Advancing Equity & Social Justice in Health Care: A Fireside Chat with Dr. Uché Blackstock

December 14th, 2022

Presented by Seema Kumar, CEO, Cure

Even as science and technology bring extraordinary breakthroughs to advance healthcare, the solutions remain accessible only to a privileged few and are not accessible to all. COVID laid bare systemic racism and social inequities and shed light on the importance of closing the gaps. This will require a commitment from the science and healthcare ecosystem to redouble efforts and mobilize for equity and social justice.

Cure, in partnership with the Aspen Institute Science & Society Program, will host a fireside chat with Dr. Uché Blackstock, founder and CEO of Advancing Health Equity, focused on equipping healthcare professionals with the tools and strategies to provide racially equitable care. Join us as we talk with Dr. Blackstock about how those in STEM careers and in medicine can work together to help solve inequities impacting society.

We will also be joined by Dr. Julius Johnson, to speak on the importance of community health and laying the groundwork for community-led efforts to address health disparities

Advancing Equity & Social Justice in Health Care: A Fireside Chat with Dr. Uché Blackstock

When: Wednesday, December 14th, 4:30 PM – 6:30PM
Where: Rooftop at Cure, 345 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10010.
Speakers: Dr. Uché Blackstock, Founder and CEO, Advancing Health Equity, Emergency Medicine Physician, MSNBC Medical Contributor. Julius Johnson, DNP, RN, FNP-BC. Moderated by Seema Kumar, CEO of Cure.

Featured Speakers

About Dr. Uché Blackstock

Dr. Uché Blackstock is a physician and thought leader on bias and racism in health care. Dr. Blackstock founded Advancing Health Equity in 2019 with the goal of partnering with healthcare organizations to dismantle racism in healthcare and to close the gap in racial health inequities. In 2019, Dr. Blackstock was recognized by Forbes magazine as one of “10 Diversity and Inclusion Trailblazers You Need to Get Familiar With”. In 2020, she was one of thirty-one inaugural leaders awarded an unrestricted grant for her advocacy work from the Black Voices for Black Justice Fund. Dr. Blackstock’s writing, including numerous OpEds, has been featured in the Chicago Tribune, Scientific American, the Washington Post and STAT News for the Boston Globe. In April 2021, she became an exclusive medical contributor for MSNBC and NBC News. In June 2021, Dr. Blackstock signed a book deal with Penguin Random House Books for her generational memoir, Legacy: A Black Physician Reckons with Racism in Medicine. Legacy is due to be published in 2023. Dr. Blackstock received both her undergraduate and medical degrees from Harvard University.

About Dr Julius Johnson

Dr. Julius Johnson was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY in the Brownsville and Crown Heights neighborhoods. He attended Clara Barton High School for health professionals while starring in football for the Brooklyn Skyhawks. He received his bachelor's of science, with a major in nursing from Binghamton University in 2005 and received his masters of science with a major in family nurse practitioner from Binghamton University in 2009, and his Doctor of Nursing Practice from the University of Miami in 2016. He specializes in home-based primary care, transitional care, and transformational community intervention projects. He has spent the past 13 years serving underserved communities and reducing hospital rates for at-risk populations. He is a founding member of the Greater New York City Black Nurses Association and serves as the president. He is also the founding president of the Omega Nu chapter of Sigma Theta Tau international honor society at Long Island University Brooklyn. He serves as an associate professor, chair of faculty affairs, and the director of the family nurse practitioner at Long Island University – Brooklyn’s school of nursing. In 2018, he was recognized as one of the National Black Nurses Association’s 40 under 40 rising stars. In 2021 he awarded the Trailblazer in nursing award by the National Black Nurses Association.

About Seema Kumar

Ms. Kumar joins Cure from Johnson & Johnson where she spent nearly 20 years in senior leadership positions, most recently serving as Global Head of the Office of Innovation, Global Health and Scientific Engagement. During her tenure, she led the launch of the company’s Innovation Centers, JLABS and Global Public Health initiatives, as well as the CoLaboratory at the World Economic Forum at Davos and the award winning COVID-19 educational broadcast program, “The Road to a Vaccine.”