A speaker series that takes you on a deep dive into this year's RFP theme for a discussion on how health equity is shaped by the built environment.
Alongside the RFP selection process, the Design Trust is organizing a series of virtual conversations that pair designers and planners with health professionals. These conversations will explore the intersection of health equity and public space.
The third talk in our series is a conversation with Dr. Uché Blackstock and Sloan Leo. They will discuss how our public realm influences public health.
Speaker Bios
Dr. Uché Blackstock is a thought leader and sought-after speaker on bias and racism in health care. She is the Founder and CEO of Advancing Health Equity, which partners with healthcare organizations to eradicate racial health inequities, through keynote talks, trainings and consulting services.
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 has been featured in the Chicago Tribune, Scientific American, the Washington Post and STAT News for the Boston Globe. Since June 2020, she has been a Yahoo News Medical Contributor and appears regularly on cable and broadcast news programming to amplify the message around racial health inequities.
She is a former Associate Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine and the former Faculty Director for Recruitment, Retention and Inclusion in the Office of Diversity Affairs at NYU School of Medicine. She left her faculty position at NYU School of Medicine in December 2019 after almost 10 years to focus on Advancing Health Equity.
Dr. Blackstock received both her undergraduate and medical degrees from Harvard University.
Sloan Leo (they/he) is an artist and the Founder/CEO of FLOX Studio Inc. FLOX Studio is a community design and strategy studio that works with curious optimists who are committed to getting things done. FLOX is on a mission to increase the community design capacity of design leaders and mission-driven enterprises so that the entire ecosystem is more brave, creative, and resilient. Prior to founding FLOX Studio, Sloan
Leo spent 15 years leading non-profit staff and volunteer teams at the Environmental Defense Fund, The Trust for Public Land, and other organizations at the intersection of community, justice, and design. Sloan is a proud graduate of the State University of New York at Albany.
You can watch a recording of this event here.