FEATURED SPEAKERS
Donna E. Sweet, MD, AAHIVS, MACP
Dr. Sweet is a Professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita. In 2015, Dr. Sweet was awarded an honorary doctorate from Wichita State University in recognition of her 35 years of service to patients with AIDS/HIV, as well as her contributions to health care as a clinical educator. She is certified as an HIV specialist by the American Academy of HIV Medicine of which she is a past board Chair. In addition to her long time participation on the COLA board, a laboratory accreditation 501C3 entity, she is chair of the national HarborPath board, an organization that assists patients in accessing HIV, Hepatitis and cancer treatment medication as well as some other chronic medications. She is also a member of the National Health HIV Board. She has an HIV program in her clinic with federal Ryan White Parts B, C and D funds where she cares for approximately 1300 patients with HIV. She is also the Principal Investigator and Director of the Kansas AIDS Education and Training Center as well as Director of Kansas Care Through Housing, a “Housing for People With AIDS” (HOPWA) grant funded project. Dr. Sweet has travelled extensively nationally and internationally educating physicians about HIV care and treatment. Prior to medical school, she completed a Masters degree in Biology with emphasis on Microbiology/Immunology and worked in a hospital lab as a Clinical Microbiologist. Golf and travel round out her career.
Dr. Sweet is a Professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita. In 2015, Dr. Sweet was awarded an honorary doctorate from Wichita State University in recognition of her 35 years of service to patients with AIDS/HIV, as well as her contributions to health care as a clinical educator. She is certified as an HIV specialist by the American Academy of HIV Medicine of which she is a past board Chair. In addition to her long time participation on the COLA board, a laboratory accreditation 501C3 entity, she is chair of the national HarborPath board, an organization that assists patients in accessing HIV, Hepatitis and cancer treatment medication as well as some other chronic medications. She is also a member of the National Health HIV Board. She has an HIV program in her clinic with federal Ryan White Parts B, C and D funds where she cares for approximately 1300 patients with HIV. She is also the Principal Investigator and Director of the Kansas AIDS Education and Training Center as well as Director of Kansas Care Through Housing, a “Housing for People With AIDS” (HOPWA) grant funded project. Dr. Sweet has travelled extensively nationally and internationally educating physicians about HIV care and treatment. Prior to medical school, she completed a Masters degree in Biology with emphasis on Microbiology/Immunology and worked in a hospital lab as a Clinical Microbiologist. Golf and travel round out her career.
Joyce (Joy) Balls-Berry, Ph.D., MPE
"Impacting Health Equity Through Community Engagement and Capacity Building"
Dr. Balls-Berry is an Assistant Professor of Epidemiology and the Program Manager for the Mayo Clinic Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCaTS) Office for Community Engagement in Research. She completed her formal education at Xavier University of Louisiana with graduate training at Washington University School of Medicine and The University of Toledo. Dr. Balls-Berry completed a post-doctoral research fellowship in health equity, epidemiology, and biostatistics at The University of Florida. Her work as a scientist centers on increasing awareness of the importance of community-patient engagement in research to increase health equity in minority and under-resourced communities. Dr. Balls-Berry is the principal investigator of a number of health disparities research studies and recently received a PCORI award to expand the efforts of the Minority Women in Research Network, which she established in 2011. The network’s mission is to promote community-patient engagement in research conducted by minority women scientists interested in research collaborations, academic scholarship, innovation, and dissemination. As an educator, Dr. Balls-Berry received the Mayo Clinic Teacher of Year and CCaTS Educator of the Year awards. Recently, she shared her story of living with dyslexia and handling personal challenges as a TEDx Talk. Dr. Balls-Berry has served as a mentor and coach to a number of students, academics, and leaders. Her work as a mentor focuses on helping individuals find their true calling.
"Impacting Health Equity Through Community Engagement and Capacity Building"
Dr. Balls-Berry is an Assistant Professor of Epidemiology and the Program Manager for the Mayo Clinic Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCaTS) Office for Community Engagement in Research. She completed her formal education at Xavier University of Louisiana with graduate training at Washington University School of Medicine and The University of Toledo. Dr. Balls-Berry completed a post-doctoral research fellowship in health equity, epidemiology, and biostatistics at The University of Florida. Her work as a scientist centers on increasing awareness of the importance of community-patient engagement in research to increase health equity in minority and under-resourced communities. Dr. Balls-Berry is the principal investigator of a number of health disparities research studies and recently received a PCORI award to expand the efforts of the Minority Women in Research Network, which she established in 2011. The network’s mission is to promote community-patient engagement in research conducted by minority women scientists interested in research collaborations, academic scholarship, innovation, and dissemination. As an educator, Dr. Balls-Berry received the Mayo Clinic Teacher of Year and CCaTS Educator of the Year awards. Recently, she shared her story of living with dyslexia and handling personal challenges as a TEDx Talk. Dr. Balls-Berry has served as a mentor and coach to a number of students, academics, and leaders. Her work as a mentor focuses on helping individuals find their true calling.
Sinsi Hernández-Cancio, JD
“Racism, Health, and the Path Towards Health Equity”
Sinsi Hernández-Cancio is the Director of Health Equity at Families USA, where she leads the organization’s efforts to advance health equity and reduce disparities in health care access and quality. She works on building a thriving and vocal health equity movement to protect the gains of the Affordable Care Act and leverage health care and delivery system transformation to reduce disparities. She is a member of the Addressing Disparities Advisory Panel for the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, a member of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s State Strategy Advisory Committee, a participant in the Allies Reaching for Community Health Equity effort, and a Public Voices Fellow with The OpEd Project.
Ms. Hernández-Cancio has worked in the field of health policy for over 15 years and has a longstanding commitment to advancing social justice and fighting for the rights of people of color, especially vulnerable women and children. She started her career as a women’s human and civil rights lawyer with a Georgetown University Law Center’s Women’s Law and Public Policy Fellowship at the Women’s Rights Project of Human Rights Watch. Later, she advised and represented two Puerto Rican governors on federal health and human services policies in Washington, DC, and was a senior health policy analyst for the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and National Campaign Coordinator for SEIU’s Healthcare Equality Project. Bilingual and bicultural, she speaks across the country on health care and health equity, and has extensive experience in both English and Spanish national media, including Politico, Univision, Telemundo, CNN en Español, and Radio Bilingüe.
Born in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico, Ms. Hernández-Cancio earned an B.A. from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and a J.D. from New York University School of Law, where she was a Hays Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Fellow. She currently lives in Fairfax, VA with her husband and son.
“Racism, Health, and the Path Towards Health Equity”
Sinsi Hernández-Cancio is the Director of Health Equity at Families USA, where she leads the organization’s efforts to advance health equity and reduce disparities in health care access and quality. She works on building a thriving and vocal health equity movement to protect the gains of the Affordable Care Act and leverage health care and delivery system transformation to reduce disparities. She is a member of the Addressing Disparities Advisory Panel for the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, a member of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s State Strategy Advisory Committee, a participant in the Allies Reaching for Community Health Equity effort, and a Public Voices Fellow with The OpEd Project.
Ms. Hernández-Cancio has worked in the field of health policy for over 15 years and has a longstanding commitment to advancing social justice and fighting for the rights of people of color, especially vulnerable women and children. She started her career as a women’s human and civil rights lawyer with a Georgetown University Law Center’s Women’s Law and Public Policy Fellowship at the Women’s Rights Project of Human Rights Watch. Later, she advised and represented two Puerto Rican governors on federal health and human services policies in Washington, DC, and was a senior health policy analyst for the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and National Campaign Coordinator for SEIU’s Healthcare Equality Project. Bilingual and bicultural, she speaks across the country on health care and health equity, and has extensive experience in both English and Spanish national media, including Politico, Univision, Telemundo, CNN en Español, and Radio Bilingüe.
Born in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico, Ms. Hernández-Cancio earned an B.A. from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and a J.D. from New York University School of Law, where she was a Hays Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Fellow. She currently lives in Fairfax, VA with her husband and son.
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The vast majority of medical care in the United States is administered in a community based-setting. Yet, training for clinicians and clinician-researchers rarely concentrates in a community setting, and thus many important social underpinnings of disease go unnoticed and unaddressed.
With the advent of community-university partnerships such as the teaching health centers program, community based participatory research and clinical and translational research programs, stronger connections between community and university are being made possible. |
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Still though, as social determinants of health are increasingly seen as the key to many chronic diseases, we feel that academic health institutions and local and regional community health entities stand to partner, communicate, and connect in many more radical ways.
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This conference targets a vibrant audience of clinicians, academics, health service organizations, social workers, public health, regional and local foundations, community health workers and community leaders with interest and passion for social justice, health equity, community and patient advocacy.
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As a cardiovascular outcomes researcher, this conference introduced me to wonderful folks in the community that have been tremendous partners as we further our patient-centered research on shared decision-making.
Carol Decker RN, PhD