Faculty

Keynote 1 - The Centrality of Indigenous Communities, Knowledges, and Cultures to Advancing Health Justice

Donald Warne, MD, MPH, is Professor of Public Health, Provost Fellow of Indigenous Health Policy, and Co-Director of Johns Hopkins Center for Indigenous Health. An enrolled member of the Oglala Lakota Tribe in Pine Ridge South Dakota, Warne comes from a long line of traditional healers and medicine men and is a celebrated researcher of chronic health inequities. Dr. Warne is a scholar in Indigenous health, health education, policy, and equity. He led a team that created the first Indigenous health-focused Master of Public Health and PhD programs in the U.S. or Canada at the University of North Dakota.

Panel 1 - Rebuilding the Trustworthiness of Our Institutions

Panelists

Christopher King, PhD, MHSC, FACHE is inaugural Dean of Georgetown University’s School of Health and works collaboratively with internal and external constituents to establish a world-class academic destination for advancing health. He is also responsible for academic and operational leadership of the school.

As an associate professor, his teaching, research, and scholarship is at the intersection of healthcare, public health, and racial justice. These areas of focus were inspired by more than 20 years of lessons learned during his work in the healthcare sector. Prior to joining Georgetown University, he served as the first Assistant Vice President of Community Health for MedStar Health where he led efforts to translate the public health components of Affordable Care Act (ACA) legislation into practice. Accomplishments included planning, launching and managing a new corporate function that applied more rigor in community health needs assessments (CHNAs), including implementation and evaluation. Prior to his work with MedStar Health, Christopher held leadership capacities at safety-net hospitals and Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) in the District of Columbia and suburban Maryland. 

Carlos Smith, DDS, MDiv, FACD, is the inaugural Associate Dean of Inclusive Excellence, Ethics, and Community Engagement and an Associate Professor in the Department of Dental Public Health and Policy at Virginia Commonwealth University School of Dentistry. He is a member of the board of directors of the Academy for Professionalism in Health Care and is currently President-Elect of the American Society for Dental Ethics. Also an ordained clergy, Smith completed Clinical Pastoral Education at Duke Medical Center, with emphasis on providing care and crisis management to families of cardiac pediatric patients. Dr. Smith has a certificate in Diversity and Inclusion Leadership from Virginia Commonwealth University and a certificate in Diversity and Inclusion from Cornell University. He graduated from Hampton University, the University of Michigan School of Dentistry, and Duke Divinity School. His scholarly activity currently focuses on conceptualizing a reimagined professionalism, the history of racism in healthcare, inclusive excellence in dental education, and provider wellbeing and burnout. Dr. Smith remains committed to clinical care, continuing practice as a general dentist within the VCU Dental Faculty Practice.

Annita Hetoevehotohke'e Lucchesi, PhD, MA is a researcher and scholar of Cheyenne and Italian descent, currently residing on her ancestral homelands in southeast Montana. Annita earned her PhD from the School of Geography, Development, & Environment at the University of Arizona, with a minor in Gender & Women's Studies. She was a graduate scholar in the Native Nations Institute's Collaboratory for Indigenous Data Governance, and is a Board member of UA's Gender Based Violence Consortium. She earned her BA in Geography with a minor in Global Poverty and Practice from the University of California, Berkeley, and her MA in American Studies from Washington State University.

Annita also serves as Founder and Director of Research & Outreach of Sovereign Bodies Institute, a non-profit research center dedicated to gender and sexual violence against Indigenous peoples. SBI is based in Montana, but works alongside Indigenous peoples across the US, Canada, and Latin America. For more information on SBI, visit its website at sovereign-bodies.org. 

Annita has years of experience in academia and higher education, community based research, cartography, community organizing, and advocacy. Her areas of specialty include violence against Indigenous peoples, femicide, gender and sexual violence, Indigenous cartography and geography, Indigenous data sovereignty, and Indigenous research methodologies.

Sonja Diaz, JD, MPP is a practicing civil rights attorney and policy advisor. She is the Co-Founder of the Latina Futures, 2050 Lab, a pioneering initiative that envisions a society where Latinas have an equal opportunity to lead, and where everyone thrives. For seven years, Diaz directed all aspects of the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute, a comprehensive think tank that addresses the domestic policy challenges facing communities of color in the U.S. Prior to UCLA, Diaz served as policy counsel to Vice President Kamala D. Harris during her first and second terms as California Attorney General and directed voter protection programs in Virginia during the 2016 election. Diaz routinely briefs state legislators and local elected officials from across the U.S. on evidence-based governance and emerging trends in domestic policy. Her research and commentary have been mentioned in major news outlets, including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, CNN, NBC, and NPR. In 2021, Diaz was appointed to the Los Angeles City Council Redistricting Commission and served as Vice Chair of data and mapping. Diaz received her JD from UC Berkeley’s School of Law, holds a MPP from UCLA’s Luskin School of Public Affairs, and a BA in politics from UC Santa Cruz.

Moderator/Discussant

Deann Butler, DHA, MHA, MBA is an unwavering advocate for health equity. With over two decades of experience spanning nonprofit, corporate, and healthcare startups, she is emerging as a prominent figure in healthcare consulting. As the CEO of Connected Consultants, she spearheads initiatives to implement EQUITY with Ease through internal and external strategies. She brings a wealth of work, education, and lived experience.  Most recently, assisting organizations in obtaining health equity accreditation and facilitating conversations on critical topics such as the impact of structural racism in healthcare.  

Beyond her professional endeavors, she cherishes moments with her partner and two children. Her ultimate aspiration is to continue traveling, supporting women in healthcare to launch businesses, and pushing organizations past the performative. Dr. Butler is not just a healthcare professional but a catalyst for positive change in pursuing accessible and high-quality healthcare for every individual.

Keynote 2 - Centering Lived Experiences in Healthcare Delivery and Innovation

Hafeezah Muhammad is an extraordinary mompreneur, passionate about leveraging technology to address critical societal issues. With an extensive background in leadership and a profound understanding of the transformative power of A.I., she embarked on a mission to revolutionize mental health support for children. Her visionary leadership has catapulted her company to the forefront of the industry, setting new standards and paving the way for a more accessible and inclusive approach to mental wellness. Inspired by her experiences as a devoted mother, Hafeezah Muhammad recognized the pressing need for innovative solutions in pediatric mental health. Combining her expertise in mental health with cutting-edge advancements in artificial intelligence, she founded her company with a clear purpose: to provide children with personalized, empathetic, and effective mental health support. Under her astute guidance, Hafeezah's A.I. company, Backpack Healthcare, has developed groundbreaking technologies that seamlessly integrate into children's daily lives, ensuring continuous care and support. Through interactive virtual companions, therapeutic chatbots, and advanced data analytics, her company's solutions have empowered children to navigate their emotional well-being with confidence and resilience.

Panel 2 - The Role of Inclusive Health Tech in Health Care Innovation

Panelists

Irene Dankwa-Mullan, MD, MPH is a physician leader, scientist, and industry executive with diverse local, regional, and national leadership experience working in primary care, public health and health equity and the community. She is currently Chief Health Officer at Marti Health, a health equity start-up company that promotes comprehensive case management coordination targeting individuals and families from underserved and socially disadvantaged communities. She is an affiliate faculty professor at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health.

Dr. Dankwa-Mullan was formerly Chief Health Equity Officer at IBM Watson Health. She also served as Deputy Chief Health Officer, Lead Scientific Officer for Data and Evidence. Her work at IBM received recognition and she was appointed to the IBM Industry Academy of distinguished leaders, to work collaboratively with other industry leaders on creative and cutting-edge technology innovation.

Dr. Dankwa-Mullan has maintained keen passion for patient-centered care, promoting equitable health outcomes and the patient experience while identifying opportunities to create more inclusive, culturally competent, equitable and compassionate clinical care services. Prior to IBM, she was at the National Institutes of Health serving in various leadership roles within the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities. She also served as Medical Director for public health services, working with community coalitions to develop prevention and screening programs in Maryland.

Dr. Dankwa-Mullan has published widely on health disparities, integration of health equity, artificial intelligence and machine-learning, ethical artificial intelligence (AI) and social justice principles into data science methods and technology development lifecycle.

Binoy Bhansali is the CEO and Co-Founder of Diverge Health, an organization that brings local population health support including community health teams, administrative support, and technology to primary care practices focused on serving the Medicaid population. Previously, Binoy led diversification efforts at SCAN, a $4B+ non-profit healthcare organization serving older adults across the country. In partnership with SCAN's CEO and diversification team, Binoy helped spearhead SCAN's efforts into PACE, in-home primary care, in-home chronic disease management, street medicine for individuals experiencing homelessness, and a merger with CareOregon. He was previously a Partner at Sandbox Industries, and previously held roles at Citigroup, Accenture, and Impact Investment Partners. Binoy has a bachelor’s degree in economics and psychology, with a minor in business institutions, from Northwestern University. He is a Kauffman Fellow, Class 23.

Abner Mason is the founder and CEO of SameSky Health, a cultural experience company that forms meaningful relationships to bring people to health. He has spent decades working to reduce barriers to care faced by underserved people nationally and internationally, from the federal to the local level. He currently sits on the board of Manifest MedEx, serves as the Co-Vice Chair on the board for California Black Health Network, and is a member of United States of Care’s Founders Council, the American Medical Association’s External Equity and Innovation Advisory Group, the HIMSS’ Social Determinants of Health Committee and the Medicaid Innovation Collaborative’s advisory board. Abner is the founder of HealthTech 4 Medicaid.

Sahee Abdelmomin is the Senior Associate on the Virtual Health team at Tulsa Innovation Labs (TIL), an economic development organization pioneered by the George Kaiser Family Foundation. In this role, Sahee oversees program development that advances Virtual Health research, startup, and workforce development initiatives. The goal of these initiatives is to catalyze the development, validation and scale of virtual health solutions that equitably extend health access to ALL patient while creating opportunities for upward economic mobility for Tulsans. To date, Sahee and her team have launched BloomOK, an EDA funded program that catalyzes regional virtual health investments and Canopy Healthtech, a program that builds, fund and mentors startups around promising intellectual property located at Oklahoma’s flagship universities. Most recently, Sahee and her team are preparing for the launch of Health Nexus, an accelerator program that rapidly pilots and scales virtual health solutions. Sahee is keen to speak to organizations about research, partnership, investment, workforce development, talent matching, manufacturing capabilities, and startup support services available in the Tulsa region.

Moderator/Discussant

Rashmi Rao is an accomplished entrepreneur and inventor with over 40+ awarded patents topics including artificial intelligence, health regulatory topics, and patient data privacy and security and has demonstrated exceptional prowess in transforming ideas into lucrative ventures, amassing over $500M in revenue across the consumer, automotive, and healthcare sectors. Her stellar career includes impactful stints at tech giants like Qualcomm, Apple, Harman/Samsung, and Philips Healthcare, where she spearheaded initiatives that blend technology with sustainability to enhance people's lives.

As the founder of rcubed | ventures, Rashmi is dedicated to leveraging her expertise in identifying and disseminating transformative ideas with global impact potential, by providing investment and strategic guidance to select startups especially founded by women and minorities. As the founder of HLWF ™ Alliance, a women focused non-profit, rooted in her lived experiences, Rashmi aims to revolutionize women's role in all aspects of healthcare and wellbeing, through interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation, aligned with national agendas to advance women's health research.

Rashmi's role extends into academia and global discussions, serving on boards at the University of Washington's Engineering Innovation in Health (UW EIH) and the World Affairs Council (WAC) – Seattle and the World Economic Forum (WEF). These positions amplify her influence in shaping new era of leadership in STEM, at the intersection of technology, public health and public policy.

Weitzman Institute Disclosure Statement

It is the policy of the Weitzman Institute to ensure that Continuing Education (CE) activities are independent and free of commercial bias. To ensure educational content is objective, balanced, and guarantee content presented is in the best interest of its learners' and the public, the Weitzman Institute requires that everyone in a position to control educational content disclose all financial relationships with ineligible companies within the prior 24 months. An ineligible company is one whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients. Examples can be found at accme.org.

Faculty participating in a Weitzman Institute-sponsored activity must disclose to the planning committee and audience all financial or other relationship(s) with ineligible companies.