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Humankindness & Health Justice Distinguished Speaker Series
CommonSpirit Health Foundation is proud to host the Humankindness & Health Justice Distinguished Speaker Series, a convening of public events addressing health justice. Launched in 2022, the flagship series has been a combination of in-person and virtual events featuring celebrity ambassadors, policy advocates, medical experts, business leaders and everyday people, all shedding light on the principle that every person deserves social, economic and health equity.
Stay tune for future Humankindness & Health Distinguished Justice Speaker Series events.
More information on each topic will be coming soon!
Past events
October 19, 2022: Social Justice as a Form of Health Justice
Over the last several years, the COVID-19 global pandemic has helped illustrate to the nation that we are only as healthy as those who are most vulnerable among us. Disparities impacting a person’s health ultimately also impact the health of our larger society. Many of these disparities have deeply rooted causes that stem from unjust policies and programs across the country. This session in our Humankindness and Health Justice series will focus on social justice as a form of health justice, addressing these deeply rooted issues and beliefs that created downstream impacts on the health of our communities.
Join us for a conversation on ways to start identifying and ending challenges that foster disparities in our communities. The conversation will feature the Honorable Willie L. Brown, Jr. former California Assembly Speaker, Mayor of San Francisco, and long-time social justice advocate. Also joining in on the conversation is Dawn Porter, award-winning and Emmy nominated social justice documentarian. Moderating the discussion will be Janet Reilly, co-founder and board president of Clinic-by-the-Bay, a free, volunteer-powered health clinic for the working uninsured in San Francisco and San Mateo counties.
Overview | Podcast | Video
July 27, 2022: On Mental Health and Equity
COVID-19 illustrated to the nation the need to address disparities that exist in our communities, especially as they relate to mental health. These disparities are chronic, with intergenerational health impacts that also affect employment and create socioeconomic racial inequities. The direct result of all these inequities is that people of color die at a rate 3.6 times higher than that of the overall general population. Eliminating persistent disparities and stigma in mental health will require correcting the systemic barriers created over generations.
Join us for a conversation on ways to overcome these barriers at the intersection of mental health and equity with the Honorable Patrick J. Kennedy, former congressman from Rhode Island and one of the world’s leading voices on mental health and addiction, and Paul Rains, system senior vice president for behavioral health for CommonSpirit Health and president at St Joseph’s Behavioral Health Center in Stockton, California. Leading the discussion will be Janet Reilly, co-founder and board president of Clinic by the Bay, a free, volunteer-powered health clinic for the working uninsured in San Francisco and San Mateo Counties.
Overview | Podcast | Video
March 20, 2022: Creating a More Equitable World
To ensure justice and equity in health, advocates say the country needs to address community-specific disparities, dismantle systems, and end policies that drive poor health outcomes. One way to start this important justice work is to dramatically increase access to education and overall literacy. Efforts such as addressing the increasing economic fragmentation of education, divisions of income along racial lines, and providing pathways to financial literacy serve as a foundational element in the overall health justice work ahead. Failure to address this separation and fragmentation could make health justice for our nation an elusive goal.
To address this often-overlooked connection between financial literacy and health justice, The Commonwealth Club of California and CommonSpirit Health are pleased to bring together Mellody Hobson, a highly prominent financial executive who is president and co-CEO of Ariel Investments and chair of the board of directors of Starbucks Corporation, and Lloyd Dean, CommonSpirit Health CEO and a nationally recognized leader in health care and and recognized voice for health justice.
Overview | Podcast | Video