Hosted By: Krystal Lee & J. Robin Moon

In Episode 4, we share a screening of a collection from the Video Interview Project, or VIP. The VIP was conceived, planned, executed, and lovingly edited by the phenomenal Mandy LaBreche, the Associate Director of Operations for IRL of 10 years AND an artist in residence!

At the 2024 October Leadership Meeting in Minneapolis, Mandy conducted more than 30 interviews with individual fellows and teams from Cohorts 6 and 7, as well as invited alumni. Each short conversation is a powerful reflection on their IRL journey and a glimpse into the more just and equitable worlds they are working to create. We heard about their journeys through the IRL program, how they approached their research, how they built their partnerships, and how their work is advancing health equity. This specific collection, Reimagining The Future, weaves together responses from a visioning question - Describe the world you want to see in the future. Grab your favorite snack, beverage, and a box of Kleenex and enjoy!

Hosted By: Krystal Lee & J. Robin Moon

Guests: Mandy LaBreche, Kristin Rosengren, and Caroline Yang

In Episode 3, we share the recording of the opening session of the IRL Annual Leadership Meeting held in September 2025, “Turning a Lens on IRL.” The session starts with the audiovisual presentation of what the National Program Center has documented on film as the IRL experience since the early days of the program. The images and videos capture more than official team photos and social events; they tell a story about who we are and what we’ve become together. Moderated by Kristin Rosengren, Chief Strategy Officer of AcademyHealth, this session reflects on that story through the eyes of our principal documentarians, photographer Caroline Yang and Associate Director of IRL Operations Mandy LaBreche. If the audiovisual presentation is superb, the conversation is a bigger treasure!

Take a listen (or view on YouTube Podcast!) to these extraordinary humans’ conversation about how they have witnessed through their creative lens - literally and figuratively - IRL evolving.

Mandy LaBreche is the Associate Director of Operations (and resident Hype Woman!!!) for the Interdisciplinary Research Leaders (IRL) program. She manages all the behind-the-scenes magic - operations, logistics, finances, and reporting - while also co-leading two of IRL’s creative storytelling projects: the IRL Podcast and the Video Interview Project. Her favorite role, though, is being IRL’s ultimate cheerleader, celebrating the brilliance of fellows and alumni every chance she gets. Outside of work, Mandy is powered by singing karaoke (badly), the WNBA, dressing her kids as Asian foods for Halloween, Mariah Carey, pickleball, and eating Phở.

Kristin Rosengren is Chief Strategy Officer at AcademyHealth, an IRL program partner that supports the national leadership team and program curricula by helping to build capacity for strategic communications planning and the translation of research findings into system change. A skilled communicator and nonprofit leader, Kristin draws on more than two decades in health care policy and communications to guide the development and execution of AcademyHealth’s strategic plan, build relationships with members, partners, and other stakeholders, and increase the public’s awareness and perceived value of health services research.

Caroline Yang is a Taiwanese American photographer based in Minnesota. She has been the IRL’s photographer in residence since 2018, capturing every meeting to date. Yang’s work examines issues of identity and culture through storytelling and portraiture, and strives to bring understanding and connection to our communities. Notable projects include documenting the Tour de France, the Saint Paul Ballet, the Twin Cities social justice movement, and, more recently, a project utilizing multiple exposures to convey the complexities of a given story. Yang’s work has been featured in publications such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, NPR, and ProPublica, and has been recognized by Communication Arts and American Photography. She loves spy movies and learned the moonwalk in 3rd grade to impress a boy.

Mentioned:

* IRL LinkedIn Page

* IRL Promising Practices Podcast Page

* Caroline Yang page

* Kristin Rosengren of AcademyHealth

Thoughts? Suggestions? Email us at [email protected]

You can find show notes, transcripts, and more episodes of “Promising Practices for Health Equity” at Promising Practices for Health Equity Podcast: Introduction - Interdisciplinary Research Leaders.

This episode of “Promising Practices for Health Equity” was produced by Studio Americana, and prepared by Cody Cotton, Mandy LaBreche, Krystal Lee, and J. Robin Moon of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Interdisciplinary Research Leaders Podcast Team.

Hosted By: Krystal Lee & J. Robin Moon

Guests: Luis Ortega (Storytellers for Change) and Ashley Ellis (The BREATHE Collective)

To kick off our Season 3, which is all about envisioning the future, we brought back Luis Ortega of Storytellers for Change (from Season 1, Episode 2), who has been IRL’s storytelling trainer and advisor for about a year and a half. He was joined by Ashley Ellis of The BREATHE Collective, who has been our Restorative Justice Coach for almost three years. The stories that will be shared in Season 3 are IRL fellows’ and alumni’s visions for the future, based on the community-engaged, community-centered research they have been doing - that they talked about in Season 2. So why do we bring these two important people onto this episode? Because they are the ones with whom our fundamental shift of mental model happened. Because Restorative Justice principles helped us create the bedrock - a space where everyone feels part of a community, where all our needs are met, where people and relationships are centered and prioritized - on which we told and shared our stories. Stories told over and over become narratives; narratives spread over time become mental models; and mental models become the foundation of the systems we create. So if we want to change or shift systems, storytelling has to be a part of the process.

Guests:

Luis Ortega (he/them) is a multidisciplinary storyteller, educator, facilitator, narrative strategist, and the founder and director at Storytellers for Change. Over the last 16 years, Luis has worked with youth, educators, and cross-sector leaders to harness the power of narrative to co-imagine, craft, and share stories to build an equitable world. His research and consulting work focuses on asset-based storytelling, racial equity, narrative change, healing, culturally responsive education, leadership, and organizational development. His work, writing, and projects have been featured at the Harvard DACA Seminar, HBO’s “Where Do You Exist?” podcast, the Kauffman Foundation’s Disruptor Speaker Series, the Seattle Design Festival, and The People’s Practice magazine. Luis is a W K. Kellogg Foundation’s Community Leadership Network Fellow, Co-Director of La Cima Bilingual Leadership Camp, and co-founder of the Expresión Storytelling Fellowship at the Latinx Education Collaborative. They also serve on the board of directors of School’s Out Washington. Luis has a BA in Political Science from the University of Washington and a Master’s in Education Leadership from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Luis was born and raised in Tenochtitlan (Mexico City) and now lives in the unceded and ancestral lands of the Duwamish and Coast Salish people (Seattle).

Ashley Ellis (Her/She) was born and raised on the West Side of Chicago, is the proud daughter of Lizzie and the late Bailey Ellis S. She is an Angel Mama, devoted Wife, TT, Sista Friend to many. Ashley is the Co-Founder and Visionary of The BREATHE Collective and leads BREATHE Circles LLC, where her work focuses on making restorative justice and peacemaking accessible to youth, schools, organizations, and communities across the nation. Ashley has over a decade of experience as a Restorative Justice Practitioner, Circle Keeper, Transformative Healing Facilitator, and Community Builder. Her soul work, expressed through BREATHE, centers on developing African and Indigenous restorative spaces through circles, particularly for Black women, girls, and gender-expansive youth. As a consultant and trainer, she has been instrumental in shaping New York City’s Restorative Justice movement, fostering cultural shifts in schools and organizations. Ashley is also the co-creator of the Who Keeps the Keeper Initiative, a space dedicated to supporting frontline community and justice practitioners, grounded in healing justice and community care. She is currently pursuing her PhD in Community, Liberation, Indigenous, and Eco-Psychology at Pacifica Graduate Institute, further expanding her understanding of healing justice and community transformation.

Mentioned:

* IRL LinkedIn Page

* IRL Promising Practices Podcast Page

* Storytellers for Change, Luis Ortega

* The BREATHE Collective, Ashley Ellis

* Four Pivots, Shawn Ginwright

* Emergent Strategy, adrienne maree brown

* Presencing institute

* Bayo Akomolafe

Thoughts? Suggestions? Email us at [email protected]

You can find show notes, transcripts, and more episodes of “Promising Practices for Health Equity” at Promising Practices for Health Equity Podcast: Introduction - Interdisciplinary Research Leaders.

This episode of “Promising Practices for Health Equity” was produced by Studio Americana, and prepared by Cody Cotton, Mandy LaBreche, Krystal Lee, and J. Robin Moon of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Interdisciplinary Research Leaders Podcast Team.

Hosted By: Krystal Lee, J. Robin Moon, Mandy LaBreche & Cody Cotton

Welcome to Season 3! This prologue was recorded on September 27, the day after the two-day IRL Leadership Convening with 100+ fellows, alums, and partners to mark the last annual gathering of this ten-year endeavor. Two years ago, we co-created the October meeting for C6 and C7, as a retreat - to be together with our beloved community, to rest, replenish, restore, and restart. Last year, the meeting’s goal was to co-facilitate a space for us to celebrate the future of our beloved community. This included spending time honoring the journey, reflecting on our collective and individual experiences, and co-creating aspirational visions for the future. This meeting, in its format, process, and outcomes, is a dissemination product itself, culminating our 10 years of collective work. All the sessions in recordings and more, we share with our audience in this podcast. Through the episodes, we’ll travel together back in time and into the future.

Hosted By: Krystal Lee and J. Robin Moon

Krystal and Robin share their deep reflection as we wrap up Season 2 of the Promising Practices in Health Equity. This podcast is one of the RWJF IRL National Program Center’s main dissemination products that culminates its 10 years of experience. In Season 2, the “main entree” of the podcast series, we have featured various experiences and testimonies of our diverse fellows and alums. It is meant to acknowledge unheard voices and amplify them, understand the importance of process-centered community-engaged research, and redefine what we mean by impact.

Mentioned:

* IRL LinkedIn Page

* IRL Promising Practices Podcast Page

* Storytellers for Change, Luis Ortega

* Four Pivots, Shawn Ginwright

* Practical Radicals, Deepak Bhargava, Stephanie Luce

* Emergent Strategy, adrienne maree brown

* Critical Yeast Theory

Thoughts? Suggestions? Email us at [email protected]

You can find show notes, transcripts, and more episodes of “Promising Practices for Health Equity” at Promising Practices for Health Equity Podcast: Introduction - Interdisciplinary Research Leaders.

This episode of “Promising Practices for Health Equity” was produced by Studio Americana, and prepared by Cody Cotton, Mandy LaBreche, Krystal Lee, and J. Robin Moon of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Interdisciplinary Research Leaders Podcast Team.

Hosted By: Krystal Lee, J. Robin Moon

In our final episode of Season 2 we talk with Briana Woods-Jaeger of Team Kansas City of Cohort 2, and two of her current partners, Derrick Townsend and Dawn Townsend of Hopeful Change, LLC. Briana’s IRL project was called “Building Social Environments that Promote Resilience among Youth Exposed to Violence”. Since then, she has continued with her work in Kansas City as well as in a new city, Atlanta, with local partners at Hopeful Change, LLC.

You will hear about how the essence of their work recognizes that the fundamental problem lies in the system and not individuals, centers the community and their own voices, prioritizes restorative justice frameworks in providing mental health resources and supports, and acknowledges intersections between community violence and racism. Their promising practices are nurturing relationships that last past grant cycles, investing in creativity and storytelling, and shifting silos to solidarity.

Guests:

Dr. Briana Woods-Jaeger is an Associate Professor and Vice Chair in the Department of Behavioral, Social, and Health Education Sciences at Emory University and a Licensed Clinical Psychologist. Dr. Woods-Jaeger’s research focuses on partnering with communities to identify programs and policies to prevent adverse childhood experiences, support different systems in understanding and responding to the needs of trauma-exposed youth and families, and improve access to culturally responsive, evidence-based psychological interventions for youth and families exposed to trauma and chronic stress. Dr. Woods-Jaeger founded and directs the THRIVE Lab, which is dedicated to community-centered, participatory research and action that promotes healing and resilience among youth, families, and communities experiencing trauma and chronic stress. She is currently leading initiatives focused on utilizing a participatory arts approach to promote mental health among youth, families, and communities, and recently launched a podcast called Creative Resilience.

Derrick Townsend is the CEO of Hopeful Change, LLC and the Founder of The Hopeful Change Project, Inc., organizations dedicated to supporting youth and families impacted by trauma and violence. Derrick possesses a rare combination of passion, vision, and leadership skills that make him an asset to the Metro Atlanta and National violence prevention ecosystem. He is a bridge builder with a deep understanding of the root causes of violence that is consistently demonstrated in the innovative strategies and impactful interventions his organizations implement. Under his guidance, Hopeful Change has become an invaluable resource for the community, providing essential services and support to those who need it most. Derrick has over 20 years of experience working with inner-city, at-risk youth via community outreach, development, and programming. Derrick felt compelled to develop a strong, effective, reliable mentoring and mental health program to assist and address the socioemotional and socioeconomic disparities of inner-city youth.

Dawn Townsend, MS, LPC, NCC, TF-CBT, is the COO of Hopeful Change, LLC and the Founder of The Hopeful Change Project, Inc. Dawn earned her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Spelman College, graduating summa cum laude and in the top 10 of her class, and received her Master of Science in Community Counseling from Mercer University. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor in the state of Georgia and a National Certified Counselor with a career spanning over 18 years, working to uplift the voices and experiences of young people who have endured trauma by implementing high-quality interventions that promote healing and resilience. Passionate about systemic change that enhances community health, wellness, and equity, Dawn has poured her experience and expertise into Hopeful Change, providing innovative, trauma-informed, community-centered interventions that foster hope and create change.

Mentioned:

* IRL LinkedIn Page

* IRL Promising Practices Podcast Page

* Team Kansas City, Missouri Page

Resources:

* Social Media Handles: @drbrianawj @thriveresearchlab @thehope2change

* Briana’s websites:

https://www.thriveresearchlab.com/

* ;

https://www.drwoodsjaeger.com/

* ;

* Hopeful Change website:

https://www.hope2change.com/

* Video about Briana’s IRL Project:

* Open Access Articles from or related to the IRL Project:

* Building a Contextually-Relevant Understanding of Resilience among African American Youth Exposed to Community Violence

* Health Affairs: Mitigating Negative Consequences Of Community Violence Exposure: Perspectives From African American Youth

* Youth Empowered Advocating for Health (YEAH): Facilitating Partnerships Between Prevention Scientists and Black Youth to Promote Health Equity

* Report Highlighting Hopeful Change: https://www.iaannualreport.com/youth-initiatives

Thoughts? Suggestions? Email us at [email protected]

You can find show notes, transcripts, and more episodes of “Promising Practices for Health Equity” at Promising Practices for Health Equity Podcast: Introduction - Interdisciplinary Research Leaders.

This episode of “Promising Practices for Health Equity” was produced by Studio Americana, and prepared by Cody Cotton, Mandy LaBreche, Krystal Lee, and J. Robin Moon of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Interdisciplinary Research Leaders Podcast Team.

Hosted By: Krystal Lee and J. Robin Moon

Guests: Ndidi Amutah-Onukagha and Christina Gebel

This week, we travel to Massachusetts to talk with Ndidi Amutah-Onukagha and Christina Gebel of Team Massachusetts of Cohort 5. Their project was called “Promoting Maternal Health Equity through Collaborative Community Partnerships: Teaming doulas, providers and families to create birth equity,” from 2020 through 2023, under the IRL theme of “family and child health.” Our conversation with them went very quickly from the mere project talk into a deep spiritual awakening, existential exploration, and what it means to be called to the sacred vocation of birth equity. Not to mention that the episode explodes with passion and fireworks!

Our Season 2 is coming to an end soon! If you are new to our podcast, kindly consider starting with our Season 1, especially the prologue (Episode 1) and epilogue (Episode 8) to hear more about why we are creating it, who this is for, and what the three seasons are about. We also define some terms that we use and lay out what assumptions we make in framing our dialogues.

Guests:

Dr. Ndidiamaka Amutah-Onukagha is the Julia A. Okoro Professor of Black Maternal Health in the Department of Public Health and Community Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine. Dr. Amutah-Onukagha is the Founder and Director of the Center of Black Maternal Health and Reproductive Justice (CBMHRJ), and of the Maternal Outcomes of Translational Health Equity Research (MOTHER) Lab. In addition, she is the founder of the largest conference on Black maternal health in the United States, held annually during Black maternal health week. Dr. Amutah-Onukagha’s research investigates maternal health disparities, infant mortality, reproductive health and social justice, and HIV/AIDS as experienced by Black women.

Christina Gebel is a doula, researcher, writer, cat mom, and co-founder of Accompany Doula Care in Massachusetts. Christina received her MPH from Boston University in 2014. Since then, she has worked in several maternal and child health roles and served on numerous local, state, and national initiatives focusing on expanding access to community doula care and integrating doulas into the maternity care team. A birth doula for 14 years and counting, she has assisted hundreds of families and co-authored numerous peer-reviewed studies on doula care and equitable maternal health outcomes. She is based in Durham, NC.

Mentioned:

* IRL LinkedIn Page

* IRL Promising Practices Podcast Page

* Team Massachusetts IRL Page

Resources:

* Ndidi’s home page:

https://www.ndidiamutahphd.com/

* Christina’s home page: https://www.accompanydoulacare.com/our-team

* Scott Galloway Clock Model:

* Nimisha Patel, The New Guard LLC

* Center of Black Maternal Health and Reproductive Justice (CBMHRJ):

https://blackmaternalhealth.tufts.edu/

* NYT Feature Article on CBMHRJ: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/23/nyregion/doulas-childbirth-medicaid.html?unlocked_article_code=1.5k8.EA7I.FqI9C_IZXHsX&smid=url-share

* Forbes Article: https://www.forbes.com/sites/evaepker/2025/04/30/to-improve-black-maternal-health-look-to-an-untapped-resource-fathers/

Thoughts? Suggestions? Email us at [email protected]

You can find show notes, transcripts, and more episodes of “Promising Practices for Health Equity” at Promising Practices for Health Equity Podcast: Introduction - Interdisciplinary Research Leaders.

This episode of “Promising Practices for Health Equity” was produced by Studio Americana, and prepared by Cody Cotton, Mandy LaBreche, Krystal Lee, and J. Robin Moon of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Interdisciplinary Research Leaders Podcast Team.

Hosted By: Krystal Lee and J. Robin Moon

Guests: KaToya Sumner, Maureen Sanchez, Linda Animashaun, and Erin Bradley

This week, we meet with KaToya Sumner, Maureen Sanchez, Linda Animashaun, and Erin Bradley, of Team ATL Grove Park. They are just finishing up their project entitled “Creating Margin for the Marginalized: Evaluation A Multilevel Strategy to Address Effects of Systemic Racism in Housing on Health” as part of the final Cohort 7, ending in 2025. This is one of the few episodes where we bring a community partner to our fellows’ teams - KaToya - so she can speak for herself and on behalf of her own community. It is a dynamite team that speaks their minds like it is! Take a listen to a powerful, brutally honest, norm-defying, courageous conversation with the awe-inspiring women leaders. (Hint: YES, it does take both researcher leader and community leader to create change!)

Guests:

Maureen Sanchez has over a decade of experience in community development and outreach, living and working in Atlanta’s Historic Westside since 2010 and currently serving as Executive Director at Grove Park Renewal. She holds a Master’s in Development Practice from Emory University, with a concentration in program planning, organizational management, and monitoring and evaluation. Her background spans health and wellness, faith, childcare, drug rehabilitation, and poverty alleviation, strengthened by travel to 18 countries. With both qualitative and quantitative research experience, she has contributed through neuroscience research, focus groups, and nonprofit communications. A certified mental health counselor, change management, and health coach, Maureen is a lifelong learner eager to hear people’s stories.

KaToya Sumner is a versatile integrated content and wellness specialist with expertise in social media, digital marketing, client success, and brand partnerships who is passionate about building communities, driving engagement, and creating impactful experiences across wellness, real estate, and digital platforms. As a fitness professional and educator, KaToya has led high-energy wellness programs, instructed educational content for 30,000+ fitness professionals worldwide, and partnered with brands like Lululemon and the Atlanta Beltline Project to expand reach and accessibility. Featured on CNN for fitness and mental health expertise, she is committed to creating inclusive, results-driven experiences that inspire and empower.

Dr. Linda Animashaun is the founder and CEO of Amammere Consulting, an equity-focused evaluation firm that advances public health through community-rooted insights and action. She has over 15 years of experience in health equity research and evaluation, working with federal agencies, nonprofits, foundations, and community-based organizations. Her work centers on factors related to chronic disease, and she specializes in designing and implementing evaluations that reveal the stories behind the data, empowering organizations to understand, strengthen, and sustain the impact of their work. Dr. Animashaun holds a BA from Columbia University, an MPH from Emory University, and a DrPH from Georgia Southern University.

Dr. Erin Bradley is a public health researcher and Linda Lentz Hubert Associate Professor of Public Health at Agnes Scott College. Dr. Bradley is a behavioral scientist trained in intervention and epidemiologic research. She earned a BA in Psychology from Spelman College and an MPH and PhD in Behavioral Sciences and Health Education from Emory University and gained nearly 15 years of experience in NIH randomized trials and CDC-funded research before becoming a professor. Emphasizing community-engaged methods to enhance rigor, she aims to develop contextualized, multilevel solutions to address factors that prevent people and populations from experiencing their optimal health.

Mentioned:

* IRL LinkedIn Page

* IRL Promising Practices Podcast Page

* Team ATL Grove Park IRL Page

Resources:

* Do No Harm Guide: Crafting Equitable Data Narratives

* Erin Bradley’s Work: Urban Institute, Do Not Harm Guide: Crafting Equitable Data Narratives. Chapter 7: Modernizing Data Collection to Improve Rigor in Research Involving Human Participants

Thoughts? Suggestions? Email us at [email protected]

You can find show notes, transcripts, and more episodes of “Promising Practices for Health Equity” at Promising Practices for Health Equity Podcast: Introduction - Interdisciplinary Research Leaders.

This episode of “Promising Practices for Health Equity” was produced by Studio Americana, and prepared by Cody Cotton, Mandy LaBreche, Krystal Lee, and J. Robin Moon of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Interdisciplinary Research Leaders Podcast Team.

Hosted By: Krystal Lee and J. Robin Moon

Guests: Bruce Reilly and Ashley Wennerstrom

This week, we meet with a power trio: Bruce Reilly and Ashley Wennerstrom of Team Louisiana of Cohort 4. Their project, “Examining the effects of carceral exposure on health services use: Implications for policy and service coordination,” was carried out by their 3-person team, including Andrea Armstrong, 2019-2022. An unlikely match on paper - personal incarceration experience, and AmeriCorps and Habitat for Humanity, respectively - they share valiant, creative, and passionate stories of navigating through complex spaces to achieve healthcare access for prison and jail populations in Louisiana. We are so humbled and inspired by their humanity and call for prioritizing deep human relationships.

Guests:

Bruce Reilly (Tulane Law ‘14) is Deputy Director of both Voice of the Experienced (VOTE), and Voters Organized to Educate. He is a writer, policy expert, and founding member of the Formerly Incarcerated, Convicted People and Families Movement (FICPFM). He has served on multiple boards, task forces, and IRBs and hosts a podcast, “From Chains to Change.” His work has been central to numerous criminal justice reforms, anti-discrimination campaigns, and progressive electoral outcomes. Bruce’s career before law school (artist, lighting designer, DJ, and theatre director) served him well in current roles as A/V director for the Krewe da Bhan Gras, and dancer with the NBA New Orleans Pelicans’ “Early Birds.”

Ashley Wennerstrom, PhD, MPH, is an Associate Professor at LSU Health–New Orleans. She is an advocate for equitable community participation in research and evaluation and has longstanding community partnerships focused on improving post-incarceration health and community health worker (CHW) leadership development. Ashley is a co-founder of two CHW professional associations, the Louisiana Community Health Outreach Network and the National Association of CHWs. She is a proud New Orleanian and a lover of live music, Mardi Gras, travel, baking, plants, and dogs.

Mentioned:

* IRL LinkedIn Page

* IRL Promising Practices Podcast Page

* Team Louisiana IRL Page

* www.VoiceoftheExperienced.org

* www.VotersOrganized.org

* www.FromChainstoChange.org

* IRL Team Louisiana Reports - can be downloaded here

* “Adequacy of Health Care Provided in Louisiana State Prisons” (2021 HCR 91) and

* “Louisiana COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force” (May 2020) (Subject Matter Experts: Armstrong & Wennerstrom)

* Blog and letter to the Governor re VOTE’s four demands regarding COVID in prisons

* HCR 91 presentation at the Louisiana Legislature (begins at 30 min mark) (Armstrong, Reilly & Wennerstrom)

* COVID Transmission in Jails and Prisons (animated video)

Publications:

* Promoting Health Equity and Criminal Justice Reform: The Louisiana Experience | AJPH | Vol. 110 Issue S1

* Health services use among formerly incarcerated Louisiana Medicaid members within one year of release | PLOS One

* Research - Caring for the Incarcerated Patient: Provider Perceptions of Quality of Care in the State of Louisiana

* Legislative report: Adequacy of Healthcare Provided in Louisiana State Prisons

* Mixed Methods Evaluation of Louisiana’s Pre-Release Medicaid Enrollment Program

Thoughts? Suggestions? Email us at [email protected]

You can find show notes, transcripts, and more episodes of “Promising Practices for Health Equity” at Promising Practices for Health Equity Podcast: Introduction - Interdisciplinary Research Leaders.

This episode of “Promising Practices for Health Equity” was produced by Studio Americana, and prepared by Cody Cotton, Mandy LaBreche, Krystal Lee, and J. Robin Moon of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Interdisciplinary Research Leaders Podcast Team.

This week, we meet with a power trio: Robin Wright-Jones, Darrell Hudson, and Reggie Tucker-Seeley of Team St. Louis. They are just finishing up their project entitled “Prostate cancer patient, healthcare provider, and healthcare system perspectives on equity in the cancer care delivery system in St. Louis” as part of the final Cohort 7, ending in 2025. A unique combination of folks from varied backgrounds, yet who invested the necessary time to create a tight team. Take a listen to this team navigating in a city that used to be politically Democratic and in a vibrant swing state, but was turned into Republican by “gays, guns, and abortions,” and how they have been working to translate the clinical science into the language of the community and a practical, evidence-based foundation for policy change.

Guests:

Robin Wright-Jones is a former Missouri State Senator and is a native St. Louisan and a product of the St. Louis Public Schools and the University of Missouri-St. Louis. During her lifetime, she has been an elementary school teacher, a public housing administrator, a private sector government affairs executive, and she served the City of St. Louis in the Missouri State legislature for twelve years. She retired from the Missouri General Assembly in 2012. She owns an independent real estate brokerage, Arjen One, LLC. For the past eleven years, she has served as the Executive Director of The Empowerment Network, Inc. in St. Louis, MO, a non-profit dedicated to prostate cancer awareness, testing, and research.

Darrell Hudson, PhD, MPH, is the James S. Jackson Collegiate Professor and Chair of the Department of Health Behavior and Health Equity at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. Before his appointment at Michigan, he was Professor of Public Health at the Brown School and Director for the Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity, and Equity at Washington University in St. Louis. Dr. Hudson’s career is dedicated to the elimination of racial/ethnic inequities in health. His research agenda centers on how social determinants of health affect multiple health outcomes. Dr. Hudson is also striving to develop researchers and professionals who are committed to achieving health equity.

Reginald Tucker-Seeley, ScD, FASCO is the Principal/Owner of Health Equity Strategies and Solutions, a consulting firm that engages in public health and healthcare delivery research, advises organizations, departments, and committees/coalitions, and develops tools/resources for health/healthcare leaders focused on three topic areas: 1) social determinants of health; 2) defining, measuring, and intervening on health disparities; and 3) health equity strategy development, implementation, and evaluation. Dr. Tucker-Seeley completed master’s and doctoral degrees in public health at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (HSPH) and a postdoctoral fellowship in cancer prevention and control at HSPH and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI).

Mentioned:

* IRL LinkedIn Page

* IRL Promising Practices Podcast Page

* Team St. Louis IRL Page

* Taira, B.R., Yadav, K., Perez, Y., Aleman, A., Steinberg, L., Tchakalian, G. and Tucker-Seeley, R., 2023. A formative evaluation of social care integration across a safety-net health system. NEJM Catalyst Innovations in Care Delivery, 4(4), pp.CAT-22.

* Wallington, S.F., Bennett, K., Ford, M.E., Moultrie, L., Slan, M. and Tucker-Seeley, R.D., 2025. Exploring the Vision of an Equitable Prostate Cancer Care Delivery System: Perspectives of Black Men in Charleston, South Carolina. American Journal of Men’s Health, 19(3), p.15579883251336798.

* The Rhode Island Commission of Health Advocacy and Equity: Developing a Report on Health Disparities, Part A

Thoughts? Suggestions? Email us at [email protected]

You can find show notes, transcripts, and more episodes of “Promising Practices for Health Equity” at Promising Practices for Health Equity Podcast: Introduction - Interdisciplinary Research Leaders.

This episode of “Promising Practices for Health Equity” was produced by Studio Americana, and prepared by Cody Cotton, Mandy LaBreche, Krystal Lee, and J. Robin Moon of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Interdisciplinary Research Leaders Podcast Team.