Heartland Conference on Health Equity & Patient-Centered Care
In-Person Conference | Kansas City, KS
September 18 - 20, 2024
September 18 - 20, 2024
Proposals are due
Monday, June 24th, 2024. If you missed the deadline, you can still submit a proposal. Your proposal will be reviewed and if accepted, you will be added to a waitlist. |
Scholarship applications are due
Friday, July 26th, 2024. |
We are still accepting Health Equity Award nominations!
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Jerry Jones |
Alicia Thomas, DrPH, MHS |
Danielle Jones, Ph.D., MPH
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At his core Jerry Jones believes that in order for transformation in communities to occur, equity work must be steeped in understanding and rooted in love.
For the past eighteen years, Jerry has worked closely with neighborhood-based organizations, healthcare systems and payors, academic research institutions, and philanthropic organizations to weave together a fabric of strategic partnerships in service of reducing inequities in health outcomes with and for people who have been traditionally excluded from and marginalized by the healthcare system |
Dr. Thomas is the Founder of Indigo Strategic Health Advisors LLC and the Former Associate Director of the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) Engagement Award Program.
She is dedicated to supporting clients in the areas of authentic community engagement, strategic partnership development, and applying for federal and philanthropic funding. |
Dr. Jones is the Vice President of Accountability, Belonging, and Culture at the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN).
Dr. Jones is a proven leader in the healthcare association space with an extensive track record of advancing equity and inclusion in health care environments. |
Sharla Smith, Ph.D., MPHDr. Sharla Smith is an Associate Professor in the Department of Population Health, the Director of Birth Equity in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Kansas Medical Center, and the Founder and Director of the Kansas Birth Equity Network.
Sharla is a health services and systems researcher whose primary research is maternal and infant health disparities and community engagement. Dr. Smith is passionate about developing a culture of birth equity through community engagement, empowerment, and education. |
Shary M. Jones, PharmD, MPH, BCPSCAPT Shary M. Jones, PharmD, MPH, BCPS, is a distinguished public health leader and pharmacist, known for her dynamic contributions to the healthcare landscape.
With a rich and diverse background, she has made a lasting impact in various capacities, including her pivotal role at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, where she played a crucial part in shaping healthcare policy and preserving the fiscal sustainability of Medicare and Medicaid and ensuring the programs continue to provide essential healthcare services to eligible beneficiaries. |
Jabraan Pasha, M.D. |
Wanda Irving, MPA |
Lynette Sparkman-Barnes, Psy.D. |
Founder and CEO of Lean In LLC, a diversity, equity, inclusion and health equity consulting firm, Dr. Jabraan Pasha is a practicing physician and educator, who is dedicated to the promotion of diversity, equity and inclusion.
He currently serves as national vice president of health equity for Juno Medical, as well as medical director for Juno Medical’s healthcare center in the Historic Greenwood district in Tulsa, OK. |
Wanda Irving, MPA is forever the mother of Dr. Shalon Irving and Co-Founder of Dr. Shalon’s Maternal Action Project (DSMAP), Inc.
DSMAP is a community driven, non-profit organization dedicated to alleviating Black maternal health disparities. The organization was established to honor Wanda’s daughter, Dr. Shalon, who passed away from preventable pregnancy complications in January 2017, three weeks after giving birth to her only child. Dr. Shalon was a brilliant researcher and fierce health equity champion. In an effort to continue Dr. Shalon’s legacy, Wanda co-founded DSMAP, where she is President of the Board and Acting President of the organization. |
Dr. Lynette Sparkman-Barnes is proud to serve as a Clinical Psychologist, the Associate Director, and the Multicultural Specialist at the University of Kansas Medical Center in Counseling and Educational Support Services.
Dr. Sparkman-Barnes has devoted her career to a personal and professional commitment of working with underrepresented and underserved populations. She’s served in a variety of settings, including Universities, Community Mental Health Centers, School-based Mental Health Organizations, Churches, Non-Profits, and Private Practice, impacting systems as a clinician, professor, program developer, manager and in various administrative leadership roles. |
Stacy Scott, Ph.D., MPAA Toledo, Ohio native, Stacy Scott, Ph.D., MPA, Executive Director, Baby 1st Network, and founder of the Global Infant Safe Sleep Center, is a 30-year public health advocate and infant safe sleep expert who’s worked from the government agency level to ground zero spearheading numerous community outreach programs nationwide to end health disparities and reduce the risk of sudden unexpected infant deaths.
Scott serves as the executive director for Baby 1st Network. Baby 1st Network is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to uniting families, caregivers, and researchers with government, business, and community service groups to reduce infant mortality to the lowest level possible in Ohio and support families who have lost a child from sudden unexpected infant death. |
Dr. Dana-Ain Davis, Ph.D.Dána-Ain Davis is Professor of Urban Studies and Anthropology at the City University of New York (CUNY). She is the Director of the Center for the Study of Women and Society at the Graduate Center.
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Kevin Dedner, MPHKevin Dedner serves as founder and CEO of Washington-D.C.-based Hurdle, which provides culturally intentional teletherapy to eliminate barriers that make it harder for people of color to get mental health care.
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Margaret "Marjy" StagmeierMarjy Stagmeier is an affordable housing solutionist, a champion of an equitable education-housing model, and a founding partner of TriStar, a real estate investment firm in Atlanta.
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Shannon Breitzman, MAShannon Breitzman is a Principal with Health Management Associates’ Denver office, where she provides leadership to public health and behavioral health projects, plans, and treatments.
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Catherine GuerreroCatherine Guerrero is Public Health Professional whose work includes spearheading public health and social change initiatives focused on advancing health equity.
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Michelle TrupianoMichelle Trupiano serves as the Executive Director of Missouri Family Health Council, Inc., where she leads the administration of the Title X federal family planning program.
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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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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.
Carole Decker RN, PhD