Our New Inequities: Recognizing the Effects of Historic Racial Disparities During COVID 19

Scientific evidence shows minority populations, especially Black and Latinx communities, are experiencing a higher incidence of COVID-19 contraction and death. What appears to be a racial connection is linked to inequity in employment, healthcare access, pre-existing conditions and other disparities driven by poverty. This discussion will examine how historic disparities in every aspect of life for minority populations from food deserts and racism to immoral medical experiments and environmental contamination have resulted in increased vulnerability to disease and a growing gap in mortality rates for Black and Brown people. The 2020 UW–Madison Diversity Forum, "The Pandemic Effect: Exposing Racism & Inequities," was held as a free, virtual conference open to the public on Oct. 27 & 28. For the past 20 years the Diversity Forum has been the university’s premier all-campus and community platform to discuss, share and learn about contemporary issues of diversity and inclusion. Moderator: Angela Byars Winston, Ph.D. full professor in the UW-Madison Department of Medicine. She is Director of Research and Evaluation in the Center for Women’s Health Research, Associate Director of the Collaborative Center for Health Equity, and a Faculty Leader in the Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research all at the UW. She studies cultural influences on academic and career development and in research mentoring relationships, largely in the STEMM fields. Dr. Byars-Winston is Principal Investigator in the National Research Mentoring Network leading the Culturally Aware Mentoring initiative. Dr. Byars-Winston’s work has been recognized nationally by the White House and as an elected Fellow of the American Psychological Association. Speakers: Jennifer Young Choe Edgoose, M.D. completed her MD, MPH from Columbia University and her family medicine residency at the University of Washington. She then practiced full-spectrum family medicine for over ten years at Community Health Care, a federally qualified health center in Tacoma, WA. She is now an associate professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health (DFMCH) at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health (UWSMPH) and focuses her attention on care of vulnerable populations and strategies to promote health equity and community engagement. She serves as the Director of the DFMCH Office of Community Health; Chair of the DFMCH Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee; and Director of the UWSMPH Diversity and Inclusion Advocates program. Gina Green-Harris was named the inaugural Director of The Center for Community Engagement and Health Partnerships in Milwaukee (CCEHP). CCEHP was established to further advance research in the African American community in a culturally inclusive manner. This office builds upon the health equity work that Ms. Green-Harris has been implemented over the past years at the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Institute’s Regional Milwaukee Office and most recently as the director of the Lifecourse Initiative for Healthy Families (LIHF). Ms. Green- Harris’s is a recognized leader for her work by community leaders, executives, and researchers across WI and global leaders to learn about their outreach and recruitment model and she has been recruited to serve on national think tanks including most recently the National Institute of Health’s National Strategy for Recruitment and Retention. Mariela Quesada Centeno, is a Ph.D. candidate in Human Development & Family Studies and is the Maternal and Child Health Community-Baded at Centro Hispano and Roots4Change Co-op Administrator. She earned her DVM degree at the Universidad Nacional in Heredia, Costa Rica. After migrating to the United States, she completed her Masters of Public Health at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. During that time, she worked as a researcher at the School of Veterinary Medicine and the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory. Melissa Metoxen is a member of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin. She is the Community and Academic Support Coordinator for the Native American Center for Health Professions, where she has worked for the past 7 years. She earned a bachelor of arts degree in sociology and also holds a master of science degree in educational leadership and policy analysis both from UW-Madison. She has worked on campus for the past 10 years, working to ensure Native American students have support and access to this university. Additionally, she has forged partnerships with many of Wisconsin's tribal nations to promote community and academic partnerships. A lot of her work has focused on outreach, and retention of Native American students at all levels, and more recently her work with NACHP provides health professional students with opportunities to engage with tribal communities across the state.