Episodes
-
The Reverend Doctor Ayo Jordan, a native of Washington, DC, was raised and educated in Virginia. Her spiritual relationship began when she accepted the Lord as her Savior at an early age and was baptized at Hungary Road Baptist Church in Glen Allen, Virginia. Dr. Ayo received and acknowledged the consecrated opportunity to be used by God and was licensed to preach the Gospel in 2005. Dr. Ayo accredits her ministerial introductions to her initial sermon which was a eulogy for her uncle and politician at the South African Consulate in Chicago, Illinois. That moment was the trajectory of Ayoâs call to congregational ministry and community leadership.
Embracing but not negating her Pentecostal roots, Ayo joined the Baptist church for spiritual growth, formation and educational experience in 2008. It was at the historic Gravel Hill Baptist Church, where Dr. Ayo became the youngest and 2nd ordained female minister in its history. In 2016, Dr. Ayo became the Associate Pastor of Congregational Care. An advocate for women, youth and young adults, Dr. Ayo is a popular preacher with a powerful voice and agent of change for the Body of Christ.
Educated in the Henrico County School system and committed to education, Dr. Ayo attended the University of Maryland Eastern Shore; where she was an honor student. She earned a Master of Divinity degree from the Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University; a Masters in Science Degree in Patient Counseling from Virginia Commonwealth University and the Doctor of Ministry Degree at United Theological Seminary where her doctoral cohort and focus group was 21st Century Congregational Development & New Faith Communities.
Dr. Ayo has served in a bi-vocational role along with her ministerial duties. She has a demonstrated history of working in multi-faceted roles in diverse populations of the community; including funeral homes, cemeteries, hospitals, churches, assisted living communities, hospice and crisis-stabilization facilities. Her love for the underserved, grieving and brokenhearted makes her no stranger to the Death-Care Industry with over 18 yearsâ experience. Dr. Ayo is a Virginia Licensed Cemeterian, committed to providing excellent care to families while assisting with cemetery arrangements both Pre-Need and At-Need. Because of her rich skillset and professional relationships, Dr. Ayo is a sought-after consultant, working at several historic funeral homes and managing cemeteries in both the Richmond and Tidewater areas. Dr. Ayo is the CEO of Life Vault & Memorials, a company where she provides quality memorial options and services for both traditional and cremation. Further, she is a trained chaplain experienced in Patient Counseling and Pastoral Care. Currently, she is employed with an Organ Procurement Organization in their Transplant Services Division advocating for organ, tissue and eye donation; as well as a Spiritual Support Coordinator for Children of the Kings Daughters in Norfolk VA.
Dr. Ayo is active in her community, receiving many honors and recognitions in her lifetime. Dr. Ayo is honored to be a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated and a faithful sister in the Order of the Eastern Star. She is humbled by her spiritual gift of âhumorâ and the prophetic mandate for ministry that God has placed on her life which is a divine call and passion for the healing of the broken-spirited. She is passionate about her purpose, which is to laugh, love, lead and labor and is unashamed to use her life as a teaching lesson to encourage, educate and empower to those she encounters.
-
Obadiah Galley, Ph.D. is a dedicated mental health counselor, coach, educator, and health and wellness advocate with a passion for supporting individuals in achieving holistic well-being. He integrates therapeutic techniques with coaching strategies to empower his clients to navigate life's challenges effectively.
Alongside his counseling practice, Dr. G is actively involved in education, conducting workshops and seminars on mental health awareness and self-care. He is a vocal advocate for promoting health and wellness initiatives within communities, aiming to foster a culture of resilience and positivity. He holds a deep commitment to helping others thrive mentally, emotionally, and physically, believing in the transformative power of compassionate support and personal growth.
-
Episodes manquant?
-
Join Dr. Pernessa Seele, Founder/CEO of The Balm In Gilead, as she touches on a range of issues impacting the health of Black communities.
-
Marvell L. Terry II (he, him, his) is a powerhouse educator, grassroots activist, and cultural organizer from Memphis, Tennessee. HIV advocacy and cultural organizing are personal for him; It was the moment he received a positive diagnosis of HIV that jump-started his more than decade-long career that has had a local, state, and national impact.
Marvell was passionate about improving the health outcomes of Black gay and queer men in Memphis, thatâs why he started his advocacy work by co-leading an HIV ministry at Christ Missionary Baptist Church, being an HIV tester and EIS at Christ Community Health Services, and volunteering on community task forces. Not long after, he answered a higher call to leadership by founding his own organization: The Red Door Foundation (2010). Marvell was recognized as the only Black gay man living with HIV to found and lead an organization for HIV awareness and engagement at the time in Shelby County. Doubling down on his commitment to community, he started the Saving Ourselves Symposium (2013), a one-of-a-kind conference in the South for the Black LGBTQ community to address health, wellness, and social injustices.
One of Marvellâs biggest thrills was expanding his impact to a national scale by joining the Young Black Gay Menâs Advocacy Coalition Policy and Advocacy Summit as co-chair of the Organizing Committee (2014); the Human Rights Campaign Foundation (HRCF) as an HIV Fellow (2015) and AIDS United as a Senior Program Manager of the Southern HIV Impact Fund (2018). He is known as a people-minded strategist: He established a leadership pipeline in the HIV movement by co-creating the HIV 360 Fellowship Program at the HRCF and improved grantmaking efforts and philanthropic funding sources within AIDS United to support organizations in the South working at the intersection of HIV and social justice.
Marvell is a former board member for Hope House (Memphis, 2022-2023), an advisory board member for Wake Forest University School of Divinity, and a founding member for the HIV Racial Justice Network. In September 2023, Marvell was sworn in as a member of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS during the 78th Full Council meeting.
His published written works on HIV research and injustices can be found in the Journal of Health and Disparities Research and Practice, Rhetoric of Health and Medicine, TheBody.Com, and more. Marvellâs work unapologetically centers the lives, the culture and the resilience of Black folks. When Marvell isnât on the ground engaged in HIV advocacy and education, heâs experiencing joy: grooving to the sounds of Fantasia, J.Cole, 6LACK, and JeRonelle or enjoying buttermilk pancakes with crispy edgesat any time of the day.
-
In observance of Alzheimer's and Brain Awareness month, Dr. P and Kellee Bacote discuss the impact of cognitive illness in African American communities. Ms. Bacote is the Lead Community Outreach & Recruitment Project Manager at the Cleveland Clinicâs Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, Cleveland Alzheimer's Disease Research Center.
-
Julius Turner is an Audio & Recording Engineer, Sound Designer and Music Producer based in Richmond, VA. He is the Founder of TWOTL Music Productions.
-
In observance of Memory Sunday on June 9th, which draws attention to the impact of Alzheimer's in our communities, Dr. P talks with Denisha DeLane.
Ms. DeLane has 20+ years of community engagement experience on a variety of social justice, health advocacy and social service initiatives. She is a serial entrepreneur and creative who enjoy mediums that support educating underserved communities and addressing socio economic conditions. Denisha is the Founder of Faith in the Bay â the leading faith-based website, connecting Northern California on news, worship events, gospel concerts and family friendly entertainment. She recently served as the Faith Community Outreach Director for Barbara Leeâs Senatorial campaign. -
Salathiel DeLoach is the President and CEO of the DeLoach Lupus Foundation Savannah, GA Inc.
She obtained her bachelorâs degree in business and is currently a member of leadership in the capacity of a Human Resources manager. She enjoys the ability to change the stigma that most people have about those that work in this role. She believes itâs important to remember the basics of the title âHuman Resourceâ. We are all humans and with this accepted assignment, we are tasked with being a resource to those we serve. As the CEO of this charity, she embodies this same mindset, enjoys serving others and she has a heart for the people. -
In recognition of HIV Vaccine Awareness Day on May 18th, Dr. P and Louis Shackelford discuss the search for an HIV vaccine.
Louis Shackelford is the Director of External Relations in the HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN) Leadership and Operations Center at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, WA.
As External Relations Project Manager, Louisâ primary focus is implementing stakeholder engagement strategies in HIV vaccine clinical trials domestically and globally. -
Lady Takeisha Brown serves as the Assistant Pastor of Ablaze Church in Richmond, VA with her husband, Bishop Marvin Brown, Sr.
She is a Marriage and Family Counselor with over 17 years of Pastoral Counseling serving individuals and couples seeking pre-marital counseling, relationship counseling, and marriage counseling. These services are offered to assist those seeking pastoral assistance find the peace and fulfillment desired in their relationship.Her passion to counsel people into their lifeâs fulfillment found its way into her professional career as a Human Resources Professional. In 2012 she began serving as a Career Counselor to both students and seasoned professionals, meeting with dozens of adults weekly to assist them in developing a plan and reaching optimal success in their careers.
-
In observance of Mental Health Month, Dr. P is joined by Dr. Pervis Taylor III for an in-depth discussion of Black men's mental health concerns. He and Dr. P discuss real-time challenges and solutions for Black men and the women who love them.
Dr. Taylor, an award-winning celebrity life coach, holds a master's degree in psychology from Columbia University. He is the author of the best-selling "Pervis Principals 1 & 2," "Surthrival Mode," and "Healing Forward." Dr. Taylor states that his purpose in life is "to help men maximize their potential, master their emotions, and thrive in the lives of their dreams." -
In observance of Stress Awareness Month, Dr. P. sits down with Cary Goodman, founder of Black Men's Wholeness, an initiative to heal the impact of stress on Black men's lives.
Cary L. Goodman, a native of Richmond, VA, has a sincere passion to empower faith communities to operate at their fullest capacity in areas of health promotion, advocacy programs, outreach and development. For over 16 years, he has been dedicated to establishing and expanding health programs across the United States by building the capacity to address health disparities that greatly impact congregations and the communities they serve by strategically leveraging faith-based and community partnership to impact sustainability.Currently, Cary is a Program & Strategic Development Consultant for The Balm In Gilead, Inc. where he works diligently at the intersection of faith and public health nationally to address the burden of various diseases the impact African American communities. A highly skilled strategist and national speaker adept at leading relationship building and engagement opportunities, he has forged various faith based and public health community partnerships and coalitions. With a sincere passion to empower black men, Cary founded Black Menâs Wholeness, an initiative designed to engage black men in conversations focused on areas that reassures wholeness such as trauma, emotional and mental health, and fatherlessness.
An ordained minister, Cary deems himself a âconnectorâ where he focuses on the significance of outreach and engagement, establishing coalitions, collaborating, and relationship building in order to increase accessibility and sustainability to strengthen congregations and communities.
-
Natasha Aldridge is a Perinatal Health Justice Equity Advocate and Family Support Professional with a mission to ensure that every pregnant, postpartum, and birth family has access to and receives safe, equitable, high-quality care.
Ms. Aldridge has served over 70 families with Full Spectrum Community Doula Support and assisted over 400 women with holistic wrap-around services, within the last four years. She brings a broad array of expertise. Starting her business Natural Queen Essentials with being an ambassador and guidance coach for Endometriosis, she then began assisting clients with preconception wellness which then led her to becoming a Doula.
After becoming a Full SpectrumDoula, she began to collaborate with local collectives, non-profits and volunteering in the local jail. In the jail she found her passion with assisting with weekly peer support, prenatal yoga, and justice births and separation visits along with the facilitation of justice involved lactation. Becoming a prison doula, led her to maternal mental health, trauma informed training, and lactation support.
With a background of Business Administration/ Management and Criminology she also brings being a Certified Virginia State Doula, ChildBirth Educator, Certified Maternal Mental Health SupportSpecialist, National Advanced Prison Doula, Facilitation of Doula Trauma Training CertifiedLactation Support, Surgical Birth and VBAC Birth Support, Nursing Assistant and Medical Billing andCoding, Fertility/Abortion Doula Certification Menstrual Equity Facilitation.
Within the last few months she has assisted with the on-boarding of 100 Doulas, received the Catalyst of Change Yearly Award and became a member of Mom Congress, and collaboration with community service agencies to establish national and state, cultural interventions through outreach specifically working in the states of Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Texas in hospitals, homes and birthin gcenters to advance best practices and improve outcomes in maternal and infant health through policy. As Natasha navigates this journey, she leads an array of mentorship and team building within the Perinatal Community. -
Phil Gee was first diagnosed with Parkinsonâs Disease (PD) in 2015, one year after retiring from a very successful thirty-three-year career holding a number of engineering, manufacturing and supply chain senior level positions.
Since his PD diagnosis, Phil and his wife, Julia (who first met in the 1st grade & have been married for 36 years), have become active advocates for others living with PD and their care partners. In 2017, they moved from metro Atlanta to Hilton Head, and immediately joined the local Rock Steady Boxing program, an intensive boxing/exercise program that has proven to slow the progression of Parkinsonâs Disease, which is incurable.
They began to look throughout the South Carolina Lowcountry and didnât really see other Black people who said that they had PD. That started their journey to become PD advocates, helping others with PD and their care partners to learn more about PD and how to live a better life with the disease.
Phil has served four years on the Parkinsonâs Foundation People with Parkinsonâs Advisory Council. Julia is currently on the Advisory Board for the Foundationâs Carolina Chapter, and chairs their local PD Support & PD Care Partner Support groups. Together they have participated as panelists and speakers in a number of PD symposiums, co-chaired multiple Parkinsonâs Foundation Moving Day Fundraisers, and participated in several pharmaceutical focus groups/patient panels.
Today, they are active with the Special Interest Group â Black Diaspora steering committee working to drive development of solutions to mitigate health disparities in the Black Community with a focus on issues of the Black PD Community.
Evelyn Stevens, MPH, is the Senior Director of Community Engagement at the Parkinson's Foundation since September 2022. Prior to this role, Evelyn held positions as Clinical Research Project Manager, Clinical Research Coordinator III, and Clinical Research Coordinator II at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia in the Division of Hematology and Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center. Before that, Evelyn worked as a Health Educator and Clinical Research Coordinator at Penn Medicine's Raymond and Ruth Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine in the Abramson Cancer Center. Evelyn holds a Master of Public Health (M.P.H.) in Epidemiology and Biostatistics from Temple University and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology: Bio-Psychosocial Health from Lincoln University. -
A life long social activist, Obery Hendricks is one of the foremost commentators on the intersection of religion and political economy in America. He is the most widely read and perhaps the most influential African American biblical scholar writing today. His recent book, Christians Against Christianity: How Right-Wing Evangelicals Are Destroying Our Nation and Our Faith (Beacon Press, 2021) has gathered wide acclaim. Cornel West calls him âone of the last few grand prophetic intellectuals.â
A widely sought lecturer and media spokesperson, Dr. Hendricksâ appearances include CNN, MSNBC, CBS, Fox News, Fox Business News, the Discovery Channel, PBS, BBC, NHK Japan Television and the Bloomberg Network. He has provided running event commentary for National Public Radio, MSNBC, and the al-Jazeera and Aspire international television networks. Dr. Hendricks has served in the Religion and Foreign Policy Working Group at the U. S. Department of State under Secretaries of State Hillary Clinton and John Kerry; was a member of the Faith Advisory Council of the Democratic National Committee, for whom he delivered the closing benediction at the 2008 Democratic Convention; served on the National Religious Leaders Advisory Committee of the 2008 Democratic Presidential campaign. He is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at The Democracy Collaborative in Washington, DC; has been an Affiliated Scholar at the Center for American Progress; was a Senior Fellow at The Opportunity Agenda social justice communications think tank; is on the Advisory Board of the Institute of Christian Socialism; and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI). Dr. Hendricks has been a frequent contributor to the Huffington Post and Salon.com, a former editorial advisor to the award-winning Tikkun magazine, and a contributing editor to The Encyclopedia of Politics and Religion. The Dictionary of Biblical Interpretation has called his work âthe boldest post-colonial writing ever seen in Western biblical studies.â
Hendricksâ award-winning book, The Politics of Jesus: Rediscovering the True Revolutionary Nature of Jesusâ Teachings and How They Have Been Corrupted (Doubleday, 2006), was declared âessential reading for Americansâ by the Washington Post. Social commentator Michael Eric Dyson proclaimed it âan instant classicâ that âimmediately thrusts Hendricks into the front ranks of American religious thinkers.â The Politics of Jesus was the featured subject of the 90-minute C-SPAN special hosted by the Center for American Progress, âClass, Politics and Christianity.â The tenth anniversary of its publication was acknowledged at a major 2016 panel at the American Academy of Religion at its annual convention in San Antonio, TX. Governor Howard Dean, former chair of the Democratic National Committee, has called his book, The Universe Bends Toward Justice: Radical Reflections on the Bible, the Church and the Body Politic(Orbis, 2011), a âtour de force.â
A former Wall Street investment executive and past president of Payne Theological Seminary, the oldest African American theological seminary in the United States, he is currently a Visiting Scholar at Columbia University in the Department of Religion and the Department of African American and African Diasporic Studies; a Visiting Professor at Union Theological Seminary; and Emeritus Professor of Biblical Interpretation at New York Theological Seminary. An Ordained Elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, Hendricks holds the Master of Divinity with academic honors from Princeton Theological Seminary, and both the M.A. and Ph.D. in Religions of Late Antiquity from Princeton University.
-
Jay Ell Alexander is motivated by her passion for sparking a change in the minds and bodies of others through her entrepreneurial spirit. As owner and CEO of The Vaughn Strategy, a branding and public relations firm and Black Girls RUN!, a national running organization, she leads a powerful movement that has resonated with a huge audience.
Over the last decade, she has established herself as a communications professional with a true commitment to community engagement through her passion for health and fitness. She is also the Founder/Executive Director of the BGR! Foundation and the co-owner with her husband of C+J Alexander Investments.Black Girls RUN! has helped shift the consciousness of culture for over 250,000 African American women, encouraging them to adopt a healthy, active lifestyle through running, movement and community. It has also transformed the running community and aided in the diversification and increased participation in the sport of endurance distance running. Alexander has received national and international notoriety since the start of her tenure including partnerships with Saucony, Ford, Facebook, Brooks Running, REI, Fleet Feet and media coverage on NBC News, Good Morning America, ESSENCE, The O (Oprah Winfrey) Magazine and Ebony Magazine.
A native of Norfolk, Va., Mrs. Alexander received her Communications degree from George Mason University and her Masterâs degree in Strategic Public Relations from Virginia Commonwealth University. She is also a graduate of the University of Notre Dame Mendoza College of Business Nonprofit Executive Leadership program and a Certified Run Coach.
She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. (Spring 2007) and the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA). She serves a variety of community boards and has completed numerous half marathons, 10Ks and 5Ks and two marathons. She has been recognized by iPower Richmond 30 under 30, George Mason University Black Alumniâs 40 Under 40 and the Rising Star Award by PRSA Richmond.
Jay Ell and her husband Christopher are the proud parents of 4-year-old, Chris, Jr. and 2 year old daughter, Jaycee. They are also proud pup parents to an 8-year-old black Lab, named Luna.
-
Don't miss The Balm In Gilead's Multiple Myeloma Spotlight on our website!
This week's guest, Dr Joseph Mikhael MD, MEd, FRCPC, FACP, leads the M-Power project in the African American community for the International Myeloma Foundation (IMF). Dr. Mikhael is a Professor in the Applied Cancer Research and Drug Discovery Division at the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), an affiliate of City of Hope Cancer Center. He is the Chief Medical Officer of the IMF and Director of Myeloma research at the HonorHealth Research Institute.
Dr Mikhael specializes clinically in plasma cell disorders, namely multiple myeloma, amyloidosis, and Waldenstromâs macroglobulinemia. He is the PI of many clinical trials, primarily in relapsed multiple myeloma, and his other clinical research interests include pharmaco-economics, communication skills, and media relations. Dr. Mikhael also serves as the Treasurer on the executive board of the American Society of Hematology.
Dr Mikhael has published over 200 peer-reviewed articles in these fields, and lectures internationally on a regular basis. He is also the chair of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council at TGen. Dr. Mikhael is heavily involved in training future researchers, and mentors junior faculty worldwide. He also spends nearly 20% of his time in the third world developing collaborations in myeloma and finding ways to enhance access to novel treatment agents.
Our Multiple Myeloma Spotlight is sponsored by Bristol Myers Squibb. -
Marvell L. Terry II (he, him, his) is a powerhouse educator, grassroots activist, and cultural organizer from Memphis, Tennessee. HIV advocacy and cultural organizing are personal for him; It was the moment he received a positive diagnosis of HIV that jump-started his more than decade-long career that has had a local, state, and national impact.
Marvell was passionate about improving the health outcomes of Black gay and queer men in Memphis, thatâs why he started his advocacy work by co-leading an HIV ministry at Christ Missionary Baptist Church, being an HIV tester and EIS at Christ Community Health Services, and volunteering on community task forces. Not long after, he answered a higher call to leadership by founding his own organization: The Red Door Foundation (2010). Marvell was recognized as the only Black gay man living with HIV to found and lead an organization for HIV awareness and engagement at the time in Shelby County. Doubling down on his commitment to community, he started the Saving Ourselves Symposium (2013), a one-of-a-kind conference in the South for the Black LGBTQ community to address health, wellness, and social injustices.
One of Marvellâs biggest thrills was expanding his impact to a national scale by joining the Young Black Gay Menâs Advocacy Coalition Policy and Advocacy Summit as co-chair of the Organizing Committee (2014); the Human Rights Campaign Foundation (HRCF) as an HIV Fellow (2015) and AIDS United as a Senior Program Manager of the Southern HIV Impact Fund (2018). He is known as a people-minded strategist: He established a leadership pipeline in the HIV movement by co-creating the HIV 360 Fellowship Program at the HRCF and improved grantmaking efforts and philanthropic funding sources within AIDS United to support organizations in the South working at the intersection of HIV and social justice.
Marvell is a former board member for Hope House (Memphis, 2022-2023), an advisory board member for Wake Forest University School of Divinity, and a founding member for the HIV Racial Justice Network. In September 2023, Marvell was sworn in as a member of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS during the 78th Full Council meeting.
His published written works on HIV research and injustices can be found in the Journal of Health and Disparities Research and Practice, Rhetoric of Health and Medicine, TheBody.Com, and more. Marvellâs work unapologetically centers the lives, the culture and the resilience of Black folks. When Marvell isnât on the ground engaged in HIV advocacy and education, heâs experiencing joy: grooving to the sounds of Fantasia, J.Cole, 6LACK, and JeRonelle or enjoying buttermilk pancakes with crispy edgesat any time of the day.
-
In this episode, Dr. P is joined by lawyer and activist Dafina Ward, JD.
Dafina Ward, J.D. is an attorney and non-profit strategist with nearly fifteen years of experience addressing HIV and health equity issues in the southern United States. Working in partnership with a range of advocatesâfrom grassroots leaders to federal decision-makersâshe is a trusted voice in regional and national spaces. With nearly twenty years of experience in community grantmaking, Dafina is an expert in place-based funding strategies, coalition-building, and capacity building for emerging organizations and leaders.
Dafina currently serves as Executive Director of the Southern AIDS Coalition (SAC), an organization of regional focus and national reach, with a mission to end the HIV epidemic in the South. Through a range of programs and initiatives across the sixteen southern states and Washington, DC, SAC utilizes community-centered policy advocacy, grantmaking, leadership development, and capacity building trainings to support transformation in the region. In 2019, SAC created Southern HIV/AIDS Awareness Day [SHAAD] to amplify the HIV crisis in the region. Under Dafinaâs leadership, SHAAD has become a nationally recognized day adopted by hundreds of organizations and reaching thousands annually.
Dafina has developed innovative programming for women and girls. She led the creation of Beauty in Knowing, an intervention that Johnson & Johnson deemed "globally innovative", training cosmetology students to engage clients in conversations about HIV, sexual health, and intimate partner violence.
As a founding member of the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham LGBTQ Fund, she created a grantwriting training for LGBTQ+ youth, and developed a mini-grant process to support their vision. In recognition of her work, the LGBTQ Fund awarded âDafina Ward Grantsâ to small LGBTQ-led organizations in 2017.
Dafina shares her reflections on the intersections of race, gender, and health through writing, with work appearing in the Washington Post, Role Reboot, and The Body. She was recognized by POZ Magazine twice in 2021âas the July/August POZ Hero and as a member of the 2021 POZ 100 (the magazineâs list of the 100 most influential Black HIV advocates in the nation).
Dafina received her BA in Mass Media Arts from Clark Atlanta University (Atlanta, GA) and her Juris Doctor from Temple Universityâs Beasley School of Law (Philadelphia, PA). She and her husband reside in Bluffton, South Carolina with their brilliant daughters. -
In this episode, Dr. P has a stimulating discussion with two insightful guests: Pastor Gerard Duncan and Jude Ngang.
Pastor Gerard Duncan is the senior pastor of Prayers By Faith Family Ministries in Gainesville, Florida. He works closely with faith leaders to increase awareness of health and wellness within their churches and the communities they serve. Additionally, Pastor Duncan is the CEO of Community Partners and Engagement Consultants, and the executive director of the Pleasant Street Social Justice and Cultural Arts Center.
Paston Duncan is a member of Floridaâs Statewide Faith and Community Advisory Council within the Executive Office of the Governor, and he participates in the Alachua County Christian Pastors Association, Florida Department of Juvenile Justice's Faith and Community Network, the Santa Fe College Community Advisory Board and the Gainesville Thrives. He travels extensively both nationally and internationally speaking on topics on health equity, health disparities and mental wellness.
Jude Ngang is Executive Director, Representation in Clinical Research (RISE) at Amgen. He leads the RISE team dedicated to improving proportional representation in clinical trials in alignment with Amgen's Environmental & Social Governance imperatives, health equity narratives, and ethical research commitments.
Prior to taking the lead role for Amgenâs RISE team, Jude was Team Lead in Oncology Early Clinical Development Operations, with experience in developing targeted therapies for lung cancer and other solid tumors. During his tenure in this role, Jude received an Amgen 'Innovation Trail Blazer' award for his leadership in the design and execution of the clinical operations strategy for the LUMAKRAS (for lungcancer) first in human study that contributed to the acceleration of the program. He was also a post-doctoral fellow in translational medicine at the Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research and served as AdjunctAssistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice at MCPHS University in Boston. Jude has been with Amgen for over 6 years and has held leadership roles for the Amgen Black Employee Network (ABEN). He specializes in clinical sciences & innovation, with a focus on patient recruitment/retention and representativeparticipation in clinical trials across multiple therapeutic areas. Jude is also a pharmacist by training with aPharmD from Roseman University of Health Sciences. - Montre plus
