For the spring 2022 semester SPHTM Student Experience presents Critical Conversations: Dismantling Racism in Public Health. This series of talks will discuss equity, diversity, inclusion, and public health. Join us as we explore topics centered around identifying racism, the impacts it has health, what is happening at SPHTM to address these issues, and what the next solutions are to change systems and remove barriers. All students, faculty and staff are invited to attend via Zoom with hybrid format in February and March. We look forward to seeing you.
Spring Semester Conversations
| SPHTM EDI Dean Initiatives, with Susan Cheng April 19, 12:00–1:00PM Join via Zoom |
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Dr. Susan Cheng is the Associate Dean for Public Health Practice & Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and a trained infectious disease epidemiologist, with a diverse background in STI research, pandemic preparedness, mental health, health disparities, and maternal and child health. Her current research has focused on the effects of social determinants of health on anxiety and depression, maternal mortality, and childhood wellness, including nutrition and dietary allergies. She also brings years of public health practice and advocacy work in diverse settings and communities, including among BIPOC communities, with American Indian tribes and reservations, and with the homeless population and congregate housing settings. Prior to joining academia, she served as PI and epidemiologist for the Native American Alliance for Emergency Preparedness program where she worked with the state of California, the federal Indian Health Service, all local health departments, and 105 tribes and reservations on infectious disease outbreaks, pandemic preparedness, and all hazards emergency preparedness. She developed and managed the virtual Emergency Operations Center during H1N1 and the 2003 and 2007 California wildfires. Continue reading bio. |
| SPHTM Antiracism Taskforce and Tulane University’s EDI Initiatives, with Eva Silvestre March 23rd, 12:00–1:00PM Join via Zoom or Room 1201 |
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Dr. Eva Silvestre is an Associate Professor and Program Director of the International Health and Development MPH Program. She teaches courses on the social and behavioral aspects of health and Latino health, and is a current College Track Mentor, a program that assists low-income, BIPOC, and first-generation students earn their Bachelor’s degree, for the class of 2022. She is the former director of the Newcomb-Tulane College’s Center for Academic Equity. The Center serves as an academic home for BIPOC, first-generation college, low-income, DACA, Undocumented, Queer and Trans, Posse, and College Track students. Dr. Silvestre is currently leading the SPHTM’s Dean’s Anti-racism taskforce and is chairing the university senate committee on equal opportunity and institutional equity. |
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The Impact of Racism on Health Disparities and Health Equity, |
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Dr. Caryn Bell is an Assistant Professor with the Social, Behavioral and Population Sciences department. Her research focuses on the unique impacts of socioeconomic status (SES) and place on cardiovascular disease risk factors in Black Americans and racial disparities. Her work explores the nuanced ways in which SES is associated with obesity and related behaviors in Black women and men by examining the role of place and sociocultural factors. She uses varied techniques including spatial statistics and mapping approaches. She also examines how place shapes structural racism in the U.S. and the implications for Black health and racial health inequities. She teaches courses on health equity, racism and health, as well as, place and Black health in the U.S. Prior to joining the faculty at Tulane, she was an Assistant Professor of African American Studies at the University Maryland, College Park. She received her PhD in Social and Behavioral Sciences at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and a BS in Chemistry from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. |
| How White Habitus has Impacted Racial Understanding, with Sydney Clark February 3rd, 12:00–1:00PM Join via Zoom |
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Sydney Clark is a SPHTM student in the Social, Behavioral, Population Sciences and is interested in studying social disparities and systemic inequality. She is also the first SPHTM Office of Student Experience Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Graduate Assistant. Her recent focus has been on mental health and epigenetics, and especially how social disparities and culture affect them. Outside of school Sydney is a freelance writer and content creator, which is work that overwhelmingly addresses the topics mentioned. |