Speakers
Scott Swank
Curator, National Museum of Dentistry
Scott Swank, DDS, is curator at the National Museum of Dentistry, where he oversees its large archive of historical materials. As curator, Swank spearheaded creation of the Museum’s exhibit on the history of African American dentists in the US, and oversaw its travels around the country.
Ben Volta
Artist, Innovator
Benjamin Volta is an artist who works with teachers and community leaders to develop creative methods that link art to specific areas of learning. Together, they initiate students to recognize the importance of their own ideas, and then express a mergence of difference within a collective focus.
J.D. Talasek
Director, Cultural Programs of the National Academy of Sciences
J.D. Talasek directs Cultural Programs of the National Academy of Sciences, a program focused on the exploration of intersections between science, medicine, technology, and visual culture ( www.cpnas.org). He also heads the academies’ African American History Program (AAHP) that seeks to raise the awareness of contributions made by African Americans to science, medicine and engineering.
Hon. Louis W. Sullivan
Founder, The Sullivan Alliance to Transform the Health Professions
Louis W. Sullivan, M.D., former Secetary of Health and Human Services (1989-1993), and President Emeritus of Morehouse School of Medicine, is founder and chair of The Sullivan Alliance to Transform America’s Health Profesions. His commitment to diversity spans a lifetime of national and international service as a physician.
Brian Nosek
Co-Founder and Director, Project Implicit
Brian Nosek (Ph.D., Yale University, 2002) is associate professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Virginia. He is co-founder and director of Project Implicit (http://projectimplicit.net/) an Internet-based multi-university collaboration of research and education about implicit cognition, which has been by used to better understand and document the impact of bias in clinical decision-making and health disparities.
Darlene Clark Hine
Board of Trustees Professor, African American Studies
Darlene Clark Hine, a historian of the African American experience and a pioneer of African American women’s history, is Board of Trustees Professor of African American Studies at Northwestern University. Former Department Chair of African American Studies (2008-2011), Hine is past president of the Southern Historical Association and the Organization of American Historians.
Gertrude Fraser
Vice Provost for Faculty Advancement
Gertrude Fraser is Vice Provost for Faculty Advancement at the University of Virginia and Associate Professor of Anthropology. Her leadership responsibilities include faculty recruitment and retention, with a focus on expanding faculty diversity and advancing women.
Kathleen Bethel
African American Studies Librarian
Kathleen E. Bethel is the African American Studies Librarian at Northwestern University Library. Early in her career, she worked at the Johnson Publishing Company Library, the Newberry Library, and the Maywood and Wilmette Public Libraries.
Cassandra Allen
Outreach Librarian
As outreach librarian in the Outreach and Special Populations Branch of the National Library of Medicine, Ms. Allen’s responsibilities include the implementation of outreach programs and training to minority and underserved populations.
P. Preston Reynolds
Physician, Educator, Historian, Visionary
Preston Reynolds (M.D., Ph.D., Duke University, 1986. 1987) is professor of medicine at the University of Virginia. She is active as a teacher, scholar, physician, and leader advocating for global health justice, and transformation of pipeline, university and health professions education and training to promote professionalism and diversity.
Frederic Bertley
Franklin Institute VP for Science and Innovation
As a current Dell Inspire 100 World Changer and Philadelphia Business Journal 40 Under 40 Honoree, Dr. Frederic Bertley oversees programs aimed at improving the quality of science education throughout the K-12 population, and augmenting science literacy for families as well as the non-scientist adult population.
Scot A. French
Associate Professor, Department of History
Scot French is Associate Professor of Digital Public History at the University of Central Florida. In addition to publishing book and articles, as Interim Director of the U.Va. Carter G. Woodson Institute and Director of the Virginia Center for Digital History, French produced award-winning documentaries and created innovative technological tools useful in education, research and public programming.
Vivian Pinn
Former Director, Office of Research on Women’s Health, NIH
Vivian W. Pinn, MD., was the first full-time Director of the Office of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), an appointment she held from 1991-2011. She has served in many pioneering and leadership roles as the first or only African American woman since her matriculation into medical school.