptic who has embraced several debunked health conspiracies. As secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, he now controls the Centers for Disease Control, which led the development of the COVID-19 vaccine, the Food & Drug Administration which looks after food safety, and many other consequential health subdepartments which safeguard the public's health. What changes has RFK Jr. enacted so far and what does the future of American health under his leadership look like? Dr. Richard Besser, president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and former acting director of the CDC, joins The Excerpt to share his concerns.Let us know what you think of this episode by sending an email to podcasts@usatoday.com.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Medicaid provides health coverage for more than 70 million Americans, including children, veterans, seniors, and people with disabilities. But as Congress works toward a reconciliation bill, proposed cuts totaling $880 billion have raised serious concerns about the program's future and the impacts on patients and providers.In this episode, Chip Kahn sits down with Dr. Bruce Siegel, President and CEO of America's Essential Hospitals, as he reflects on his 15 years of leadership, the critical role of serving uninsured and low-income patients, and the high stakes of the Medicaid debate unfolding in Washington.Key topics include:The evolving role of essential hospitals and the need to serve uninsured and low-income patients;Medicaid's role in the health system and why it is essential for patient care;The real-world impact of Medicaid cuts, including consequences for nursing home stays, community-based services, and hospital operations;Debunking the misconception that having insurance doesn't improve health outcomes; and,Bruce's advice for future health care leaders and what's next for him after America's Essential Hospitals.Guest Bio: With an extensive background in health care management, policy, and public health, Bruce Siegel, MD, MPH, has the blend of experience necessary to lead America's Essential Hospitals and its members through the changing health care landscape and into a sustainable future. With more than 350 members, America's Essential Hospitals is the only national organization representing hospitals committed to serving those who face financial and social barriers to care. Since joining America's Essential Hospitals in 2010, Siegel has dramatically grown the association as it strengthened its advocacy, research, and education efforts. His intimate knowledge of member needs comes in part from his direct experience as president and CEO of two member systems: New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation and Tampa General Healthcare. Just before joining America's Essential Hospitals, Siegel served as director of the Center for Health Care Quality and professor of health policy at The George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services. He also served as New Jersey's commissioner of health. Among his many accomplishments, Siegel led groundbreaking work on quality and equity, with funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. He is a past chair of the National Quality Forum board and the National Advisory Council for Healthcare Research and Quality. Modern Healthcare recognized him as one of the “100 Most Influential People in Healthcare” from 2011 to 2019 and 2022 to 2024; among the “50 Most Influential Clinical Executives” in 2022, 2023, and 2024; among the “Top 25 Diversity Leaders in Healthcare” in 2021; one of the “50 Most Influential Physician Executives” from 2012 to 2018; and among the “Top 25 Minority Executives in Healthcare” in 2014 and 2016. He also was named one of the “50 Most Powerful People in Healthcare” by Becker's Hospital Review in 2013 and 2014. Siegel earned a bachelor's degree from Princeton University, a doctor of medicine from Cornell University Medical College, and a master's degree in public health from The Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health.

The food and nutrition landscape in our schools is really important. School meals affect the health, wellbeing, energy, vitality, and ability to learn for millions and millions of children. And for those whose family struggled to buy food, the importance of school meals cannot be overstated. This makes decisions about what foods are served in schools and where they come from. Highly consequential and raises issues about national and state nutrition policies, the influence of big food companies in shaping this picture and lots more.  It's a good time to unravel all this, which we can do today. Thanks to two experts with us. Dr. Marlene Schwartz is Professor of Human Development and Family Sciences and Director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy health at the University of Connecticut. Mara Fleishman is CEO of the Chef Ann Foundation, where she has been a leader advancing school food change, advocating for scratch cook meals that promote children's health and for more sustainable food systems.   Interview Summary In discussions about school food, it seems there first came a nutrition part, which in more recent years has been joined with a concern about where foods come from. Better connections, say between schools and low whole food systems. Let's talk about both, Marlene, let's start with nutrition. You have been a pioneer in working with schools, an interest that goes back a number of years. What was this food environment like in schools before change began to occur? It was my impression it was sort of a free for all. So, yes, I would agree that it was a free for all. The actual school lunch, what we call the reimbursable school lunch, which is the meal that the federal government gives states and then states give the local food service directors funds to support, that has actually always had nutrition standards. But historically the problem was under nutrition. The standards were very focused on making sure students had enough to eat. There were no maximums. It was really all about making sure that there was at least the minimum number of calories and foods available. But the other foods that were sold in schools, which we call competitive foods, so these are foods that were vending machines and school stores and fundraisers and things like that, were hardly regulated at all. And that is really where we saw a complete free for all. We saw ice cream and chips and soda and sports drinks and things like that. And I remember going to one school here in Connecticut and counting 13 vending machines in the high school. It really was remarkable the amount of unhealthy food that was being sold in schools. You know, I was thinking of that same thing when I was living in Connecticut, I went to my son's high school, a different school than what you're talking about. And I forget the number of soft drink machines they had around the school, but it was in the teens. And when I was a boy, I don't remember any soft drink machines in my schools. Maybe they hadn't been invented yet. I'm so old. But it was really pretty remarkable how much access children had to these things. And as I understand, the importance of those machines in the schools to the companies was more than just what food was being sold. There was a real branding opportunity. Is that right? I think that's exactly right. And I remember over 20 years ago when we were talking to some of the soft drink companies about the vending machines, they were quick to point out that they didn't make all that much money selling soft drinks in schools. Which I felt was them basically admitting that they weren't there because of the income from the sales in schools. But rather it was a hundred percent branding. And that was also really evident by the fact that you had to have a contract. So, the school districts had to have contracts with Coke or Pepsi or Cadbury Schwepps to only sell that company's products. It was blatantly obvious that this was all about marketing and marketing to an audience that they had to go to school, and they were going to be exposed to those logos every time they walked past one of those machines. Yeah. I remember in those days it felt like a victory when the companies agreed to change what was in the machines, but it was what was on the machines that was more important. So, you know, once again, that was a sign of the industry having upper hand. Let me ask you a different question. So there have been some important systemic changes discussed in context to school meals, ones that really could affect the nutrition landscape nationwide. And I'm thinking in particular universal free school meals. Can you tell us what this means and why it's important and what do you think ought to be done? Sure. So universal free school meals, or as the advocates call it Healthy School Meals for All, is a policy that is providing meals at no cost to all students. So typically the way it works in most school districts is there's three categories of payment. There are students who pay quote, full price. There are students who pay a reduced price and there are students who receive the meal at no cost, and it has to do with the income of their household. But what has been shown, interestingly most significantly during the pandemic, there was a policy from the USDA that all students would receive meals at no cost because we were clearly in a national crisis. And in some ways, it was this silver lining of that time because what it showed, those of us who study school meals, is how wonderful it is to be able to provide meals at no cost for everyone there. There are a lot of benefits. Some of it is just the administrative burden of having to figure out each and every household and which category they're in is lifted. You don't have to track which student is which as they're picking up their lunch. But it also really removed the stigma. One of the most surprising things that we've seen in our data is that even students who would have gotten their meal at no cost already were more likely to take a meal when it was provided at no cost for everyone. Because it just became part of what you did. Everybody was eating the school meal. And I think that it always leads to higher rates of participation among all of those sorts of categories of kids. And I think it also really allows the people running the food service to focus on preparing the food and making it the best it can be and not having that burden of the paperwork. And will there come a day, in your belief where this will happen? I hope so. What we've seen is that a number of states, I think it's eight right now, actually passed state policy to keep universal free school meals after the federal guidance that had been out there was lifted after the pandemic was over. And so my hope is that they'll really demonstrate the benefits and that other states will join in. There's certainly a lot of advocacy in a lot of other states to try to do this. And some of the benefits that have also been shown are outcomes like attendance and academic achievement and just really showing that just like we use our public funds to fund the teachers and the building and the water and the library books. It's sort of seen as a basic tool that the school needs to make available to students so that they can succeed academically. And I think that shift in attitude as opposed to seeing the lunchroom as this sort of separate thing from the rest of the school building. I think that shift in attitude will be really helpful overall. That makes good sense. Mara, let's turn to you. I'm really eager to hear about the work of the Chef Ann Foundation. I've followed its work for a number of years, but I'm eager to hear what the most recent iteration of this. So, I'm hoping you can tell us, and also give us some sense of why you got interested in these issues.   Well, the Chef Ann Foundation is actually celebrating its 15th birthday this year. And we help school food programs move from serving more processed heat and serve food to serving more freshly prepared scratch made meals in schools. And we do that through looking at what are the barriers to school food programs actually serving this freshly prepared meal. And there are a number of barriers: training, skill sets, equipment, access to healthier food, local farmers. The reimbursement rate, you know, how much money they get actually for serving these meals. What about the power of the companies that are providing the prepared foods to schools? Yes, that's a big piece. So those are very loud voices that have a [00:09:00] lot of power behind them. Through the passing of the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act in 2010, there was an increase in nutrition standards change and what Marlene was saying is that while there was some basic before that, after Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act, we had saturated fat standard, sodium, whole grain. But what happened was these big food companies just kind of R&D'd their food to meet these standards. So, we are in a better place today, right? Because we are serving more whole grains. We are serving less saturated fat, less sodium. But one of the big things that the passage of that Child Nutrition Reauthorization did not do was really reduce ultra processed food in school. And that I think is the next horizon for school food, is how to actually help them reduce that ultra processed food. Because there is, you know, a lot of research out there, I'm sure Marlene is familiar with this, that is linking more ultra processed food to diet related disease. So, we go in and really help these school food programs with more culinary training, we do assessments to tell them what kind of equipment they need to serve fresh food. A lot of it is financial training. So, when you're serving a chicken nugget. One chicken nugget that meets the standards. You bring it in frozen. All you have to do is reheat it and put it on the line. If you're making a chicken strip from scratch, you know you have to buy the chicken, you have to buy the breadcrumbs. You have to buy all the ingredients. You have to start looking at your program through a different lens. Your financial modeling is different. Your labor resources are different. Meeting meals per labor hour is different. We provide training on all these fronts to help them run that program. Well, it sounds enormously beneficial. How much do, in the modern day, how much do schools care about these things and how much do parents care about them? Well, I think something that's really exciting, and I think we have the best vantage point for it, is that schools, parents, communities, even government cares way more about it today than they did when the Chef Ann Foundation was launched. We were definitely considered more of a niche nonprofit organization that only worked with kind of districts that were very progressive. But today, we have, waiting lists for our grants. we work in every state in the country. And we now have a cooperative agreement with the USDA, which would never have really been possible 15 years ago. They just weren't looking for partnerships with organizations that were pushing the envelope to this level. So, I think now's our time. It's so nice to hear that because I remember back when the Chef Ann Foundation got started. And that niche role that it played was clear, but there was so much hope that it would expand and it's really nice that it has. And the fact that you're in every state and the USDA is working with you, those are all really good signs. Well, let me ask you another question. This one about equity. How does this work fit into an equity point of view? I mean, that's pretty much the heart of the matter, I think in many ways. I started this work because I worked for Whole Foods Market for 13 years and I was very interested in food systems work. I have three children and my oldest, who's now 23, when she started in kindergarten, I went to lunch with her. They were serving, this was before the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act, they were serving a very highly processed, high sugar, low protein meal. And I was looking around at the cafeteria really looking at who is eating this meal and thinking to myself, what are we doing here? We are not providing the same springboard for every kindergartner to thrive and meet their true potential, right? There were kids coming to school with their very healthy packed lunches and little baby organic carrots and whole wheat bread and no-nitrate turkey sandwiches. And then there was a whole host of kids eating this very ultra processed high sugar, low fiber, no protein meal. And the equity issue that you're speaking of was right there and very blatant. And if we're not going to provide children that same springboard to thrive from, which, you know, is what K 12 is about, right? That's what we're trying to do for everyone then we have some big issues. And to Marlene's point, we disregard food in that equity issue. So, we don't make higher income kids pay for their bus rides or anything else. And we don't kind of create that divide. We don't devalue anything as significantly as we do food. And it's what makes you thrive. I heard once a very interesting statement from a physician who worked on brain development. And he said that if children are not fed correctly during critical stages of their development amounts to a life sentence. That there are just certain things that will never recover no matter what happens. Having a better school food environment helps erase some of that for sure. Not all of it, but at least some of it. And then each of the children are more on a level playing field in terms of their academic achievement because some aren't so much more burdened by a terrible food environment. I can see why this would, would really be so important. Marlene, let's talk about what changes have been made. Both you and Mara have alluded to this, but specifically what's happened over the years in terms of school meals and have there been studies on the impacts on children? Sure. Well, I completely agree with Mara that the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act was a really bright spot, certainly in, in my career, in terms of seeing changes to school meals. So, as I mentioned before, we used to have only minimum calories and things like that. And now we finally have maximum calories based on the age of the child as well as sodium, saturated fat, increasing whole grains, low fat dairy, things like that. The other thing with the smart snacks, so the competitive foods that started to have nutrition regulations. That was a perfect example though of where the companies use their research and development dollars to essentially make a Dorito that fit the standards and a cookie that fit the standards. And I think in some ways that has highlighted the fact that our society is starting to look much more skeptically at highly processed foods. Because I remember standing in my kids' high school a number of years ago after smart snacks went into a fat, and I was in front of the vending machine, and a parent came up to me who knew this was what I studied and said: 'What are you talking about? That school food is healthier. Look at that!' And sort of pointing to all the packaged chips and cookies and other snacks. And I tried, I was like, well, but those are reduced fat Doritos and those cookies are lower in sugar and probably have some whole grains and nobody cared. Parents basically can recognize junk food when they see it. I one hundred percent agree that processed food is the next dimension that we need to really be able to assess, measure it so that we can start to regulate it. And to have that be a new way in which we try to manage the quality of school meals. Before we get to the issue of what sort of research has been done to show the impact on kids, let me follow up on the Doritos example. Well, it sounds like what we were talking about earlier with a Coke machine being so important because of the logo and branding and stuff like that. Sounds like exactly the same things that work here. That the company wants to have Doritos in the school, not because they sell so much or make so much money. But that they brand, it's a chance to brand that particular product or that particular company. And then of course, kids want those when they get out of school and they talk to their parents about getting them. So, it seems like the fact that they get reformulated to be a tad healthier isn't much of a victory is it. No, and I feel like it's almost like the worst of all situations. So, we've done some research on this at the Rudd Center and have a graphic where we show like the school version and then the grocery store version. And it's completely clear that it's the same branding. Nobody would mistake or not think it was the same product. But the grocery store version is not as healthy as the school version. So you're simultaneously - if someone were to know, for example, that about smart snacks and the nutrition standards they could say, well, they sell it in schools maybe it's better. They might be more likely to buy it in the grocery store, but of course what they're buying in the grocery store is worse. And then if you ask folks from the food industry, which I've done, well, why don't you just reformulate all of it? Why don't you only sell the school version in the grocery store? They say, 'oh, well, we are just worried that people won't like it because it's not, you know, as palatable.' It's like a lose-lose proposition. I would like, personally, to see all of those foods removed from schools. And to answer your question about the research though, it's really promising. I mean, there have been a couple of studies that I always go to, to sort of document the positive impact of the regulations that came from the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act. One was a study showing that basically the meals that students eat in school for most American children are the healthiest meals that they eat all day. So that it's sort of the best source of nutrition. And then another study that was looking at BMI trajectories over time and found that particularly among lower income children there was a measurable impact on BMI in terms of reducing the risk of childhood obesity after the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act regulations were put into place. So, I feel like when you have those sort of large national data sets and you can look at impact across the country, it's pretty clear that even though we of course, want to see more change and keep going forward, even the changes we've made so far have had an important impact. Do you think the changes are sufficient to produce impacts on learning and academic achievement and things like that? We have a hard time having enough data to really get at that very specific outcome because so many things have impact on academic achievement. But there definitely have been some studies that have been able to show some impact. But it's a tricky thing to measure. Mara, let's talk a little bit about how the school can be part of a vital and healthy food system overall. Tell us about your work in that space. We look at health in its kind of larger capacity, right? So direct related nutrition results with kids eating certain foods. But in addition, the school lunch program is funded to the tune of $17 billion a year, right? So, if we think about spending those dollars in the food system and how we're going to change the food system we have to really think about how we empower these school food professionals to make the best choices they can to affect change. With approximately about a $4.30 reimbursable rate price of a lunch, it's not easy right now. Labor prices are going up and you have to pay for labor out of that. You have to pay for food cost out of that. But you can prioritize your choices. Some of the things that we work with districts on are what are their top 20 highest volume purchases in the school food program. And how can we look at that top 20 and make some adjustments to purchase things that can impact the environment in a more significant way. Often it is animal protein that's in their top 20. That is really an opportunity for districts to make better choices. Local choices. Higher quality choices. You know, choices that impact not only the health of the environment, but the health of their local economy. But it is challenging because your district has to be able to manage raw animal protein. A lot of the processed animal protein products coming to the districts are pre-cooked, and so they don't have to always know how to manage in a kitchen raw animal protein. And that's usually this barrier that we help districts get over. But once we do, there is this huge opportunity for them to purchase higher quality animal protein. Also fruits and vegetables, right? I always get asked this from parent groups who are looking to change school food. Why can't we just purchase everything organic in schools, right? So that's hard on $4.30, right? You can't. But you can make choices and you can look at the highest volume products or the products that are more affected by pesticides, right? So, if you have a salad bar you know you're serving lettuce every day. You can move to serving an organic lettuce, and that is a huge opportunity to move forward. I think things like that are how we look at the food system in terms of school food. But it's really important not just for us food systems people to be looking at it like this, but for us to be training and teaching the school food professionals about their job and the impact they can make, both on student nutrition and environmental impact. And that's a lot of what we do in our workforce development initiatives. How does seasonal things figure in? Because schools are in session during the months when it's colder in most parts of the country, and the agricultural system isn't going full bore like it might in the summer months. How do you deal with that?  It's really a great point. I know whenever I bring up any kind of exemplary food program in California, people say to me, 'Ugh, California. You can do a lot in California, but what can you do elsewhere?' Well, here where I live in Boulder, the Boulder Valley School district serves close to 15,000 lunches a day. They have 55 schools. It's kind of that perfect midsize district example. And they purchase 40% of their products locally. This is a Northern Climate District. This is Colorado. It takes time. It takes a real steadfast plan. But you, you know, you can purchase potatoes through December. There's a lot of indoor growing right now locally too. So that's also this great opportunity to purchase things like if you have a salad bar purchase, things like lettuce locally, all year long. There's, there's a lot of local wheat production that is happening these days in northern climates and then it's getting milled and processed into different products that you can buy locally. It's very much possible. Can you get to a hundred percent local procurement? Not right now, not at the current reimbursable rate, but there's a lot of room for improvement even in northern climates. When the schools are buying such foods that come from local sources, are they buying directly from the farmers or is there some agent in the middle? It depends. Mostly for local farmers, small local farmers, they're buying direct. And that's a challenge for small and even some midsize districts because of their capacity, their procurement capacity, their administrative capacity. But it is possible. Obviously, it's in some ways easier for big districts like, you know, LAUSD (Los Angeles Unified School District). We work with LAUSD. It's an amazing district that buys a lot locally. But they have the volume, they have the capacity, they have the administrative support. That's why a lot of our work focuses on small and midsize districts to actually provide them with that kind of structure and support to do it. And to really prioritize the buying processes through their local purveyors. There are some local distributors that have more local products than others. You know, gold Star is a distributor on the West coast that has more local products. But in reality, the prime vendors for these districts are mostly Sysco or US Foods. And they don't carry a ton of local farm product for these districts. So, they're really going to have to create those partnerships. I'm thinking of the farmers and what impact it might have on them. And I could imagine for some farmers at least, it would provide a reliable income source and a reliable customer for their products, which would be helpful financially. And I imagine, although I don't know that there are probably cases where the schools are inviting the farmers to come in and meet the kids, and that's probably good for everybody. Does that kind of thing happen? Yeah, I mean that is huge and as I kind of talked about ultra processed food being the next horizon to look at reducing in school food, I also think how we work with school food programs to connect them and actually have them be stronger customers of local farmers is also this next horizon. One of the new projects that we're working on is called Values Align Purchasing Collectives. So, we're currently doing assessments to determine how we can group small and mid-size districts together to form buying cohorts, basically, to purchase from local farmers. So how can we get them to look at serving some of the same menu items, purchasing together, working together to relieve some of the administrative stress on the districts, but also on the farmer side. So how do we create hubs to do and look at creating a process that can better support? And I think that's the future. Oh boy. That sounds like a very exciting development. Marlene, just you have something you wanted add? Yeah, I'm just so exciting to hear all of that. I was going to mention that we have a new project in Connecticut looking at farm-to-school practices across the state, and really trying to work with districts on both the procurement part of it as well as incorporating more into the classroom. So having that connection with local farmers, having that being part of the sort of educational curriculum. And then really what I've always thought was the goal was to have the cafeteria more of a learning lab. Not having it as this, I guess I said before, separate part of the school, but rather incorporating nutrition education, incorporating this is where that apple came from and teaching students where the food is from and particularly if it's from a local producer. I think there's a lot of excitement around there. I think the USDA is funding a lot of states to do more work in this area, and so it's a pretty exciting time. You know, connecting up what the two of you have just said, Marlene, I remember in the time I was living in Connecticut. Connecticut has a lot of small to midsize towns that are feeding kids and the collaborative that Mara was talking about sounds like it might be a really interesting solution in that kind of a context. I completely agree. I know some of the New England states, and maybe this happens in other parts of the country too, but it does feel like each school food authority is tiny. I mean, we have towns with one high school and to try to have any kind of buying power when you're so small, I think, is a real challenge. So, I know there are some collaboratives in Connecticut, but absolutely supporting, bringing people together to try to negotiate the best prices and things like that, and make those relationships with the local farmers. It feels like a really great strategy to pursue. I'd like to ask you both, what is it going to take or what does it take to make these things happen? You're talking about some very good things when they do happen, but what does it take to make them happen? And Mara, let's start with you. What are the factors you think are really important? We approach our work from a systems perspective. What is the system and what is the biggest barriers in the system that we can kind of selectively tackle, and kind of dig into from a programmatic engineering perspective. For us, and Marlene, I love that you brought up the lunchroom as a classroom, because I think that is really important. I think that's the kind of the ultimate goal and we're so grateful for programs across the country that are working on that kind of thing. What we want to stay focused on at the Chef Ann Foundation is school food professionals. We want to actually educate them. We want to figure out how to provide more professional development, learning, education so that they can start looking at their jobs differently. And the country can start looking at what they're doing differently; and start really looking at the value that they're providing during a school day. So, what it takes, back to your question, is it really takes breaking down the problem to understand how to put some pieces together to test out programs that can look at breaking down that barrier. And for us right now, we're doing a lot with workforce because what we believe is that in 10 years from now, if we have a workforce in school food that has a different perspective of their job, has different skill sets, is a kind of a different workforce than is right now, than a lot of these things we want to tackle as food systems people will be a lot easier. That makes good sense. And Marlene, you've been involved for many years in local and state and national policies. In your mind, what sort of things lead to change? So, that's a good question. I would love to be able to say, oh, it's the research, clearly. That people do studies and they document, this is what we need to do. I think that's necessary, but not sufficient. I think the real answer is parents and people. I had a similar experience going to my daughter's when she was in first grade going and having lunch at her school and looking around and thinking, oh my goodness, what are we doing? I think that it's the fact that even though this is my profession, this is something I study, It's deeply personal. And I think there's a lot of passion behind the importance of making sure our children are healthy. And if I think about the policy makers along the way who have really been the ones that have made the biggest difference, it was off often because they cared about this deeply, personally. And so, I think continuing to tap into that and reminding people how important this is, is how you get the political will to pass the policies that make the real changes. Well, you know, you both made that really important point about how important parents can be. But really impressive that this started as a personal thing, and you were caring for the welfare of your children and that helped inspire your professional work and look where it's gone. It's really very impressive. I'd like to end with a following question. Are you hopeful for the future? Mara, let's start with you. I am very hopeful for the future. I think when you look at what's important to our society, school food is often the answer. I feel like when you look at achievement, school food is often the answer. When you look at diet related illness, school food is often the answer. When you look at building local economies, school food is often the answer. And I am really hopeful because I think there's a lot of incredible work being done right now, and we are moving past piloting and we're moving into research. And we're moving into institutionalizing the work. And I think you can see that through policies, through USDA cooperative agreements with organizations and work that they're doing and through the guidelines. And through the excitement and integration you're seeing in communities with superintendents, school food directors, parents, and advocates. And Marlene, are you hopeful? I am hopeful. I mean, if I think back to, you know, kind of the early days of working on this issue, I feel like we were met with a lot of skepticism. People felt like, oh, the industry's so powerful, you'll never be able to do anything. I feel like there have been a lot of changes. And I think another shift that I've sort of seen over the course of my career is early on, because of the rates of childhood obesity increasing, a lot of these initiatives that was the hook, that was sort of the anchor. And there were positive things about that because it was such a dramatic change that had occurred that you could point to. But sort of the downside is it wasn't just about that. It's about all children. It doesn't matter what your body weight is, it's about diet quality and having food security and getting adequate nutrition. I feel like we've broadened a lot in the field in terms of how we think about the reason why we're doing that. And that has made it much more inclusive, and we've been able to talk about, as Mara said, how it's affecting lots and lots of things outside of individual children. Bios Marlene Schwartz Marlene Schwartz, Ph.D. is Director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy & Health and Professor of Human Development and Family Sciences at UConn. Dr. Schwartz studies how nutrition and wellness policies implemented in schools, food banks, and local communities can improve food security, diet quality, and health outcomes. Dr. Schwartz earned her Ph.D. in Psychology from Yale University in 1996. Prior to joining the Rudd Center, she served as Co-Director of the Yale Center for Eating and Weight Disorders from 1996 to 2006. She has received research grants from a variety of funders including the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the United States Department of Agriculture, and the National Institutes of Health to study federal food programs, school wellness policies, the effect of food marketing on children, and strategies to address food insecurity and diet quality. She is also the recipient of the 2014 Sarah Samuels Award from the Food and Nutrition Section of the American Public Health Association; the 2020 Faculty Service Award from the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences; and the 2021 Community-Engaged Health Research Excellence Award from the Institute for Collaboration on Health, Intervention and Policy at UConn. Mara Fleishman Mara Fleishman's career in food systems advocacy started in her early 20's when she looked to the power of food after being diagnosed with an autoimmune disease. Mara has over 20 years of experience in leading systems change initiatives in the for-profit and non-profit sectors including over a decade at Whole Foods Market where she served as Global Director of Partnerships. In Mara's current role, CEO of the Chef Ann Foundation, she has spent the last 10 years fighting for healthier food for our nation's kids. Mara's niche is system-based change and although she takes on many roles as a leader, her favorite is programmatic engineering; breaking down problems to their foundation and building programmatic solutions through dynamic and integrated approaches. This type of programmatic engineering can be seen through the work of the Chef Ann Foundation, an organization recognized as the national leader in driving fresh, healthy scratch cook food in schools. Mara also serves on regional and national boards, has spoken at conferences and academic institutions across the country, and has been recognized in publications as a champion and national advocate for change.  

Public Health Careers podcast episode with Dr. Yanica F. Faustin

From fast food drive-throughs to Netflix autoplay, many of America's favorite products are designed to maximize profits at the expense of our health. But Thomas Goetz, co-founder of Building H, believes there's a better way. In this episode about corporate responsibility and public health, the former WIRED editor explains why changing company behavior may be easier than changing consumer habits – and how a new health accountability index could help transform America.We cover:

LaMont Green (he/him/they) is the Director of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion at the Technical Assistance Collaborative and Rachel Post (she/her/hers) is a Senior Consultant at the Technical Assistance Collaborative and they are Unapologetically Black Unicorns. Lamont and Rachel explain how they are attempting to decolonize research and providing emotional capacity building support. They talk about how the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is taking a bold step and why we need to ensure that we're impacting the communities that we are serving. For more information about the RWJF Grant- Systems for Action, a research program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Systems for Action will fund up to five awards, each for up to $200,000, over 12 months. Apply by June 4, 2025. For more details join Systems for Action's informational webinar on February 24, 2025, from 1 pm-2 pm Eastern Time. If you can't make it, they'll facilitate weekly office hours until May 29th. For more information, visit: https://rebrand.ly/UBUS4A   Transcript of the podcast: https://web.plaud.ai/share/bfd51738634667794   The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is now: 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline Contact the show: UBU@UnapologeticallyBlackUnicorns.info

Elevated GP - www.theelevatedgp.com Follow @dr.melissa_seibert on Instagram Connect with Melissa on Linkedin Dr. Peter Milgrom is Professor of Oral Health Sciences and Pediatric Dentistry in the School of Dentistry and adjunct Professor of Health Services in the School of Public Health at the University of Washington. He directs the Northwest Center to Reduce Oral Health Disparities. He holds academic appointments at Case Western University, University of Rochester, and University of California, San Francisco. He maintains a dental practice limited to the care of fearful patients and served as Director of the UW Dental Fears Research Clinic. Dr. Milgrom's work includes research on xylitol, the effectiveness of fluoride varnish and iodine in preschoolers, clinical efficacy and safety of diammine silver fluoride, motivational strategies to increase perinatal and well child dental visits in rural communities, and studies of cognitive interventions in pediatric and adult dental fear. The NIH, Maternal and Child Health Bureau, HRSA, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation support his work. Dr. Milgrom is author of 5 books and over 300 scientific articles. His latest book, Treating Fearful Dental Patients, was published in 2009.   Dr. Milgrom was Distinguished Dental Behavioral Scientist of the International Association for Dental Research for 1999. In 1999, and again in 2000, his work was recognized by the Giddon Award for research in the behavioral sciences in Dentistry. He received the Barrows Milk Award from IADR in 2000, recognizing his work for public health including the development of the Access to Baby and Child Dentistry (ABCD) program in Washington State. In 2003, Dr. Milgrom received a Special Commendation Award from the National Legal Aid and Defenders Association and the University of Washington Medical Center Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Service Award. In 2010, he received the Aubrey Sheiham Research Award for his work on xylitol. He serves on scientific review committees for the NIDCR, NIMHHD, NINDS, Center for Scientific Review at NIH and as a consultant to the FDA. In 2005, Dr. Milgrom was appointed the SAAD Visiting Professor of Pain and Anxiety Control at the King's College Dental Institute, University of London, UK for a six-year term. In 2008 he was awarded the degree of Doctor Honoris Causa from the University of Bergen, Norway in recognition of his work in social and behavioral dentistry. In 2012, he received the University of California, San Francisco Dental Alumni Gold Medal for his contributions to Dentistry. In 2012 he was also awarded the Norton Ross Award for Excellence in Clinical Research by the American Dental Association. In 2013, he was appointed to the Council of Scientific Affairs of the American Dental Association. In 2014, he received the Irwin M. Mandel Distinguished Mentor Award from the IADR. In 2015, he served as HMDP Expert in Dental Public Health for the Singapore Ministry of Health. Dr. Milgrom received his DDS from the University of California, San Francisco in 1972 and had a previous position at the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. In the last few years, Dr. Milgrom has spoken to dental associations in Argentina, Colombia, Peru, Philippines, and USA and at major universities in USA and abroad.

Susannah Fox is a health and technology strategist. Her book, Rebel Health: A Field Guide to the Patient-Led Revolution in Medical Care, was recently published by MIT Press. She is a former Chief Technology Officer for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, where she led an open data and innovation lab. She has served as the entrepreneur-in-residence at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and she directed the health portfolio at the Pew Research Center's Internet Project.

Dr. Jones and Orr discuss studies describing impact of racism in pediatric patient experience recently published by Dr. Jones in the journal:  Racial, Ethnic, and Language Inequities in Ambulatory Pediatrics Patient Family Experience. DOI: 10.1016/j.acap.2024.08.015 Racism Happens Every Day, All the Time”: Black Families' Outpatient Experiences of Racism Across a Large Pediatric System. DOI: 10.1016/j.acap.2024.08.011 Academic Pediatrics also has an open access supplement on Racism and Children's health sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/academic-pediatrics/vol/24/issue/7/suppl/S  

On this Christmas Day, we're sharing the last episode of Squeezed, fittingly about the end of life. ​​Alua is a renowned death doula, author, and educator who believes that living fully requires all of us to face mortality head-on. Whether it's providing support at the bedside or making end-of-life-plans well in advance, Alua works with clients at every stage of life to embrace the inevitable with heart and humor. Death can be scary, but doulas like Alua are revolutionizing end-of-life-care by teaching us how to live more presently… so we can die peacefully. Squeezed is a Lemonada Media original. Yvette Nicole Brown is the host of this show. Chrystal Genesis is our senior producer. Giulia Hjort, Tess Novotny, and Hannah Boomershine are our producers. Ivan Kuraev is our engineer. Our theme music is by Andi Kristinsdottir, with additional music by APM music. Jackie Danziger is our VP of Narrative Content. Executive producers are Yvette Nicole Brown, Jessica Cordova Kramer, and Stephanie Wittels Wachs. This show was created in partnership with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a leading national philanthropy dedicated to taking bold leaps to transform health in our lifetime and pave the way, together, to a future where health is no longer a privilege, but a right. Follow Squeezed wherever you get your podcasts, or listen ad-free on Amazon Music with your Prime Membership. You can also get premium content and behind the scenes material by subscribing to Lemonada Premium on Apple Podcasts.  Follow Yvette Nicole Brown on Instagram at @yvettenicolebrown. Stay up to date with us on X, Facebook and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia. Want to become a Lemonada superfan? Join us at joinsubtext.com/lemonadasuperfan.   Click this link for a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this and all other Lemonada series: lemonadamedia.com/sponsors. To follow along with a transcript, go to lemonadamedia.com/show/ shortly after the air date.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today, we nod to the past while paving a new way forward for the future of anti-racist community development. This episode explores the layered history of American community development and the policies that have shaped — if not torn — the fabric of our communities.If we're going to achieve community development that is actually anti-racist, a baseline understanding of its history is not only a prerequisite.To build that fundamental understanding, Third Space Action Lab's Anti-Racist Community Development research project documents some of the early exclusionary government policies that shaped U.S. communities and responses of community development, from the Federal Home Loan Bank Act of 1932 to the Housing Act of 1949.In today's episode, we hear from Tonika Johnson, a social justice artists visualizing the arc of community development in Chicago's Englewood neighborhood (read more about her Folded Map art project) and historian Claire Dunning, an associate professor at the University of Maryland's School of Public Policy and author of “Nonprofit Neighborhoods: An Urban History of Inequality and the American State.” “The ways that federal housing policy is being designed and implemented is enabling white families to build equity, and Black families, if they're able to buy housing, are not able to build equity at the same rates or in the same kinds of ways,” says Dunning, whose research focuses on how nonprofits have used and critiqued government funding to develop alternative responses to urban problems. “It's just more expensive to occupy housing as a Black family … as a result of the ways that the government has intervened.” This sponsored episode was produced in partnership with Third Space Action Lab. Its Anti-Racist Community Development research project was developed with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Foundation. To learn more about strategies for advancing practical, concrete change in the sector, visit The People's Practice.

Jessica Guthrie is squeezed. A decade ago, at 26 years old, Jessica unexpectedly became a caregiver for her mom, Constance, who is now living with late-stage Alzheimer's. Over the years, Jessica has left behind a life in Texas, moved back home to Virginia, and quit her job to focus on caregiving full-time. While so much of her life is on hold, Jessica has gained a lot and found a powerful community of caregivers online.  Squeezed is a Lemonada Media original. Yvette Nicole Brown is the host of this show. Chrystal Genesis is our senior producer. Giulia Hjort, Tess Novotny, and Hannah Boomershine are our producers. Ivan Kuraev is our engineer. Our theme music is by Andi Kristinsdottir, with additional music by APM music. Jackie Danziger is our VP of Narrative Content. Executive producers are Yvette Nicole Brown, Jessica Cordova Kramer, and Stephanie Wittels Wachs. This show was created in partnership with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a leading national philanthropy dedicated to taking bold leaps to transform health in our lifetime and pave the way, together, to a future where health is no longer a privilege, but a right. No one should face Alzheimer's or dementia alone. The Alzheimer's Association is there to help. The Association has a free 24/7 Helpline – available day or night – and a robust website with education and support services. Call the Association's Helpline at 1-800-272-3900 or visit its website at alz.org Follow Squeezed wherever you get your podcasts, or listen ad-free on Amazon Music with your Prime Membership. You can also get premium content and behind the scenes material by subscribing to Lemonada Premium on Apple Podcasts.  Follow Yvette Nicole Brown on Instagram at @yvettenicolebrown. Stay up to date with us on X, Facebook and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia. Want to become a Lemonada superfan? Join us at joinsubtext.com/lemonadasuperfan.   Click this link for a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this and all other Lemonada series: lemonadamedia.com/sponsors. To follow along with a transcript, go to lemonadamedia.com/show/ shortly after the air date.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sadé is squeezed. Five years ago, she became a first-time parent. She expected her parents to help her out with the day-to-day work. But a series of unforeseen diagnoses left Sadé in an all-hands-on-deck caregiver situation – taking care of a new baby and her aging parents. Sadé is the family's “Goddess of Efficiency,” and while she's busy caring for everyone else, her own debilitating health needs often end up in last place.  Squeezed is a Lemonada Media original. Yvette Nicole Brown is the host of this show. Chrystal Genesis is our senior producer. Giulia Hjort, Tess Novotny, and Hannah Boomershine are our producers. Ivan Kuraev is our engineer. Our theme music is by Andi Kristinsdottir, with additional music by APM music. Jackie Danziger is our VP of Narrative Content. Executive producers are Yvette Nicole Brown, Jessica Cordova Kramer, and Stephanie Wittels Wachs. This show was created in partnership with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a leading national philanthropy dedicated to taking bold leaps to transform health in our lifetime and pave the way, together, to a future where health is no longer a privilege, but a right. Follow Squeezed wherever you get your podcasts, or listen ad-free on Amazon Music with your Prime Membership. You can also get premium content and behind the scenes material by subscribing to Lemonada Premium on Apple Podcasts.  Follow Yvette Nicole Brown on Instagram at @yvettenicolebrown. Stay up to date with us on X, Facebook and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia. Want to become a Lemonada superfan? Join us at joinsubtext.com/lemonadasuperfan.   Click this link for a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this and all other Lemonada series: lemonadamedia.com/sponsors. To follow along with a transcript, go to lemonadamedia.com/show/ shortly after the air date.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Arguably among the worst of all medical afflictions, the dementias slowly destroy one's personality, take a tremendous emotional, physical, and financial toll on patients and families, and are irreversible and inexorably fatal. Winter's End: Dementia and Its Life-Shortening Options is constructed around a lengthy and detailed nonfiction account that is layered with the voices of approximately 100 palliative medicine practitioners, legal scholars, bioethicists, social workers, nurses, neurologists, psychiatrists, and other authorities from North America and Europe.This book explores how and when one might prepare to foreshorten life after being diagnosed with a dementing illness, while not ignoring the reality that for most people such actions are unthinkable and unacceptable. Dan Winter was one of the exceptions, and after being diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's disease, he resolved to hasten his death. He struggled over what method to employ and the timing of when to act.Winter's End is intended to catalyze conversations between clinicians, people affected by dementias, and the general public. It is a spellbinding and provocative book about a taboo subject that is increasingly germane to all aging societies that value patient autonomy.Lewis Cohen, MD is a professor emeritus of Psychiatry and a Palliative Medicine researcher, who has received numerous literary and academic honours. He is a Guggenheim fellow and was a Rockefeller Bellagio scholar and a Bogliasco Foundation resident. He is a recipient of the Thomas and Eleanor Hackett Memorial Lifetime Achievement Award from the Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry and his research has been funded by NIH and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. As a medical student, Dr. Cohen studied under Anna Freud, who interested him in end-of-life issues.Buy the book from Wellington Square Bookshop - ​https://www.wellingtonsquarebooks.com/book/9780197748640

It's hard enough being Squeezed. But helping others who are, too? That's a superpower. And Shilpa is our hero. She's a mom to one son and also runs CARES, a world-class therapeutic school and rehabilitation program for vulnerable teens at Mount Sinai Morningside, a hospital located in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan. She supports young people on the rocky road from childhood to adulthood. But caregiving at home and at work while also caring for herself is a constant balancing act. Squeezed is a Lemonada Media original. Yvette Nicole Brown is the host of this show. Chrystal Genesis is our senior producer. Giulia Hjort, Tess Novotny, and Hannah Boomershine are our producers. Ivan Kuraev is our engineer. Our theme music is by Andi Kristinsdottir, with additional music by APM music. Jackie Danziger is our VP of Narrative Content. Executive producers are Yvette Nicole Brown, Jessica Cordova Kramer, and Stephanie Wittels Wachs. This show was created in partnership with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a leading national philanthropy dedicated to taking bold leaps to transform health in our lifetime and pave the way, together, to a future where health is no longer a privilege, but a right. Follow Squeezed wherever you get your podcasts, or listen ad-free on Amazon Music with your Prime Membership. You can also get premium content and behind the scenes material by subscribing to Lemonada Premium on Apple Podcasts.  Follow Yvette Nicole Brown on Instagram at @yvettenicolebrown. Stay up to date with us on X, Facebook and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia. Want to become a Lemonada superfan? Join us at joinsubtext.com/lemonadasuperfan.   Click this link for a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this and all other Lemonada series: lemonadamedia.com/sponsors. To follow along with a transcript, go to lemonadamedia.com/show/ shortly after the air date.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Send us a textDr. Dawn X. Henderson makes research accessible for marginalized communities. From her beginnings as a middle school science teacher, to founding We Claim Research, Dawn's journey is filled with inspiring stories and groundbreaking work. Dawn's commitment to amplifying the voices of racially and ethnically marginalized groups offers a fresh perspective on fostering environments where all narratives are valued.We share our identities as community psychologists, spotlighting system change and community engagement. Join us as Dawn shares her innovative approach to research collaboration, emphasizing community initiation and leadership. Dawn describes her work with Black mothers who, during the height of COVID-19, reshaped research protocols and presenting their findings at a major conference. Dawn emphasizes humility, openness, and a healing-centered lens. We invite you to embrace the wisdom of communities and the healing potential of curiosity in creating spaces where everyone thrives.Guest BioDr. Dawn X. Henderson is a Community Psychologist, founder of WeClaim Research (weclaimresearch.com; https://weclaimresearch.com/), and the Director of Participatory Research, Power Building at Village of Wisdom, a nonprofit in Durham, NC. She models making “science and research” accessible to those who have been the most underrepresented and marginalized. As a research scientist, she has used an interdisciplinary lens to position the narratives of racially and ethnically marginalized communities and young people at the center of how science and research happen. Her research has focused on identifying the ecological systems and structures that support and promote positive development for young people and adults. She is the recipient of the American Evaluation Association Graduate Education Diversity Internship, Faculty Select with the Expanding the Bench Initiative sponsored by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Interdisciplinary Research Leaders Fellowship, Division 27, Society for Community Research and Action Leadership Development Fellowship, Division 27's 2023 Distinguished Contribution to Practice in Community Psychology Award, and 2023 Research-to-Policy Collaboration Scholar Award, Research-to-Policy Collaborative with Pennsylvania State University. As a Community Cultivator and Space Creator, she envisions creating more dream cultivators so that Black and Brown people, their children, and communities thrive.As always- please like, share and subscribe to the podcast! Extra brownie points if you leave a review!Lastly, don't forget to check out the resources page on communityevaluationsolutions.comLike what you heard? Please like and share wherever you get your podcasts! Connect with Ann: Community Evaluation Solutions How Ann can help: · Support the evaluation capacity of your coalition or community-based organization. · Help you create a strategic plan that doesn't stress you and your group out, doesn't take all year to design, and is actionable. · Engage your group in equitable discussions about difficult conversations. · Facilitate a workshop to plan for action and get your group moving. · Create a workshop that energizes and excites your group for action. · Speak at your conference or event. Have a question or want to know more? Book a call with Ann .Be sure and check out our updated resource page! Let us know what was helpful. Music by Zach Price: Zachpricet@gmail.com

We're back to share Episode 3, featuring another person who is feeling Squeezed from all sides. Matt is a native Londoner. He is also single dad co-parenting 11-year-old triplets with his ex-husband in one of the most expensive cities in the world: New York. To be able to afford childcare for all three, Matt had to make a tough choice – job security or spending enough time with his kids? Squeezed is a Lemonada Media original. Yvette Nicole Brown is the host of this show. Chrystal Genesis is our senior producer. Giulia Hjort, Tess Novotny, and Hannah Boomershine are our producers. Ivan Kuraev is our engineer. Our theme music is by Andi Kristinsdottir, with additional music by APM music. Jackie Danziger is our VP of Narrative Content. Executive producers are Yvette Nicole Brown, Jessica Cordova Kramer, and Stephanie Wittels Wachs. This show was created in partnership with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a leading national philanthropy dedicated to taking bold leaps to transform health in our lifetime and pave the way, together, to a future where health is no longer a privilege, but a right. Follow Squeezed wherever you get your podcasts, or listen ad-free on Amazon Music with your Prime Membership. You can also get premium content and behind the scenes material by subscribing to Lemonada Premium on Apple Podcasts.  Follow Yvette Nicole Brown on Instagram at @yvettenicolebrown. Stay up to date with us on X, Facebook and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia. Want to become a Lemonada superfan? Join us at joinsubtext.com/lemonadasuperfan.   Click this link for a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this and all other Lemonada series: lemonadamedia.com/sponsors. To follow along with a transcript, go to lemonadamedia.com/show/ shortly after the air date.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hey listeners, we're back with Episode 2 of Squeezed. This episode features another person who is feeling very Squeezed. Jessica is a stay-at-home mom with three kids under six. She is a former daycare worker who didn't plan to be a full-time mom, but since money is tight and childcare is expensive, she has no other choice. Jessica fell through the cracks of our system that does not support care workers — but she's discovered profound meaning in her life as a stay-at-home mom and is using this time to break generational cycles. Squeezed is a Lemonada Media original. Yvette Nicole Brown is the host of this show. Chrystal Genesis is our senior producer. Giulia Hjort, Tess Novotny, and Hannah Boomershine are our producers. Field production by Beth Wallis. Ivan Kuraev is our engineer. Our theme music is by Andi Kristinsdottir, with additional music by APM music. Jackie Danziger is our VP of Narrative Content. Executive producers are Yvette Nicole Brown, Jessica Cordova Kramer, and Stephanie Wittels Wachs. This show was created in partnership with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a leading national philanthropy dedicated to taking bold leaps to transform health in our lifetime and pave the way, together, to a future where health is no longer a privilege, but a right. Follow Squeezed wherever you get your podcasts, or listen ad-free on Amazon Music with your Prime Membership. You can also get premium content and behind the scenes material by subscribing to Lemonada Premium on Apple Podcasts.  Special thanks to early childhood nonprofit Zero to Three for their help on this episode. Follow Yvette Nicole Brown on Instagram at @yvettenicolebrown. Stay up to date with us on X, Facebook and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia. Want to become a Lemonada superfan? Join us at joinsubtext.com/lemonadasuperfan.   Click this link for a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this and all other Lemonada series: lemonadamedia.com/sponsors. To follow along with a transcript, go to lemonadamedia.com/show/ shortly after the air date.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A new episode of Mathematica's On the Evidence podcast explores recent research that experimented with a new approach to equitable data collection that also equips individuals and their organizations with new skills and resources. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation contracted with Mathematica and its partner UBUNTU Research and Evaluation to learn how grassroots organizations in the housing justice movement had used grant funds for community power building. Through a fellowship program established by Mathematica and UBUNTU, researchers provided training in evaluation to fellows selected from staff at grassroots organizations while learning from those staff about the impact of the foundation's investment. The research also provided early evidence that the foundation's investment helped local grassroots organizations become more effective in achieving their affordable housing goals. On the episode, researchers and program fellows discuss the impact of the foundation's investment and how the fellowship model helped strengthen organizations' internal capacity to learn from campaigns and make evidence-informed changes. Find a full transcript of the episode at mathematica.org/blogs/how-evaluation-can-support-housing-justice-and-community-change Learn more about the housing justice and community power building evaluation conducted by Mathematica and UBUNTU on behalf of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: https://www.ubunturesearch.com/hjet Explore the interactive graphic that illustrates a new framework for community power building in the housing justice movement: https://mathematica.org/features/the-house-that-justice-built Learn more about the recent (open source) book Drew Koleros edited on updating theories of change for the field of evaluation, which includes sections that are relevant for evaluating community power building: https://www.routledge.com/Theories-of-Change-in-Reality-Strengths-Limitations-and-Future-Directions/Koleros-Adrien-Tyrrell/p/book/9781032669588?srsltid=AfmBOooKlrBZhZa5lb2HnU1K2Nw-IjWyQQ660RW0qfWxzw9P3FUTYpMU

Stephanie is off in the exciting (and terrifying) world of book writing. In the interim, we want to share another show that's near and dear to our hearts. So near, in fact, that it features Stephanie's entire family! Squeezed, hosted by the incomparable Yvette Nicole Brown (yes, from “Community”), explores the lives of caregivers across America. It's hard, hard work – but also full of joy and connection. This episode focuses on Stephanie and her dad, who has Parkinson's disease. If you love Last Day, you're going to love Squeezed, which brings the same tenderness and compassion to storytelling.  Squeezed is a Lemonada Media original. Yvette Nicole Brown is the host of this show. Chrystal Genesis is our senior producer. Giulia Hjort, Tess Novotny, and Hannah Boomershine are our producers. Ivan Kuraev is our engineer. Our theme music is by Andi Kristinsdottir, with additional music by APM music. Jackie Danziger is our VP of Narrative Content. Executive producers are Yvette Nicole Brown, Jessica Cordova Kramer, and Stephanie Wittels Wachs. This show was created in partnership with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a leading national philanthropy dedicated to taking bold leaps to transform health in our lifetime and pave the way, together, to a future where health is no longer a privilege, but a right. Follow Squeezed wherever you get your podcasts, or listen ad-free on Amazon Music with your Prime Membership. You can also get premium content and behind the scenes material by subscribing to Lemonada Premium on Apple Podcasts.  Follow Yvette Nicole Brown on Instagram at @yvettenicolebrown. Stay up to date with us on X, Facebook and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia. Want to become a Lemonada superfan? Join us at joinsubtext.com/lemonadasuperfan.   Click this link for a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this and all other Lemonada series: lemonadamedia.com/sponsors. To follow along with a transcript, go to lemonadamedia.com/show/ shortly after the air date.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of The Get Down, Ritzy P. interviews Richard Ng and Jake Foreman about  their journeys into the world of Web3 and the founding of IndigiDAO, an initiative aimed at empowering Indigenous entrepreneurs through decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs). They discuss the core objectives of IndigiDAO, the impact of a significant grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the milestones they have achieved. The conversation also highlights the importance of community, the role of government in supporting micro enterprises, and personal insights from both founders. Be sure to sign up for our newsletter, Chews! Richard Ng is a seasoned social impact leader with over a decade of experience driving innovation and growth in both the nonprofit and for profit sectors, and currently is the Program Manager and Co-Founder of IndigiDAO, an initiative supporting indigenous entrepreneurs to set up economic cooperatives to create a kinship economy. Richard's passion for creating positive social change is evident in his impactful work across a range of industries.Henry Jake Foreman MCRP is a specialist in facilitation, development, and implementation of engaging learning experiences for students of all ages and has created a variety of curricula around education, health, and entrepreneurship. He is the founder of Karuna Colectiva, a social enterprise that delivers the principles of engagement, innovation, and application through mentorship, bicycling, and cooperative economics. He is also the Program Director of New Mexico Community Capital and manages the Financial & Business Basics course that is designed to help build a solid foundation to form and grow business ideas with a personal financial plan for success.We discuss:IndigiDAO's aims to support Indigenous entrepreneurs through a DAO structure.Community and collaboration as essentials for Indigenous entrepreneurs.Prioritizing assistive technologies in IndigiDAO's design and mission.The impact of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation grant on IndigiDAO's development.Thanks for tuning in! To get the full scoop on creating a more inclusive Web3, DeFi, and Bitcoin space, make sure you catch every episode – we're packed with actionable tips and insights. If you found this episode valuable, spread the word and share it with someone who needs to hear this. Don't forget to follow, rate, and review our podcast on your favorite listening app – it helps us reach even more people who are passionate about building a better future for everyone in the crypto space.CONNECT WITH RICHARD NG:LinkedInCONNECT WITH JAKE FOREMAN:LinkedInNew Mexico Community CapitalCONNECT WITH BUTTERSCOTCH MEDIA:Check us out on our website butterscotch.media and subscribe to our newsletterFollow us on X @butterscotch360Watch our content on YouTube

Toby Cosgrove, former CEO of Cleveland Clinic and Kyle Kiser, CEO of Arrive Health, discuss changes in healthcare, aiming to improve patient affordability. Rising drug costs and lack of cost transparency are significant barriers to treatment compliance. In 2022, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Urban Institute found that an estimated 13 million adults either didn't fill a prescription or delayed it due to high costs. Dr. Cosgrove and Kyle discuss real-world opportunities to bring cost relief to patients in need.This episode is sponsored by Arrive Health.

Our guest for today's podcast is Tem Tumurbat, Co-founder and Managing Partner of Nomadic Venture Partners (NVP), where he focuses on fund strategy, fundraising, portfolio construction, valuation, and financial analysis.   Prior to co-founding NVP, Tem was an investment professional at Resource Capital Funds (RCF), a mining focused private equity investment firm, managing early to late stage investments. He de-risked companies, commercialized their businesses and successfully completed M&As that delivered hundreds of millions of dollars to investors.   Prior to RCF, Tem worked for Newmont Mining Corporation as a mining engineer and then project engineer. Tem also co-founded MNG Summit, a non-profit organization supporting Mongolian students and early career professionals.   Tem started his professional career as an entrepreneur where he started and operated a transportation company in college to help pay for college tuition and support extended family.   I found Tem's story to be fascinating.  Joining me on the podcast and my guest co-host is Brian O'Neil, former CIO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and long time supporter of AAAIM.     Without further ado, here is our conversation with Tem Tumurbat.

Susannah Fox, Author of Rebel Health, shared the story behind her title with us on September 4, 2024★★★★★Of the interview, our founder and host, Sue Rocco, says: "Listen in as I sit down with with Susannah to learn about her important role as Chief Technology Officer under the President Obama administration in the Department of Health and Human Services, how a degree in Anthropology has assisted with her work in technology, and how she coined "Peer-to-Peer" advice within the health field."ABOUT SUSANNAH:Susannah Fox is a health and technology strategist. Her book, Rebel Health: A Field Guide to the Patient-Led Revolution in Medical Care, was recently published by MIT Press. She is a former Chief Technology Officer for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, where she led an open data and innovation lab. She has served as the entrepreneur-in-residence at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and she directed the health portfolio at the Pew Research Center's Internet Project.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/women-to-watch-r/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Episode 76 of the podcast, Susannah Fox, author of Rebel Health, delves into the empowering world of peer-to-peer healthcare. Fox highlights how this model allows patients to connect with one another, share experiences, and offer mutual support, particularly when facing similar diagnoses. She stresses the importance of open access to medical research, advocating for the dissemination of valid scientific information to patients. For Fox, this transparency is crucial for empowering individuals to make informed health decisions and curbing the spread of disinformation, ultimately fostering a more informed and engaged patient community. "Peer-to-peer healthcare, this connection that happens between and among patients and caregivers, that is the megatrend that I think is going to transform healthcare." - Susannah Fox Susannah Fox, a distinguished leader in healthcare innovation, has made significant contributions as the former Chief Technology Officer for the US Department of Health and Human Services. With her extensive experience in open data and innovation, including her role as an entrepreneur in residence at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Susannah has been at the forefront of driving patient-led innovations. Her profound understanding of peer-to-peer healthcare and combating misinformation in the medical field has made her a trailblazer in the industry. Through her unique journey from a researcher to a prominent figure in healthcare, Susannah has become a valuable asset for patients, caregivers, clinicians, and policymakers seeking to enhance patient engagement and improve healthcare outcomes. In this episode, you will be able to: Discover the power of patient-led innovations Explore the benefits of peer-to-peer healthcare interactions Uncover strategies for combating misinformation in the healthcare landscape. The resources mentioned in this episode are: Obtain your copy of Susannah Fox's book Rebel Health: A Field Guide to the Patient-Led Revolution in Medical Care from any major book retailer or from her website. Connect with Susannah Fox: LinkedIn X Instagram Threads Connect with Andrea on Instagram (@andreaaustinmd) or LinkedIn about the show and more, or visit her website www.andreaaustinmd.com.

About Susannah:Susannah Fox is a health and technology strategist. Her book, Rebel Health: A Field Guide to the Patient-Led Revolution in Medical Care, was recently published by MIT Press. She is a former Chief Technology Officer for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, where she led an open data and innovation lab. She has served as the entrepreneur-in-residence at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and she directed the health portfolio at the Pew Research Center's Internet Project. Links:Visit Susannah's website at susannahfox.comFind Susannah on LinkedIn, Twitter/X, Threads, and Instagram

Bob and Jon discuss Bob's role in the history of the development of quantitative finance at Goldman Sachs, including his seminal work with Fischer Black, along with the carry trade liquidity crisis of August 2024 and its similarities to the quant crisis of 2007. They also discuss the case for quantitative investing and its ability to ride out risky environments. They also discuss a risk management approach to climate policy, Bob's E-Z climate carbon pricing model, as well Bob's advocacy for carbon taxes. Recorded on August 9, 2024. ABOUT THE SPEAKERS: Robert Litterman is the Chairman of the Risk Committee at Kepos Capital LP. Prior to joining Kepos Capital in 2010, Litterman enjoyed a 23-year career at Goldman, Sachs & Co., where he served in research, risk management, investments, and thought leadership roles. While at Goldman, Litterman also spent six years as one of three external advisors to Singapore's Government Investment Corporation (GIC). Bob was named a partner of Goldman Sachs in 1994 and became head of the firm-wide risk function; prior to that role, he was co-head of the Fixed Income Research and Model Development Group with Fischer Black. During his tenure at Goldman, Bob researched and published a number of groundbreaking papers in asset allocation and risk management. He is the co-developer of the Black-Litterman Global Asset Allocation Model, a key tool in investment management, and has co-authored books including The Practice of Risk Management and Modern Investment Management: An Equilibrium Approach (Wiley & Co.). Litterman earned a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Minnesota and a B.S. in human biology from Stanford University. He is also the inaugural recipient of the S. Donald Sussman Fellowship at MIT's Sloan School of Management and serves on a number of boards, including Commonfund, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Sloan Foundation, and World Wildlife Fund. He is also currently serving as the chair of the CFTC Climate-Related Market Risk Subcommittee. Jon Hartley is a Research Associate at the Hoover Institution and an PhD candidate in economics at Stanford University, where he specializes in finance, labor economics, and macroeconomics. He is also currently a research fellow at the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity and a senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute. Jon is also a member of the Canadian Group of Economists and serves as chair of the Economic Club of Miami. Jon has previously worked at Goldman Sachs Asset Management as well as in various policy roles at the World Bank, the International Monetaty Fund, the Committee on Capital Markets Regulation, the US Congress Joint Economic Committee, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, and the Bank of Canada. Jon has also been a regular economics contributor for National Review Online, Forbes, and the Huffington Post and has contributed to the Wall Street Journal, the  New York Times, USA Today, the Globe and Mail, the National Post, and the Toronto Star among other outlets. Jon has also appeared on CNBC, Fox Business, Fox News, Bloomberg, and NBC and was named to the 2017 Forbes 30 under 30 Law & Policy list and the 2017 Wharton 40 under 40 list, and was previously a World Economic Forum Global Shaper. ABOUT THE SERIES: Each episode of Capitalism and Freedom in the 21st Century, a video podcast series and the official podcast of the Hoover Economic Policy Working Group, focuses on getting into the weeds of economics, finance, and public policy on important current topics through one-on-one interviews. Host Jon Hartley asks guests about their main ideas and contributions to academic research and policy. The podcast is titled after Milton Friedman‘s famous 1962 bestselling book Capitalism and Freedom, which after 60 years, remains prescient from its focus on various topics which are now at the forefront of economic debates, such as monetary policy and inflation, fiscal policy, occupational licensing, education vouchers, income share agreements, the distribution of income, and negative income taxes, among many other topics. For more information, visit: capitalismandfreedom.substack.com/

LaMont Green (he/him/they) is the Director of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion at the Technical Assistance Collaborative and Rachel Post (she/her/hers) is a Senior Consultant at the Technical Assistance Collaborative and they are Unapologetically Black Unicorns. Lamont and Rachel explain how they are attempting to decolonize research and providing emotional capacity building support. They talk about how the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is taking a bold step and why we need to ensure that we're impacting the communities that we are serving. Technical Assistance Collaborative: Systems Alignment Innovation Hub: https://www.tacinc.org/resources/saih/   The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is now: 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline Contact the show: UBU@UnapologeticallyBlackUnicorns.info

Join us for an inspiring and insightful conversation as I sit down with Kirsten Farrell, Director of The Goodman Center. Kirsten brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in communications and marketing, teaching professionals how to connect with their audience and make a significant impact.In this episode, Kirsten shares her journey from Hollywood actress to leading The Goodman Center, where she has facilitated countless workshops and webinars for prestigious clients like The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, UCLA, and the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Her expertise in storytelling has empowered public interest professionals to effectively convey their messages and drive positive change.We delve into the unexpected places Kirsten found hope, exploring her personal and professional transitions. Kirsten opens up about her decision to leave Hollywood, and what guided her onto a new path. One of the standout moments of our conversation is Kirsten's powerful statement: "It can be important but doesn't have to be serious." She discovered this perspective during a live workshop and this is definitely one of my favorite takeaways! Tune in to discover how Kirsten's work at The Goodman Center and her experiences with programs like The Corporation for Supportive Housing's Speak Up! Program LA have influenced her unique approach to storytelling and advocacy. Plus, hear about her creative endeavors with Impro Theatre, where she brings long-form narrative improv to life.Connect with Kirsten Farrell:www.thegoodmancenter.comOn LinkedIn Thank you for being a part of my community.Connect with me here: https://sharonhughes.netGrab your FREE Confidence workbook

Our guest for this episode of Mathematica's On the Evidence podcast is Dr. Aaron Carroll, a pediatrician, health researcher, and science communicator who recently assumed the post of president and chief executive officer at AcademyHealth, the leading national organization for convening and sharing information across health services researchers, policymakers, and health care practitioners. On the Evidence spoke with Carroll ahead of his organization's Health Datapalooza conference in mid-September. This year, the event is focused on data-driven solutions that address critical public health challenges. The conference's theme reflects a collaboration between AcademyHealth and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to facilitate greater coordination and learning across health care and public health data systems. Mathematica is a member organization of AcademyHealth and a sponsor of the 2024 Health Datapalooza. In the episode, Carroll discusses what he has learned about effective science communication from blogging for The Incidental Economist, hosting the Healthcare Triage podcast, authoring several books, publishing research in peer-review journals, and contributing regularly to The New York Times. The interview covers a range of other topics as well, including the implications of climate change and artificial intelligence on health care and health services research; the need for greater interoperability among health and social services data systems; and the value of solutions for addressing the social determinants of health. Visit our website for a transcript of this episode: https://mathematica.org/blogs/aaron-carroll-on-the-future-of-health-services-research Watch the Healthcare Triage series on health and climate change: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkfBg8ML-gInVPCl7zVMWvRX3SVwTRhgc Read Carroll's guest essay in The New York Times about lessons from other countries that could improve health care in the U.S.: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/13/opinion/health-care-reform.html Learn more about Mathematica's interdisciplinary climate practice: https://www.mathematica.org/sp/climate-change/climate-action Read a blog series by Mathematica staff about improving the quality and usability of social determinants of health data: https://www.mathematica.org/blogs/to-address-the-social-determinants-of-health-start-with-the-data Listen to a podcast about a federally-funded initiative to improve the collection of information from patients about their health-related social needs: https://www.mathematica.org/blogs/lessons-from-a-national-health-initiative-that-helps-address-social-needs Learn more about Mathematica's public health data modernization work, including recent projects for the Pew Charitable Trusts on public health data policies and practices in states, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation on transforming public health data systems to advance equity, and operation of a Public Health Data Modernization Implementation Center for the CDC and Public Health Infrastructure Grant National Partners: https://www.mathematica.org/sp/public-health Learn more about Mathematica's Health Data Innovation Lab, which connects health care industry professionals with data scientists, social scientists, and technologists to address complex challenges within a health care organization or tackle broader issues related to fragmented care, social determinants of health, and health care inequality: https://staginginter.mathematica.net/sites/health-data-innovation-lab

Nonprofit organizations can play a very important role in building healthy communities by providing services that contribute to community stability, social mobility, public policy, and decision-making. Today we're speaking with Kathy Higgins, CEO of the Alliance for Healthier Generation. The Alliance is a nonprofit organization, a well-known one at that, that promotes healthy environments so that young people can achieve lifelong good health. Interview Summary   Kathy, it's really wonderful to reconnect that you and I interacted some when you were in North Carolina and head of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation, and then you got called upon to be the CEO of the Alliance, a really interesting position. It's really wonderful to be able to talk to you again. Let's start maybe with a little bit of the history of the Alliance for a Healthier Generation. Can you tell us a bit about how it got started and over the years, how it's evolved? We've existed for almost 19 years now. We celebrate our 20-year anniversary next year. And we were started by two vital public health forces: the Clinton Foundation and President Clinton and also the American Heart Association. They came together 20 years ago and began discussing childhood obesity and what could a leading public health organization do to really work in systems change across the country at a local level. It is those two organizations that we look to as our founders and who helped us advance our work. It's a time flies story because it seems like just yesterday that the Alliance was created. There was a lot of excitement at the time for it, and over the work. It's done some really interesting things. So, in today's iteration of the Alliance, what are some of the main areas of focus? As I mentioned, we are a systems change organization. What we do is take a continuous improvement approach to advancing children's health. So, we are working typically in schools or after school time and certainly in communities to work on policy and practice change that are about promoting physical activity and healthy eating. And then addressing critical child health and adolescent health issues, which as we know, were exacerbated with the pandemic. Things like food access and social connectedness are just so important. Quality sleep, which our children are not getting enough of, or other things like vaping and tobacco sensation and on time vaccinations. Another thing that we know is that the pandemic had a dramatic impact on families and children on time vaccinations. So, this is the work that we do and working with the policy and practice change so that there there can be opportunity for healthy environments for the children. I think most everybody would probably agree that the targets that you're working on, healthy diet, physical activity, smoking, vaping habits and things like that are really important. But people might be a little less familiar with what you mean by addressing systems. Could you give some examples of what you mean by that? Right. What we know is that in United States, in fact, every public school must have a wellness policy and areas that need to be addressed. But what we'll do is work with the school in making sure that those policies are best suited for the families, the community, and the school, and what they want to do to support the health of children from a collaborative and supportive role. What we know is that we can create great change when that occurs. We work with more than 56,000 schools across the United States, and one of the things that we know is that our approach is really reflected in the America's Healthiest Schools recognition program each year. It's interesting to hear you talk about schools as an example of system change. And boy, working with 56,000 schools is pretty darn impressive. And it allows for out-sized influence of an organization like yours because if you can affect things like these school wellness policies and that gets multiplied across a ton of schools, it can really affect a lot of children. Exactly. We will work school to school, but we also work in districts and that allows us then to make even a bigger impact in the number of schools that we're reaching with these changes. It also brings the community together because then they're all operating under the same principles or the same focus areas of the work that they're committed to doing. What we do see is that we're able to assist them in implementing what are typically best practices in all sorts of topic areas. Whether it's strengthening the social emotional health and learning environment for the children, but also focusing on staff wellness. The whole notion, Kelly, of putting your oxygen mask on first before assisting others is something that has been incredibly important to us. We've certainly been very supported to do that work from a variety of funders. The other area that we've been able to make great strides in is this increasing of family and community engagement, which has been really significant for us. We've been honored to have Kohl's as a major supporter of our work. Their investment and then reinvestment and then once again, another reinvestment, really helped us engage with strategies that focused on increasing family wellbeing. So really then our three-legged stool becomes the school environment, the family environment, and the community environment, which we find is just really effective. So can we talk a little bit more about the community engagement and why is it important and how do you go about making it happen and what sort of impacts do you see it having? I think I may have mentioned already that we do use a continuous improvement model that we find is just really effective for when we're working in the school or school district level. It allows us to serve in a role of being a convener and bringing people together. What we know now is certainly after COVID that schools are no longer for walls of learning. They have a central role to the health of the community because of the services that they're providing or the services that families need them to provide. So, when we're working with a school, we're able to convene the right people that are in their community. They may be in the same zip code, they may be down the street, they may be across town. But they haven't come together around the same table to start to address issues that they may have prioritized that are impacting a host of things. It could be impacting attendance rates, it could be impacting academic achievement. And we're really able to work with them to dismantle the barriers to what would lead to success. To give a couple examples in North Carolina, in fact, we work in both Bertie and Roberson County and on vaccination adherence, and also making sure that the children that may have deferred their well-child visits or their age-appropriate vaccinations during COVID that we've worked with convening just as mentioned, the right players, the right people in the community to come together. And in both those counties we've been able to have nearly 250 students that are healthy back to school and fully vaccinated as they should be and that they deserve to be and as their families wanted them to be, but the time the resources just wasn't there or convenient enough to do. And so, this really has allowed the community to have a great win. It's a great example of just the importance of sitting down together, looking at the data and thinking about how we can all make a difference. Kathy, what you've reminded me of as you've been talking about this is that there's sort of a sweet spot that you've attained. If all you paid attention to were best practices, you'd say, well, okay, everything that works in these other places is going to work in your place, which of course might only be partially true. But if you only work locally, then you'd miss the opportunity to be learning what's happening elsewhere that might help you. And you're kind of at the intersection of these things, aren't you? Thank you for saying that. That's exactly where we sit - at that intersection. Sometimes we feel in a continuous improvement model that there's a no wrong door, so to speak. And so, when we're engaging with a school, school community, a community, or even a school district, that we're able to sit with them in proximity and talk through what are the issues that they're facing, where their children are most at risk, and what is it that they are working to prioritize. Because we also know that if we can move them through a process and achieve success and really answer the question, is anyone better off? So to really be outcomes focused. Then, what we know is that there are other opportunities for improvement that we can continue that work. Part of the success here is just pausing and celebrating what good work this community is doing together. This school is doing together. Tell us if you will, a little bit about how the work of the Alliance is funded, because I know you draw support from a number of quarters. You mentioned Kohl's, but overall how is the work funded? Thanks for asking. You know, one of the things I did mention to start with is the Clinton Foundation and President Clinton, specifically with his leadership supporting the health of children and families and the Heart Association. But the significant financial supporter and strategic supporter at the time was the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. They really put significant resources behind the creation of Healthier Generation. But the other thing that they did is put their brightest minds and public health leadership behind the creation of why we would exist and what would be the pillars of our organization that would serve well to make a difference. So having a technology backbone, which allows us to have an action center. Meaning that any school, any teacher, any administrator, any parent can access our training and our tools for free. Through our website, we have marketing and communication that follow best practices for how to create change and how to communicate change to the audiences that we're reaching out to our subject matter expertise and then measurement and evaluation. And it's this ability that really attracted funders like Kaiser Permanente. While schools have been central to our work, this digital platform really allowed our action center to help and support this access of no cost assessment tools, trainings, resources. Kaiser Permanente has been a key supporter of our work since 2013. I mentioned Kohl's as well, as such a significant supporter allowing us to reach 10 million families since the inception of our work together with them. Del Monte Foods is another significant supportive of ours. They allow us to implement the America's Healthiest School Awards program. I would be lost if I didn't mention Mackenzie Scott. She wanted to invest in whole child health equity and we were identified as an organization that was worthy of her funding and definitely was the largest single gift from a philanthropist that we've ever received. So, we were so grateful for that, that call called. That's wonderful affirmation. No question. It's nice to hear you have such a broad base of funding because that's a sign that people are thinking you're doing things right. I'm not sure I'm in a the best position to be completely objective about this because over the years I've received funding from through Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for a number of projects. But it's amazing how often their imprint comes up when you talk about organizations that are doing creative work and you go back to the beginnings and Robert Wood Johnson was often there doing these things when nobody else was. And it's really wonderful to see the long-term consequence of that investment that they made. Well, let's talk about some new work you're doing in the schools. I know that a relatively new effort of the Alliance involves the expansion of resources in terms of a playbook in the schools. Can you explain what that's all about? Oh yes. This was really born out of the pandemic environment and our need and the schools need to know better guidance on the work that we can do to create healthier environments when so many demands are being put on us. We all know what happened to the food service staff of any school. They became the food service staff of the community during the COVID years. Kohl's wanted us to partner with selected communities across the country to implement what would be really a new family engagement strategy to support children's health and developing. What we call and refer to as our Healthy at Home playbook for schools to forge stronger relationships with families. We know that when schools and the families are working together and schools are understanding what families need, and families are able to be in a position to be heard and communicate what their needs are, that together they can really make a difference. We've been pretty excited the collection of resources. They're both in English and in Spanish on topics such as nutrition, staying active, mental wellbeing, social emotional health and stress and we've been pretty excited to have that implemented. I could see how you'd be excited about that. So, let me ask a final question. The word policy has come up several times. Is it part of the purview of the alliance to argue for policy changes? You mentioned schools. So, for example, would the Alliance be in a position to argue for tighter nutrition standards in schools or even something beyond the schools, like something dealing with food marketing directed at kids or front of package labeling or really anything like that? We stay out of the advocacy and lobbying lane, but we do focus on the small P policy change in schools so that we're helping schools manage their policies. But the area where we've had success is in creating a difference. We had a great partnership many years ago with McDonald's and worked with them on changes that they were committed to making in their healthy meals. And what we know is when McDonald's makes a big shift, so goes the market. Our body of work was the removing of sugary sodas from the menu board so that you would have to opt for that versus low fat milk or water and adding the sliced apples. I think that might be one of our hallmarks of the work that we've done over the years: sliced apples, carrot sticks, the GO-GURT that was being offered. And then removing either the higher sodium or higher fat items from the leaderboards so that they have to ask for them in order to have them as part of the Happy Meal. That was some significant work that we were able to do. And the other work we did in our early years was getting the three soda manufacturers, whether Pepsi and Coke and Dr. Pepper to agree to come together and remove sugar sodas from our public schools and replace it with a better price point of water. And it's something I know President Clinton is very proud of because I think a 90% of schools were on board with that work after about a three-year period. I think it really made a difference. Bio Kathy Higgins, chief executive officer (CEO) of the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, is a national expert on health care and philanthropy, having previously served as the president and CEO of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation. Higgins leads Healthier Generation's team of nearly 100 professional staff across the nation working to make the healthy choice the easy choice for all children. Prior to taking on the role of Healthier Generation CEO in January 2019, Higgins spent more than 30 years at Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, where her roles span leading public health engagement, corporate communications, community relations, and corporate affairs. In 2000, Higgins led the launch of the Blue Cross NC Foundation. As president and CEO of the Blue Cross NC Foundation, Higgins led unprecedented growth, including the strategic investment of more than $150 million into North Carolina communities through more than 1,000 grants to improve the health of vulnerable populations, support physical activity and nutrition programs, and help nonprofit groups improve their organizational capacity. Higgins was also a significant advocate in Blue Cross NC's early adoption of Healthier Generation's decade-long innovative insurance benefit program, designed to encourage clinicians to extend weight management and obesity prevention services to kids and families. Higgins holds a bachelor's degree in education from West Virginia Wesleyan College and completed her master's work in community health education from Virginia Tech. She currently resides in Raleigh, North Carolina and is the mother to twin boys.

In this episode, host Desiree Duncan, VP of Health Equity, is joined by guests Beth Toner, Director of Program Communications for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and Dr. Jann Murray-García, Emerita Professor at the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at UC Davis. They discuss the background and impact of SHIFT Film's new documentary, 'Everybody's Work,' which focuses on addressing structural and systemic racism within healthcare and nursing. They explore the presence of racism in healthcare delivery, the need for critical self-reflection and the disruption of harmful scripts, and highlight the importance of storytelling, amplifying voices, and building relationships to address systemic racism.

In Episode 70 of the Investing in Impact podcast, I speak with Zoila Jennings, Impact Investment Lead at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, on poverty alleviation and systems change through targeted community financing.Subscribe to our Causeartist newsletter here.This content is for informational purposes only, you should not construe any such information or other material as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.Sound Bites"The limit does not exist in philanthropy. I think with banks, they're highly regulated, and it does limit what they can do in terms of flexible financing.""We're a systems level investor. So I don't say, oh, I'm focused on housing or small business. On the community development side, I say, where is the capital now going and where are places that we should really pilot, test, bring in other investors to join."About ZoilaZoila Jennings joined the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in 2021, bringing her career focus on social justice and poverty alleviation—through targeted community financing—to her role as an impact investments officer. Prior to this, Zoila served as a senior relationship manager with U.S. Bank, the fifth largest commercial bank in the United States, as part of its Community Development Corporation.In this position, she sourced, structured, and underwrote loans and equity investments for Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs). She also developed and executed investment initiatives aimed at addressing racial inequities, including a $25 million fund to support women of color microbusiness owners and the first CDFI-issued racial equity bond for targeted investments in underserved communities of color.Before joining U.S. Bank, Zoila spent a decade at JPMorgan Chase in New York, taking on various roles, including vice president for Community Development-New Markets Tax Credits.Here, she utilized tax equity to structure community development transactions. As a credit underwriter, she managed a credit portfolio that encompassed lending, from small working capital lines to large syndicated tax-exempt debt obligations, to nonprofit hospitals, higher education institutions, and social services agencies.In other roles, she founded a consulting firm specializing in credit underwriting, loan structuring, and financial due diligence for loans and investments benefiting low-income communities.Zoila holds an MBA from Kellogg School of Management and a BS in Business Economics with a concentration in Catholic Studies from Fordham University.The Robert Wood Johnson FoundationThe Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) is a force in the realm of philanthropy, employing a multifaceted approach that includes grantmaking, policy change, and impact investing to dismantle barriers to health and wellbeing.At the heart of RWJF's mission is the belief that everyone in the U.S. should have the opportunity to live their healthiest life possible. Achieving this goal requires equitable capital flow to communities historically deprived of investment due to generations of racist policies and structural racism.About RWJF Impact InvestmentsRWJF stands as a national leader in philanthropy, committed to transforming health across the nation within our lifetime. Through impact investments—which encompass deposits, loans, equity investments, and guarantees—RWJF collaborates with both public and private sector investors to channel more capital into underinvested communities.The foundation's vision encompasses flourishing communities where clean, safe drinking water and stable housing are accessible to all, jobs pay a living wage, and everyone has a fair chance to thrive.Since 2010, RWJF has allocated $625 million to impact investments, addressing structural barriers that perpetuate health inequities.These barriers include historical and ongoing disinvestment in housing, jobs, water infrastructure, and other critical community conditions. RWJF's investments target improving health and economic opportunities for communities, small business owners, and households that have historically faced a lack of investment, such as rural communities, communities of color, and low-income communities.RWJF aims to attract or "leverage" $1 billion from other investors—including banks, commercial lenders, insurance companies, and private investors—by 2025 to further this mission.

Show Notes: Somava Saha's interest in medical school began late in her career. She studied molecular biology in her fourth year at Harvard, but she eventually enrolled in the Berkeley UCSF joint MediCal program. There, she learned about medicine from the perspective of people and cases, as well as the economics of medicine and the history of healthcare and public health. She also completed a master's thesis with the Bahai Community Health Partnership in Guyana, South America, where she worked alongside community health workers, villagers, and teachers to create conditions for collective healing. Somava explains the approach taken and how it led to significant health improvements, such as 90% reductions in malaria rates and elimination of acquired developmental delays.  Getting to Know the People Who Experience Homelessness  Somava also talks about the impact the Spare Change newspaper and getting to know the people experiencing homelessness in Harvard Square had on her and her career. She started to get involved in programs like Phillips Brooks House, and food recovery programs. By listening to the stories of people who were homeless, Somava found that there was an incredible wealth of human potential and people with enormous gifts to offer one another and others in creating communities. This experience taught her how to value the knowledge stored in stories, how to connect people's stories with policies, and see the gift in others as valuable tools for creating better change.  Community-driven Change Somava talks about her time at Harvard Medical School and the Cambridge Health Alliance. She learned about the importance of community-driven change and how it can build social connections and change systems. During her residency training, Somava learned about the differences in structures and systems. She also encountered the challenges of supporting patients who had recently been assaulted. She talks about the process of collecting evidence and how this experience led to her belief in a model of seamless care that demonstrates true dignity and cultural competence is an important model to follow. She realized that the presence or absence of money does not determine whether systems work for people and communities experiencing inequities. Instead, it is the choices we make as a society and how structures and systems are designed to create a sense of dignity. Leading a Community Health Center Somava talks about leading a community health center in Revere, using the same lessons and methods as her life at Cambridge Health Alliance. Over the next two and a half years, the center became known as a national model, and she became elected as the next president of the medical staff. Somava went on to become the Vice President leading the care transformation in Massachusetts. The transformation focused on designing a system that works for people, giving dignity and agency, and valuing all workers based on their expertise, talents, gifts, and contributions. This transformation was chosen by the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation as one for innovative and effective transformations in the country. Designing a Health System that Works Somava realized that health doesn't happen when someone goes into the doctor's office, but rather throughout life, leading to toxic stress and harmful outcomes. This led her to propose the 100 million healthier lives initiative, which built a global network across 30 countries and over 1850 partners reaching over 500 million people. In three and a half years, the network improved 738 million lives. She also founded Well Being and Equity in the World, focusing on changing the underlying conditions and root causes that perpetuate harm in people's lives, holding back their potential throughout their lifespan. A Progressive Medical Clinic Model Somava explains what made the Revere Clinic a progressive model and offers an example of how it worked for patients. The clinic created high-functioning teams to cater to the needs of the community, ensuring longer hours and safety appointments. The clinic recognized the importance of community members, such as medical assistants and receptionists, who could play a larger role than their technical capacity. Revere changed its financing model to focus on improving health and connecting with people throughout the year. They focussed on quality of care over quantity, building relationships, and supporting the patients. These approaches are just a few that were incorporated and prioritized preventative care, chronic disease management, and provided more time and coaching for individuals to work on their health and well-being goals.  Creating Well-being Initiatives Somava has worked with over 500 communities across the nation, including black, indigenous Latinx, and other communities, to create wellbeing initiatives designed by people closest to the problems. These initiatives saved over 60,000 years of life and helped communities of color, expunged prison records, and fed and housed the community back in their homes.She emphasizes the importance of understanding that those experiencing inequities have enormous gifts to offer the nation and that it is a loss is when we prevent them from expressing their genius. A Mission to Advance Well-being Somava's mission is to advance intergenerational well-being and equity based on racial and economic justice. She talks about methods employed to create pathways for intergenerational health building and community building, including the Well Being in the Nation network, which connects the dots across organizations and provides support in multiple ways. Many of their initiatives and frameworks have been adopted by organizations and federal agencies.  The most important part of their work is building community, and building change agents who can create better change. They have worked with organizations like the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the CDC, and the Surgeon General to build capacity in the public health system and to create a network of change agents. Influential Harvard Courses and Professors Somava mentions professor Diana Ecks on World Religions, and courses Lessons Learned from the Weimar Republic, Medical Anthropology Timestamps: 05:17 Healthcare, poverty, and social connection 10:18 Homelessness, poverty, and healthcare 18:11 Improving healthcare systems for marginalized communities 24:05 Transforming healthcare through community-centered approaches 28:45 Healthcare system redesign for better patient outcomes 36:43 Improving diabetes care through patient-led groups 40:56 Trusting patients' knowledge for health and wellness 46:07 Building collective leadership for health equity Links: Website:  https://weintheworld.org/ Featured Non-profit: The featured non-profit of this episode is CAPE, recommended by Melinda Hsu Taylor who reports: “Hi, this is Melinda Hsu from the class of 1992. And this week's featured organization is the coalition of Asian Pacific's in entertainment. They're a group that's been around for about 30 years in Hollywood, fostering and Amplifying Voices from the creative side from the industry talent side, all from the Asian Pacific Islander native Hawaiian community. And I'm very pleased to have been involved with many of their outreach programs and the Asian American writers brunch, as well as the mentoring program that they have through not just the cape writers fellowship, but also the showrunner incubator, which I'm helping launch this year. And I hope that you will look up their website which is Cape usa.org To find out more about the work they do the initiatives and also the screenings and the kind of like programs that they do to let people know about what films are coming out and how to support them and how to get involved with all of these things. And now here is Will Bachman and this week's episode.” To learn more about their work visit: CapeUSA.org

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Tricia Rose about systemic racism in the United States. They discuss why and how racism persists, how it looks different from decades past, and how it evolves in institutions. They define metaracism, discuss individuals vs. institutions, understanding systems theory, colorblindness, and many more topics. Tricia Rose is Chancellor's Professor of Africana Studies, Associate Dean of the Faculty for Special Initiatives, and Director of the Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America. She has her Bachelors in Sociology from Yale and her PhD in American Studies from Brown University. She has received numerous scholarly fellowships including from the Ford Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Mellon Foundation and the American Association of University Women. She is the author of the latest book, Metaracism: How Systemic Racism Devastates Black Lives—And How We break Free.Website: https://www.triciarose.com/ Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

The long wait is OVER! Part 2 of WHY ARE WE SO OBSESSED WITH FAME discussing one of our generations favorite topics: FAME! Today I bring you Dr. Nazli Sanyuva, an USC's professor, to discuss the issue from an academic perfective and let me tell you... IT'S AMAZING!  Nazli Senyuva Offringa is a women's health communication expert, a health and science journalist, and a public health figure in Turkey. She received her PhD in communication from USC's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism in 2020. Since then, she has been involved with multiple educational platforms to inform the public on the nature of the ongoing COVID pandemic, maternal decision-making, and infant health, and has been a frequent expert guest on CNN Turkey and many other news outlets.  As a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation fellow, Offringa received her MA in Health and Science Journalism from Columbia Journalism School in 2014. She received her BA in Economics and Global Health and Health Policy from Princeton University in 2012. She has worked in health TV as a medical researcher and received an Emmy Recognition for her work in 2013. She is also the co-founder of the academic mentorship initiative, Senyuva Prep. Offringa is currently a lecturer at the University of Southern California, where she is teaching upper-level undergraduate classes in health communication and celebrity studies. This is PART 1 because this chat is so complex I could seriously do a whole season just on FAME and maybe we will! 

SEASON 3 IS HERE!  I am so proud to share our 60th episode discussing one of our generations favorite topics: FAME! Today I bring you Dr. Nazli Sanyuva, an USC's professor, to discuss the issue from an academic perfective and let me tell you... IT'S AMAZING!  Nazli Senyuva Offringa is a women's health communication expert, a health and science journalist, and a public health figure in Turkey. She received her PhD in communication from USC's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism in 2020. Since then, she has been involved with multiple educational platforms to inform the public on the nature of the ongoing COVID pandemic, maternal decision-making, and infant health, and has been a frequent expert guest on CNN Turkey and many other news outlets.  As a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation fellow, Offringa received her MA in Health and Science Journalism from Columbia Journalism School in 2014. She received her BA in Economics and Global Health and Health Policy from Princeton University in 2012. She has worked in health TV as a medical researcher and received an Emmy Recognition for her work in 2013. She is also the co-founder of the academic mentorship initiative, Senyuva Prep. Offringa is currently a lecturer at the University of Southern California, where she is teaching upper-level undergraduate classes in health communication and celebrity studies. This is PART 1 because this chat is so complex I could seriously do a whole season just on FAME and maybe we will!    You can follow DR. Naz on IG HERE!

Today's guest is Susannah Fox, author of Rebel Health: A Field Guide to the Patient-Led Revolution in Medical Care. The book is a deep dive into the expert network of patients, survivors and caregivers who are charting a new path of innovation and research. It is for anyone who feels alone, forgotten or lost in the shadows of suffering as they navigate a new diagnosis. But, it's also for anyone working inside healthcare who is fed up with the status quo. We discuss:How patients – like those first affected by long COVID - accelerate solutions by making invisible problems visible That data liberation is often the foundation for patient rebel movementsThe pop up peer groups forming in Amazon reviewsA framework for understanding, and embracing patient expertise: seekers, networkers, solvers and championsSusannah reminds all innovators to talk with people living with rare and life-changing diagnoses: “If you are going to try to understand the intersection of healthcare and technology, you need to put down your clipboard – which is the classic status symbol of a survey researcher – and get out there and just talk to people. Talk to people especially who are dealing with rare and life-changing diagnoses, because those are the people who are going to use technology in ways that we can't even imagine.”Relevant LinksSusannah's book Rebel HealthSusannah's blog: Wow! How? HealthAn article about how patient-led research could speed up medical innovationA story about Tidepool Loop receiving FDA clearanceOpenAPS and #WeAreNotWaitingHugo Campos's TedX talk about not being able to access his cardiac device dataGraphic used by Sarah Riggare to show the time spent in self-care for Parkinson's diseaseAbout Our GuestSusannah Fox is a health and technology strategist. Her book, Rebel Health: A Field Guide to the Patient-Led Revolution in Medical Care, was recently published by MIT Press. She is a former Chief Technology Officer for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services during the Obama Administration, where she led an open data and innovation lab. Prior to federal service, she was the entrepreneur-in-residence at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. For 14 years she directed the health portfolio at the Pew Research Center's Internet Project where she helped define a new market at the intersection of health, social media, and patient engagement. Fox currently serves on the board of directors of Cambia Health Solutions of Portland, OR, and Hive Networks of Cincinnati, OH. She is an advisor to Alladapt Immunotherapeutics, Archangels, Article 27, Atlas of Caregiving, Before Brands, Citizen, Equip Health, Faster Cures, and the Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation at Smithsonian Institution. Fox is a graduate of Wesleyan University with a degree in anthropology. She is the mother of two children, a caregiver for elders, and lives in Washington, DC,...

Mitchell Louis Judge Li, MD is a board-certified emergency physician and founder of the advocacy group, Take Medicine Back, dedicated to taking the profession of medicine back to its ethical roots from corporate interests. Dr. Li has been an invited speaker representing physicians to the Federal Trade Commission on the firsthand effects of mergers and acquisitions on healthcare, has spoken as a panelist at the Capitol Forum's Conference on Healthcare Competition, and currently serves as the only physician-advisor to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's committee on healthcare financialization. Dr. Li earned his medical degree from the University of Massachusetts Medical School in 2013 and completed his emergency medicine residency at St. John Hospital in Detroit, MI in 2017. He currently practices emergency medicine full-time. Dr. Li is also the founder of a Direct Physician Care (aka Direct Primary Care) practice. Topics covered in this episode: Moral injury & compassion fatigue in human medicine (like in veterinary medicine) How “profits over patients” hurts everyone What is the Corporate Practice of Medicine? How corporations bypass prohibition of the “Corporate Practice of Medicine” How this relates to veterinarians. Links and Resources: Visit the Take Medicine Back website  Read “The Reclamation of Emergency Medicine: “Take EM Back” White Paper” Find Take Medicine Back on Facebook Find Take Medicine Back on Twitter  The House Call Vet Academy links: Find out about The House Call Vet Academy online CE course  Learn more about Dr. Eve Harrison  Learn more about 1-to-1 coaching for current & prospective house call, mobile, & concierge vets Get House Call Vet swag! Find out about the next House Call & Mobile Vet Virtual Conference Music: In loving memory of Dr. Steve Weinberg. Intro and outro guitar music was written, performed, and recorded by house call veterinarian Dr. Steve Weinberg. Thank you to our sponsors! Chronos O3 Vets Rekindling w/ Julie Squires This podcast is also available in video on our House Call Vet Cafe YouTube channel  

Fast food is part of American life. As much a part of our background as the sky and the clouds. But it wasn't always that way, and over the decades, the fast food landscape has changed in quite profound ways. Race is a key part of that picture. A landmark exploration of this has been published by today's guest, Dr. Naa Oyo Kwate. She is an Associate Professor in the Department of Africana Studies and the Department of Human Ecology at Rutgers University. Her book, recently published, is entitled White Burgers, Black Cash: Fast Food From Black Exclusion to Exploitation. The book has been received very positively by the field. And was recently named the best book in the field of urban affairs by the Urban Affairs Association.   Interview Summary I was so happy to see your book because people have talked about the issue of race off and on in the field, but to see this kind of scholarly treatment of it like you provided has been really a welcome addition. Let me start with a general question. Let's begin with the fast food situation today and then rewind to where it began. Are there patterns to where fast food restaurants are located and who fast food is marketed to? Absolutely. There's quite a bit of research, and you just alluded to the work that's been done in the field. There's a lot of research that shows fast food is most dense in African American communities. Not every study has the same finding, but overall that's what the accumulated evidence shows. On the one hand you have the fact that Black communities are disproportionately saturated with these outlets. Then there's also the case that apart from the physical locations of the restaurants, fast food is strongly racialized as Black in terms of how it's portrayed to the public. It [Fast Food] relies on images of Blackness and Black cultural productions such as Black music for its marketing. These sometimes these veer into racial caricature as well. One of the things I talked about in the book briefly is the TV commercial character Annie who Popeye's introduced in 2009. They basically created this Black woman that Adweek at the time was calling "feisty," but it's really just this stereotypical idea of the sassy Black woman and she's in the kitchen frying up the chicken for Popeye's. And actually, some of the language that was used in those commercials really evokes the copy on late 19th century and Aunt Jemima pancake mix packaging. It's a really strong departure from fast food's early days, the way that fast food is now relying on Blackness as part of its core marketing constructs. I'm assuming that it follows from what you've been saying that the African American community has disproportionately been targeted with the marketing of these foods. Is that true of children within that community? Research shows that in terms of fast food marketing at the point of purchase. There's more - display advertising for example at restaurants that are in Black communities. And then there's also been research to show, not in terms of the outlets themselves, but in terms of TV programming that there tends to be more commercials for fast food and other unhealthy foods during shows that are targeting Black youth. How much of the patterning of the fast food restaurants is due to income or due to the amount of fast food consumption in these areas with many restaurants? Almost none of it really. It's not income and it's not the amount of fast food that people are consuming. In fact, one of the main studies that led me to start researching this book, because I was coming to it from public health where there was a lot of research around the disproportionality of fast food restaurants. We actually did a study in New York City, some colleagues and we published it in 2009, where we looked at how fast food was distributed across New York City's five boroughs. And restaurant density, we found, was due almost entirely to racial demographics. There's very little contribution from income. So, the percentage of Black residents was what was driving it. That was the biggest predictor of where fast food was located. It wasn't income, income made very little contribution and if you compared Black neighborhoods that were higher in income to those that were lower in income, they basically had about as much fast food exposure. Then if you compare them to white neighborhoods matched in income, Black neighborhoods still had more. So, it wasn't income, it was race. There are other areas that were high in fast food density like Midtown and downtown Manhattan where you have commercial and business districts, transportation hubs, tourist destinations. So, you expect fast food to be in these really dense and kind of busy commercial areas, but the only residential space that had comparable density were Black and brown neighborhoods. The assumption that many people have is that, okay, well if it's not income, then it's probably demand. So probably fast food is just dense in those neighborhoods because Black people eat so much fast food. But again, the data do not bear that out, not just in our study, but in others. And in fact, apart from the study we did specifically on fast food, we did another study where we looked at retail redlining for a number of different kinds of retail sectors. And again, demand is not what situates, you know, where stores are or are not. And then when I got to this project, just digging through the archives, you find that until the industry really went in on targeted advertising to increase the numbers of visits that Black people were making to fast food restaurants and the average check size that they were spending, Black consumers were mostly using fast food as a quick snack, it wasn't a primary place for meals. So it's really the case that the restaurants proceeded the demand and not the inverse. It is an absolutely fascinating picture. My guess is that what you've just said will probably come as a surprise to some people who are listening to this, not that fast food isn't dense in particular neighborhoods, but that it's particularly dense in neighborhoods by race just because people generally think that fast food is popular everywhere. So, let's talk about why this occurred and dive a little more deeply into what your book does and that's to provide a historical view on how and why this evolved. So, what did the early history look like and then what happened? So, the book traces what's basically a national story, but I focus particularly on certain cities like Chicago, New York and DC. But it's tracing how fast food changed racially and spatially from the early 1900's to the present. I break out that early history into what I call first and second-generation chains. So, they opened in urban and suburban areas respectively. The birth of the first generation fast food restaurants took place in what is termed the Nader of race relations in the US from the end of the Civil War to the 1930s. So, this is a time during which you see Plessy versus Ferguson, for example, ushering in legal segregation. Lynchings are at their worst. You have the destruction of Greenwood in Tulsa, Oklahoma. That's taking place and other notable incidents and forces that were undermining Black life at the time. It's during that context that the first generation restaurants are born. And so, these are burger chains like White Castle, that was the first actually big burger chain. People often assume it's McDonald's, but it's actually White Castle in 1921. And then there are knockoffs of White Castle, like White Tower and Little Tavern, which was an East coast brand. And then there were also other restaurants that were not burger chains, but more like hot shops was more of a sit-down restaurant. And then you had Horn and Hardart, the outlets where they had auto mats. So, you know, this was kind of high tech at the time, but you would go in and the food was behind little glass compartments and you would put in your requisite number of nickels and then take out your little plate of food. These were all the restaurants that I'm calling first generation restaurants. So, you had quite a bit of diversity in terms of what they were serving, but they were all in urban centers. They were not franchised. They were corporate owned outlets and most importantly everything about them was white, whether figuratively in terms of who dined and worked there or literally in the architecture and the design and the name like White Castle. That veneer of whiteness was doing two things. On the one hand, trying to offer the promise of pristine sanitary conditions because this is a time when food production was rife with concerns. And then also it's trying to promise a kind of unsullied social whiteness in the dining experience. So, first generation then leads to second generation fast food, which begins in the suburbs instead of the urban centers. Second generation fast food starts to grow in the early 1950s. These are the brand names that are most synonymous with fast food today: KFC, Burger King, McDonald's. So, for example, Ray Crock launches McDonald's as a franchise in the all white suburb of Des Plaines outside Chicago near O'Hare airport. And he set to fly over prospective sites looking for church steeples and schools, which to him were an indication of a middle class and stable community, but of course, racializing that as white. Because you could have Black neighborhoods with church steeples, but that was not where the restaurants were going. So, what ends up happening with second generation fast food is that it takes this theme of purity and shifts so that it's not just the purity of simple kind of fuel for the working man, but instead the purity of white domestic space. And where first-generation restaurants targeted working adults, the second went after families and children. Fast food then becomes more than just food - it's about fun. Those are the two key ways to think about the early history. One could obviously find many, many, many examples of different racial groups being excluded from the economic mainstream of the country. For example, areas of employment, and my guess is that being excluded from the marketing applied to consumer goods and lots of other things. But do you think there's something special about food in this context? Oh, that's a good question. It's interesting because fast food. It's food, but it's more than that the way that fast food initially excluded Black people. One of the things I talk about in the early part of the book is James Baldwin going to a restaurant and trying to order a burger and being rejected and facing discrimination. And the idea that it's not just that you can't get a burger, it's not the same thing as if you try to buy, I don't know, a ham sandwich or something. But like what burger means something more than that, right? It's bigger than a burger is Ella Baker said. Fast food is kind of like the closest thing we have to a national meal. It sort of occupies a special place in the heart of America and is symbolic of this quintessential all-American meal. And the notions of a good and simple life that we purportedly have in this country. So, it means more I think the way that fast food was positioned as something that was totally wrapped up in this exclusionary whiteness. Your book traces the long pathway that fast food traveled going from exclusion in the beginning and then later exploitation. Can you describe a couple of the key turning points? Well I would say that it wasn't like a light sort of got switched on that caused fast food to shift abruptly from utterly excluding Black people to then pursuing them full throttle the next day. It was quite a long and bumpy pathway and really American retailers in general have continually had to discover Black consumers and the fact that they exist over and over. And then sort of trying to think like, oh, how do we reach them? We don't understand them, like they're this enigma kind of thing. Fast food was doing the same kind of thing. There was both what the industry was doing and then there were also pull factors that were causing fast food to be drawn into Black communities as well. There are a lot of turning points, but I would say if you start fairly early in the history, a key one was after second generation fast food got going. Where suburban fast food right, is trying to position itself as this white utopia. But almost immediately that notion was fraught and unstable because concerns quickly arose around teenagers. They were money makers but they were also rowdy. Their behavior, hot rodding and goofing off in the parking lot and so on, was off-putting to the adult diners. So, it became this difficult kind of needle to thread of like how are we going to track this consumer segment that's foundational to the enterprise but do so under conditions that would keep them in line and not mess up the other potential revenue that we have going. As the kind of nuisance of fast foods became more pitched, municipalities began introducing ordinances to control fast food or even ban it. And that made the suburbs harder to get into or to maintain a foothold in. Corporations then start looking more at the cities that they were avoiding in the first place and the Black communities there that they had excluded. So that happens fairly early and then some other key turning points occur throughout the 1960s. Here we have urban renewal, you have urban rebellions taking place and during the late 1960s when these rebellions and uprisings were taking place, this is the time period when you get the first Black franchisees. Into the 1970s you have oil crises, then you have the burger and chicken wars as the industry called them in the 1980s. And this was referring to corporations battling each other for market share. So, all throughout the history there were different turning points that either accelerated the proliferation of fast food or sort of change the way the industry was looking at Black consumers and so on. Now in some discussions I've heard of this issue off and on over the years from people who have looked at the issue of targeted marketing who have talked about how there was a period of time and you made this clear, when Blacks were excluded from the marketing and they just weren't part of the overall picture of these restaurants. Then there was a movement for Blacks to be included more in the mainstream of American culture so that it was almost seen as an advance when they became included in the marketing. Black individuals were shown in the marketing and part of the iconic part of these restaurants. So that was seen as somewhat of a victory. What do you think of that? It's true and not true. I mean when fast food decided to finally start actually representing Black people in its marketing, I think that is important. I do think that the fact that they were finally making ads and conceiving of campaigns that saw Black people as part of the actual consumer base at which they were, yes, that that is important. But it's also the case that corporations are never doing anything for altruism. It's because they wanted to shore up their bottom line. So, for example, Burrell Advertising is the biggest African American ad shop based in Chicago. They get the McDonald's account and so they're the first ones to have a fast food restaurant account. They begin their campaign in 1971 and at that time, their advertising actually positioned Black families as regular people doing everything everybody else does and going to the restaurant and enjoying time together as a family and so on. And I think those kinds of images were important that they were creating them, but again, at the same time it was only the context in which Burrell got that account. The reasons why McDonald's was reaching out to Black consumers was because, again, in the early 1970s white suburbs were becoming more saturated, and McDonald's needing to expand. Then you have the oil crisis in which people are not driving as much, and Black people because of racism are centered in urban centers and not in the suburbs. So that makes a logical place for them to go and so on. So, it's not without its vexed context that those new advertising images and opportunities were taking place. Okay, thanks. I know that's a complicated topic, so I appreciate you addressing that. You know, something you mentioned just a few moments ago was that when Blacks started to become owners of franchises, can you expand on that a little bit and say what was the significance? Yes. First of all, cities were changing at that time. White residents were moving to the suburbs, multiple public and private policies were keeping the suburbs white and white residents were moving to white suburbs. So, Central City was changing, right? The neighborhoods that had been white before were now changing to become predominantly Black. And so, the fast food outlets that were located in those neighborhoods found their client base changing around them. And many of those operators, and indeed their corporate superiors, were uninterested in and uninformed about a Black consumer base at best and outwardly hostile at worst. You end up with as neighborhood racial transitions are taking place, white operators are now in communities they never meant to serve. Som as urban uprisings rack one city after another, Black franchisees are brought on kind of as a public face in these changing urban areas. The primary goal was to really have Black franchisees manage the racial risks that corporate was finding untenable. They realized that it wouldn't do to have white managers or franchise owners in these neighborhoods. So, they bring in Black franchisees to start making that transition. And then after fast food becomes more interested in trying to deliberately capture more Black spending, Black franchisees become even more important in that regard. For their part, the Black franchisees were seeking out fast food outlets as a financial instrument, right? This was a way to contest and break down unfair and pervasive exclusion from the country's resources. So, it was never about how much fast food we can possibly eat, right? Again, with the demand issue. So, Black franchisees are basically trying to get their part of the pie and then the federal government is heavily involved at this point because they start creating these different minority enterprise initiatives to grow Black small business. And so, it wasn't only the Black franchisees, but also Black franchisors who were starting their own chains. So, for example, former NFL Player Brady Keys started All Pro Chicken, as just one example. So, this idea of expanding fast food franchising to Black entrepreneurs who had been shut out on its face, seems like a laudable initiative. But again, it's like this is not just altruism and also the way that franchises were positioned in this kind of like you can get into business and do so in a way that's low risk because you know you don't have to start from scratch. You're buying into a thriving concern with name recognition and corporate support and all that. And all of that sounds good except you realize that in fact the franchisees are the ones who have to bear all the risk, not corporate. That's what the government was doing in terms of trying to put in all this money into franchising is really. It's like that's the response to the real life and death failures, for example, around policing, which was always at the heart of these uprisings. You have these real life and death concerns and then the government's responding with giving people access to fried chicken and burger outlets, which nobody was asking for really. Not only was the method problematic, but the execution as well. Just because Black people had more access to the franchises doesn't mean that the rest of the racism that was present, suddenly disappeared, right? The theoretical safety of a franchise didn't bear out in practice. Because of course they still couldn't get access to credit from lending institutions to launch their restaurants because they still didn't get support they needed from corporate, which in fact there are still lawsuits to this day by Black franchisees because the communities in which they're operating were still contending with deep inequality. All of that meant that that whole project was not likely to work very well. And you know, it's no surprise that it didn't. You mentioned chicken several times. In fact, there's a chapter in your book entitled Criminal Chickens. Can you tell us more? Yes, Criminal chicken is towards the end of the book. So, the book is organized in three parts. Part one is white utopias, part two is racial turnover, and part three is Black catastrophe. In each of those you see how Blackness is problematic, but in different ways. So Criminal Chicken is really dealing with the fact that by the 1990s, fast food had become pervasive in Black space and was thoroughly racialized as Black. And so, since fast food has saturated these neighborhoods, of course Black residents began to consume it more. With that, a program reigns down from the dominant society over Black people's alleged failure to control themselves and an assumed deviant predilection for unhealthy dietary behaviors, whether fast food, but also the same kind of discourse circulated around soul food. And the tenor of the discourse really raises W.E.B. DuBois's age-old question, which is how does it feel to be a problem? That was really the tenor of the conversation around fast food at that time. The chapters about the ways in which Black people's consumption was frequently characterized as deviant and interrogating the paradoxes around the symbolic meanings of fast food. Because like what we talked about earlier, Black people are basically being criticized for eating something that's supposedly at the heart of Americana. It's a kind of a no-win situation. On the one hand, certainly overseas, fast food continues to enjoy this kind of iconic status of America and American Burger and so on. Even within the country's borders it still retains some of that allure as something emblematic of American culture. But it's also now more fraught because, you know, we're in a moment where local and organic foods and so on are held in high esteem and fast food is the antithesis of that and it's industrial and mass produced and homogenized and has all these nutritional liabilities. So, basically, it's looking at the changing ideas around fast food and race and how that intersected with Black consumption. That's so interesting. I'd like to wrap up with a question, but I'd like to lead into that by reading two quotes from your book that I think are especially interesting. Here's the first. It is painfully logical that Black communities would first be excluded from a neighborhood resource when it was desirable and then become a repository once it was shunned. And then the second quote is this. The story of fast foods relationship to Black folks is a story about America itself. So, here's the question, are there ways that you can think of that fast food and food systems could be reconceptualized to help address issues of justice and equity? I would say that addressing justice inequity in food systems of which fast food is a part, is really about dealing with the other systems that govern our daily lives. Meaning, it's not an issue of trying to fix fast food, right? So, that is a discreet industry it behaves more equitably with communities because what it has done over the history that I trace in the book is it's not so unique in its practices and it also can't have taken the trajectory it did without intersecting with other institutional concerns. So, for example, housing is instructive because you know, of course you can't exploitatively target Black consumers unless residential segregation exists to concentrate them in space. And to do that, obviously you need a lot of different institutional policies and practices at play to produce that. And in a similar way, housing went from exclusion in the form of rank discrimination, resource hoarding, redlining, the denial of mortgages, all of that, to exploitation in the form of subprime lending. And Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor talks about predatory inclusion and I type that in the book because I think it's also a useful way to think about fast food as well. So, if you're thinking about equity in food systems, then you have to think about why is it that resources including food, but also beyond food, in this country are distributed the way that they are. And I think you can't get at the issues of justice that play out for fast food or injustice without addressing the key issues that reverberate through it. And so that's false scarcities that are created by capitalism, the racism that undergirds urban policies around land use, around segregation, deeply ingrained ideas in the American psyche about race and but also about other things. So, for me really, reconceptualizing fast food is really reconceptualizing how we live in America.   Bio   Naa Oyo A. Kwate is Associate Professor, jointly appointed in the Department of Africana Studies and the Department of Human Ecology at Rutgers. A psychologist by training, she has wide ranging interests in racial inequality and African American health. Her research has centered primarily on the ways in which urban built environments reflect racial inequalities in the United States, and how racism directly and indirectly affects African American health. Kwate's research has been funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and by fellowships from the Smithsonian Institution, among others. Prior to her first major book, White Burgers, Black Cash: Fast Food from Black Exclusion to Exploitation, she published the short work Burgers in Blackface: Anti-Black Restaurants Then and Now, which examines restaurants that deploy unapologetically racist logos, themes, and architecture; and edited The Street: A Photographic Field Guide to American Inequality, a visual taxonomy of inequality using Camden, NJ as a case study. Kwate has been a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellow at the Newberry Library, and has received fellowships from the Smithsonian Institution, the European Institutes for Advanced Studies, and elsewhere. She is currently writing a book investigating the impact of corner liquor stores in Black communities from 1950 to date.  

On today's episode of the Entrepreneur Evolution Podcast, we are joined by Andrea Vieira, Owner of nailsaloon. Andréa Vieira is an entrepreneur. As owner and co-founder of the nailsaloon, Washington's premier luxury and toxin-free nail salon and cocktail parlor, she currently oversees all operations in two locations – Logan Circle and Capitol Hill – and is managing an expansion that will lead to the nailsaloon's five total DMV locations by 2024. Formerly a journalist and television producer, Andréa spent over 20 years creating long- and short-format documentaries for networks like the Discovery Channel, TruTV, HGTV, Animal Planet and Discovery Health Channel, and for organizations like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, where she was also a speechwriter. Whether it be directing documentaries, running multi-media events, or writing and producing programs or news stories, Andréa has created content in Europe, Asia, Africa, North, Central, and South America. As a reporter, she has covered stories of Latin American interest for Globo TV in New York; Telemundo in Washington, DC; and CNN in Atlanta. As a producer and writer, she has created content for organizations like the MacArthur Foundation, the Clinton Global Initiative, the WHO, PSI, Project Hope, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. A naturalized U.S. citizen, Andréa was born in Brazil and has also lived in Spain and in the UK. She speaks fluent Portuguese, English, and Spanish and holds a Global Executive MBA from Georgetown University and ESADE, and a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism from the University of Maryland. She currently serves on two Boards: Friends of the Art Museum of the Americas, and DC Coalition for the Homeless. To learn more about nailsaloon, visit https://www.thenailsaloon.com/     We would love to hear from you, and it would be awesome if you left us a 5-star review. Your feedback means the world to us, and we will be sure to send you a special thank you for your kind words. Don't forget to hit “subscribe” to automatically be notified when guest interviews and Express Tips drop every Tuesday and Friday. Interested in joining our monthly entrepreneur membership? Email Annette directly at yourock@ievolveconsulting.com to learn more.  Ready to invest in yourself? Book your free session with Annette HERE.  Keep evolving, entrepreneur. We are SO proud of you! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/annette-walter/support

In today's episode, I speak with Susannah R Fox about her newly released book Rebel Health: A Field Guide to the Patient-Led Revolution in Medical Care.  Susannah takes an important look at communities, which make the difference when the medical field ignores their concerns. The read is an exquisite example of  health design thinking and storytelling.  From 2015-2017, Susannah served as the Chief Technology Officer of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). As CTO,  she created opportunities for entrepreneurship and innovation across the Department's 27 divisions and 80,000+ employees, helping HHS harness the power of data and technology to improve the health and welfare of the nation. Prior to joining the Obama Administration, she served as the Entrepreneur in Residence at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, helping to encourage employees to experiment and catalyze new ways to think about challenges. From 2000-14, she was an Associate Director of the Internet Project at the the Pew Research Center, where she directed the health and technology portfolio. 

From a 2019 school shooting in West Baltimore, Healing City Baltimore was born. The program aims to help city agencies train their employees, reform stigmatizing policies, and build new response programs—all with a goal of helping to improve mental health and well-being. Councilman Zeke Cohen and executive director Reverend Kim Lagree talk with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about this initiative, which recently won the Culture of Health prize from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and is now a model for other cities. Learn more: https://www.rwjf.org/en/grants/grantee-stories/2023/2023-winner-baltimore-md.html