Welcome, Agenda Review,
Introduction of Guests, and Mistress of Ceremonies
Cheryl Brannan, MS, STSI Founder & Black Women Girl Child Convenor
STEM & STEAM Spotlight
Lydia Smith, MBA STSI, STEAM Program Consultant
10:30 AM
12:00 PM
1:15 PM
2:00 PM
2:10 PM
3:40 PM
Introduction of Morning Keynote Speaker
Asha Castleberry-Hernandez
Introduction by: Jordanne Lewis, MS & STSI STEAM Alumni
STSI Pillars of Focus Overview
STSI Workgroup Co-Chairs
Lunch & Break-out Groups
Reconvene in Auditorium
Welcome to Afternoon Session
Mistress of Ceremonies, Dr. Valerie Mason Cunningham
Community Partner Recognition
Recap Break-out Groups Report
Presented by Workgroup Co-Chairs
‘Health Disparities’ Overview
Introduction of Fireside Chat - Special Guest Speaker
Dr. Uche` Blackstock
Introduced by: Khadyja Ba, MS, Project Manager, Montefiore Health System & STSI STEAM Alumni
A Fireside Chat Discussion with Dr. Uché Blackstock
Moderated by: Stephanie Lovinsky-Desir, MD & Chiatogu Onyewu, MD, PhD
Closing Remarks & Wrap-up
Germaine Scott & Zelda Strong-Diaz, STSI Board Co-Chairs
CherylBrannan,MS Founder&CEO
GermaineScott
ZeldaStrong-Diaz,MPA Co-Chairs
KassandraM.Woody Secretary
GeorgiaReidDouglas,MS Treasurer
AlyssaGillespie,Esq. Parlemantarian
Deana Nelson, CMP
Millissa Bess, BSN
RN OCN
Brenda Bracey
Dr Angela Campbell
Vera Cheek
Tinuke Colpa, MS, SBL, SDA
Charmaine Golding, MS
Zenobia Kelly, RN
Subomi Macaulay
Athena Dent-Alleyne, CHC
Chair: Pat White
Co-Chairs: Dr Darlene Russell & Alexandria Connally
BLACK MATERNAL HEALTH & HEALTHY
Chair: Mellissa Best Chair
Pre-Eclampsia Chair: Nubia Martin SBTO Co-Chair: Khalia Jones & Erica Williams-Woodley Communications:
Jennifer Jones & Gloria Cunningham
Gwen Parris, Esq.
Dr. Darlene Russell
Mabel Ngoe Takona, MBA
Rev Marcia White-Smith, MS, MDiv
Athena Dent-Alleyne, CHC
Ghiliane Clark
Dr Chiatogu Onyewu
Donna Elise Bell
Jordanne-Ashley Lewis, MS
Pamela Verette
Chair: Charmaine Golding
Co-Chairs; Georgia Reid- Douglas & Beryl Weaver
Dr Valerie Mason Cunningham, Strategic Planning
Beryl Weaver, Management
Tsahai Amazan, Development & Administrative
Gloria Cunningham, Marketing & Communication
Eden Gillian, Social Media
Dr Marcia V Keizs, Allison Lake, MBA, Dr La Ruth Gray, E Adell Dowdy, MA, Hon Janet Malone, Jamie Hubert, BA, Lauren Williams, Patricia White, MA, Rashida Thigpen, Esq , *Roslyn Abrams, Kecia Palmer-Cousins, Hon Shawyn Patterson-Howard, MA, Suzanne Greenidge-Hewitt, MD, Hon Terry Clements, Yedidah Yehudah, MA RD, Paige Long Sharps, MD, Cammie Jones, April Bourne, Bianca Gambrah, Alison Lake, MBA, Stephanie Lovinsky-Desir, MD, Hon Gina Jackson, Dr Crystal Green Brown, Sade E Amazan, MBA
*Honorary Steering Committee Member
F
Asha Castleberry-Hernandez
Asha Castleberry-Hernandez
National Security Expert
National Security Expert
Asha Castleberry-Hernandez is a distinguished national security and foreign affairs expert with over a decade of experience working as a Middle East Policy Expert in the public and private sectors For the Biden-Harris Administration, Asha served as a Senior Advisor (NC-Senior Executive Service) in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs in the U S State Department From 2012 to 2015, Asha served in the U S Army in Kuwait, Iraq, and Jordan She previously served as the Kuwait Desk Officer in the U S Army Central She is now a Major in the U S Army Reserves Before Asha deployed, she worked in the U S Mission to the United Nations
She previously taught at Fordham University, George Washington University, and Baruch College She is also the founder of the Diversity in National Security Network, and has been named on Boston’s Color
Magazine’s 40 under 40 Color Power list and 40 under 40 Middle East Policy Council
As children in the 1980s, Uché Blackstock and her twin sister Oni watched their mother lead an organization of Black women physicians: fiercely intelligent women in white coats who cured ills and saved lives. Destined to follow in her footsteps, Uché and her sister went on to become the first Black mother-daughter legacies from Harvard Medical School. But as her career continued as an ER physician and a professor in academic medicine, Dr Uché Blackstock became profoundly aware of what she hadn’t seen as a child: the dangerous systemic barriers that Black patients and physicians face
A Black Physician Reckons with Racism in Medicine (Viking, January 23, 2024), Dr Blackstock tells the incredible story of her career and reveals the deep inequities that still exist in American healthcare
In a medical system where only 2% of physicians are Black women, Black Americans have far worse health outcomes than any other group in the country LEGACY is a journey through the critical intersection of racism and healthcare, exposing a flawed system of practices and policies that jeopardize the well-being of entire communities Following Dr Blackstock’s odyssey from child to medical student to practicing physician, this captivating memoir not only explores the legacy of her mother and other pioneering Black physicians but also the long shadow of inequality in the United States healthcare system With striking wisdom and inspiring leadership,
LEGACY ultimately shows Dr Blackstock’s path to realizing her own power as a health equity advocate against the backdrop of the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement In 2019, Dr Blackstock founded Advancing Health Equity, an organization that aims to dismantle racism in healthcare and close the gap in racial health equities She has been recognized by Forbes Magazine, Essence Magazine, the Black Voices for Black Justice Fund, the American Medical Student Association, and numerous other institutions for her work as a thought leader and advocate on bias and racism in medicine. A medical contributor to MSNBC and NBC News, Dr. Blackstock’s commentary on the latest news in healthcare has been featured widely.
LEGACY is at once a searing indictment of our healthcare system, a generational family memoir, and a powerful call to action I hope you’ll consider coverage of this incredible book in 2024!
Fireside Chat Moderators
Fireside Chat Moderators
Stephanie Lovinsky-Desir, MD Chiatogu Onyewu, MD, PhD
