The Health Equity Forum on Nov. 14 begins with a chat with Heather McGhee, MD, author of The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together. This will be followed by a moderated conversation about the AMA’s Strategic Plan to Embed Racial Justice and Advance Health Equity with well-known, respected equity experts and scholars.
House of Delegate (HOD) members will have the opportunity to discuss the equity plan, highlighting themes such as equity as expertise, the importance and evolution of language and concepts, an explanation of meritocracy and critical race theory, and the opportunity and impact AMA has in centering equity as a strategy. The forum will conclude with an opportunity for HOD members to engage directly with staff from the Center for Health Equity to hear more about their work.
Forum access
The virtual forum is for delegates and alternate delegates only. Delegates and alternate delegates should have received access information via email. If you’re a delegate or alternate delegate and haven’t received the information, please contact HOD at [email protected] by 6 p.m. Central Time Saturday, Nov. 13.
Forum agenda
All times are Central
1-1:05 p.m.—Opening Remarks: Bobby Mukkamala, MD, chair, AMA Board of Trustees
1:05-1:10 p.m.—President’s opening remarks: Gerald Harmon, MD, president, AMA
1:10-1:40 p.m.—Opening discussion: The Sum of Us: Context for Discussions of Equity and Anti-Racism in Healthcare. A fireside chat with Jack Resneck Jr., MD, president-elect, AMA, and Heather McGhee, JD, author of The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together.
CME information for this session can be found on the education sessions page.
1:40-1:50 p.m.—Break
1:50-2:15 p.m.—Moderated conversation and townhall. Facilitated conversation about the AMA’s Strategic Plan to Embed Racial Justice and Advance Health Equity. A “couch” discussion with well-known, respected equity experts and scholars to discuss the equity plan highlighting themes such as equity as expertise, importance and evolution of language and concepts, explanation of meritocracy and critical race theory, and the opportunity and impact AMA has by centering equity as a strategy.
Moderator:
- Gail Christopher, DN, National Collaborative for Health Equity
Conversationalists:
- Mary J. Owen, MD—Director, Center of American Indian and Minority Health, assistant professor, Department of Family Medicine and BioBehavioral Health, University of Minnesota; president, American Association of Indian Physicians
- Clarence C. Gravlee, PhD—Associate professor, Department of Anthropology, University of Florida; author of “How Whiteness Works: JAMA and the Refusals of White Supremacy”
- Jennifer Tsai, MD, MEd—Emergency medicine physician, expert in the application of critical race theory to medical education and approaches to addressing race-based medicine
- Aletha Maybank, MD, MPH—Chief Health Equity Officer and AMA senior vice president
- James L. Madara, MD—CEO and executive vice president, American Medical Association
2:15-3 p.m.—Q & A for the townhall – Members of the HOD (delegates and alternates) are invited to speak at this time via Lumi. The panel will stay engaged to answer questions or respond to HOD statements.
3-3:15 p.m.—Break
3:15-4 p.m.—Zoom sessions to discuss strategic approaches of the strategic plan
- Session 1: Embed equity in practice, process, action, innovation and organizational performance and outcomes
- Lead: Kou Thao, MS, MA, director, embedding equity, AMA Center for Health Equity
- Session 2: Build alliances and share power via meaningful engagement & foster pathways for truth, reconciliation and healing
- Leads: Diana Derige, DrPH, vice president for health equity strategy, and Takeesha White, MSW, director of health equity strategic partnerships, AMA Center for Health Equity.
- Session 3: Ensure equity in innovation for marginalized and minoritized people and communities
- Lead: Chelsea Hanson, MBA, director for equity & innovation, AMA Center for Health Equity
- Session 4: Push upstream to address all determinants of health
- Lead: Karthik Sivashanker, MD, MPH, vice president for equitable health systems integration, AMA Center for Health Equity
- Session 5: Health equity research and data use
- Lead: Fernando De Maio, PhD, director, health equity data and research, AMA Center for Health Equity
Forum speakers
Heather McGhee, JD, author of "The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together"
A renowned expert in the American economy, Heather McGhee is one of the most brilliant and influential thinkers exploring inequality today. Her instant New York Times bestseller The Sum of Us reveals the devastating true cost of racism—not just for people of color, but for everyone.
Gail C. Christopher, DN, executive director, National Collaborative for Health Equity
Gail Christopher, DN, is an award winning social change agent with expertise in the social determinants of health and well-being and in related public policies. She is known for her pioneering work to infuse holistic health and diversity concepts into public sector programs and policy discourse.
Clarence C. Gravlee, PhD, associate professor, Department of Anthropology, University of Florida; author of “How Whiteness Works: JAMA and the Refusals of White Supremacy”
Dr. Gravlee's research aims to explain and address the health consequences of systemic racism, with a focus on hypertension in the African Diaspora. He takes a critical biocultural approach, drawing on theory and methods from the social and biological sciences.
Mary J. Owen, MD, president, Association of American Indian Physicians
Dr. Owen is a member of the Tlingit nation. She graduated from the University of Minnesota Medical School and North Memorial Family Practice Residency Program before returning home to work for her tribal community in Juneau, Alaska. Her work includes increasing the number of American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) students entering medical careers.
Jennifer Tsai, MD, MEd, emergency medicine physician
Dr. Tsai is an emergency medicine physician, writer, educator, and advocate in New Haven, Connecticut. She received a Masters of Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and her academic work centers on the intersection between race, medicine, inequity, and trauma-informed care.
Aletha Maybank, MD, MPH, senior vice president and Chief Health Equity Officer
Dr. Maybank, joined the AMA in April 2019. As the AMA’s chief health equity officer and senior vice president, Dr. Maybank is charged with embedding health equity in all the work of the AMA. Her work has included the launch of the AMA’s Health Equity Center and the AMA’s strategic plan to embed racial justice and advance health equity.
James L. Madara, MD, CEO and executive vice president, American Medical Association
Dr. Madara serves as the CEO and executive vice president of the American Medical Association, the nation’s largest physician organization. He holds the academic title of adjunct professor of pathology at Northwestern University. Since taking the reins of the AMA in 2011, Dr. Madara has helped sculpt the organization’s visionary long-term strategic plan.
