Watch 2022 Igniting Hope Conference keynotes

Igniting Hope highlights.

Pictured, at left: Keynote speaker Ruth Shim, MD, MPH, University of California, Davis; UB President Satish K. Tripathi; and Allison Brashear, MD, MBA, Vice President for Health Sciences and Dean, Jacobs School. Pictured, at right: George Nicholas, MDiv, Pastor, Lincoln Memorial United Methodist Church, Convener, African American Health Equity Task Force, and Chair, Buffalo Center for Health Equity.

Published November 10, 2022

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The fifth annual Igniting Hope Conference on August 13 brought together more than 250 people in-person and remotely to address health equity and the social determinants of health. In addition, the keynote speakers, community leaders, community members, University at Buffalo faculty, and trainees from multiple UB schools met in breakout groups to discuss social determinants of health. A theme of talks and discussions was acknowledging the trauma that continues to be felt in the aftermath of the May 14 shooting.

A recap of the conference, titled “Advocating in a New Reality: Breaking Barriers, Maintaining Resilience and Reconstructing a Community of Care,” is available from UBNow. In addition, watch videos of the keynote speakers at the links below:

  • “Dismantling Structural Racism: The Path to Achieving Mental Health Equity” — Ruth Shim, MD, MPH, Associate Dean of Diverse and Inclusive Education, Luke & Grace Kim Professor in Cultural Psychiatry and director of cultural psychiatry, University of California, Davis (Watch video here)
  • “Beyond Food Charity: How Black Churches Are Organizing for Health, Wealth & Power” — Rev. Dr. Heber Brown III, former pastor of Pleasant Hope Baptist Church in Baltimore, and founder of the Black Church Food Security Network (Watch video here)
  • “Where Do We Go From Here: Racism in the U.S. Since the Summer of 2020” — Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, PhD, Leon Forrest Professor of African American Studies, Northwestern University (Watch video here)

The lineup of speakers also included UB President Satish K. Tripathi; George Nicholas, MDiv, Pastor, Lincoln Memorial United Methodist Church, Convener, African American Health Equity Task Force, and Chair, Buffalo Center for Health Equity; Allison Brashear, MD, MBA, Vice President for Health Sciences and Dean, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences; Rita Hubbard-Robinson, JD, Chief Executive Officer, NeuWater & Associates, LLC, and Associate Director, UB Community Health Equity Research Institute; UB Clinical and Translational Science Institute Director Timothy F. Murphy, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor and Director, UB Community Health Equity Research Institute; and Henry-Louis Taylor, Jr., PhD, Professor of Urban and Regional Planning, Director, UB Center for Urban Studies, and Associate Director, UB Community Health Equity Research Institute.

Learn more about the conference in an August CTSI preview article.