Centering Health Equity

In this episode, hosts Maria Hernandez and Jim Hickman explore how barbershops and other trusted community spaces can help advance health equity by bridging the gap between communities and traditional healthcare systems. Joined by Dr. Joseph Ravenel, Associate Dean of Professional Development at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, and Peter Peter Njongwe, founder and CEO of Oben Health, they discuss how barbers can serve as trained commnity health workers, helping with blood pressure screenings, promoting preventive care, and connecting clients to healthcare services. Drawing on research demonstrating the effectiveness of barbershop-based hypertension interventions, the guests highlight the power of trust, cultural connection, and ongoing relationships in reaching underserved populations, particularly Black men.

In this episode of Centering Health Equity, our distinguished guests Dr. Somava Saha and Dr. Danica Sumpter speak about why healthcare organizations must look beyond individual bias training to tackle systemic racism. We discuss how operational practices—from billing and algorithms to resource distribution—drive health disparities, and they urge leaders to move from blame to "critical love" by sharing power with marginalized communities to build truly restorative healthcare systems.

In this episode of Centering Health Equity, we were joined by Dr. Giridhar Mallya of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Dr. Karen McNeil-Miller of the Colorado Health Foundation to explore how philanthropy is responding to federal funding cuts, growing resistance to health equity initiatives, and the resulting challenges facing public health and community-based organizations. The conversation examines the real-world consequences of reduced funding, including lost research data, diminished healthcare access, and threats to trusted community programs, while highlighting how foundations, nonprofits, and legal advocates are sustaining essential services through collaboration, strategic funding, legal support, and narrative change.

This episode explores the disproportionate impact of heart disease on Black communities, highlighting how structural inequities, chronic stress, social drivers of health, and systemic bias contribute to poorer cardiovascular outcomes beyond genetics alone. Expert guests Dr. Kardie Taub and Dr. Himika Rahman discuss practical solutions—including community partnerships, culturally competent care, data-driven accountability, and policy reforms—to reduce disparities, rebuild trust in healthcare, and advance health equity.

This episode of the podcast focuses on how Medicaid 1115 waivers can be used as powerful tools to advance health equity by allowing states to test innovative approaches that address not only medical care, but also social drivers of health such as housing, food security, and transportation. Featuring, James Hickman, Founder, Hickman Strategies LLC and Dora Barilla, DrPH,President, Co-founder, HC2 Strategies, the conversation highlights that while policy and funding are important, relationships, trust, and community partnerships are ultimately the foundation for building connected communities of care and improving health outcomes for underserved populations.