What it’s like working with

Advancing Health Equity

“Our experience working with AHE was positive and productive. Their trainings were engaging and relevant and connected with our staff on both a professional and personal level. The feedback from the Equity Audit process will help move us further on our path towards becoming a multicultural antiracist organization.”

— Kai Williams (she/her/hers) Sr. VP of Health Care Delivery Planned Parenthood of Northern New England

Advancing Health Equity provided our organization with a highly professional and thorough training, specific to the knowledge gaps and bias that exist in our organization, determined by an extensive and personal staff-wide assessment. Dr. Blackstock and her outstanding team laid solid groundwork for our leadership and staff to create a strategic path for our organization to advance health equity. Perhaps most importantly, they raised health equity to the consciousness of our organization making it now normal for staff to bring up concerns, thoughts and solutions with curiosity and compassion in day-to-day interactions.

— Christine Mahoney, D.O. Primary Care Medical Director Telluride Regional Medical Center

I felt the program was very well designed and engaging, particularly for health care professionals and surgeons. The program was very informative from the ground up laying thoughtfully curated content and historical background. This helped tremendously take the attendees into the net level to acquire a deeper understanding of the principles of justice, diversity, equity and inclusion. The discussions were excellent and well moderated by faculty. I particularly appreciated the maturity and thoughtfulness, in addition to expertise, of the faculty. I do think attendees benefited greatly from the program and enjoyed it, even though it was virtual. I highly recommend the program.

— Marwan Abouljoud, MD Professor of Surgery Immediate Past President American Society for Transplant Surgery

Dr. Blackstock and her team of facilitators created a learning experience that was professionally executed and highly engaging, even in a virtual environment. Their high level of expertise on the topics of racism in healthcare, health disparity, and health equity allowed the audience to gain a full understanding of the challenges that exist for the underserved, and generate thought in a solutions-driven manner. They created a safe space for the audience to have open dialogue around topics that are very challenging to discuss in a business environment. I would absolutely advocate for Advancing Health Equity, LLC to provide additional training experiences for my team.

— Michael D. Bradley, Pharm.D., MPH, CDCES, CPH Senior Medical Science Liaison (former) Cardiovascular & Metabolism Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson and Johnson

It was a gift that Dr. Blackstock shared her time and lived experience with us; that she even does this kind of work given her credentials, experiences, and training is a truly humanitarian action that draws everyone in. Dr. Blackstock has many options regarding how to spend her time and efforts, and it does not fall to African Americans to educate white people and others regarding unconscious bias and painful explicit/implicit racist actions. Dr. Blackstock’s unflinching presentation of racist horrors – some of which we’ve heard of, many of which we hadn’t – was important in helping everyone, particularly white people and others who may be unfamiliar with this history, see in stark terms the necessity for action toward combatting and preventing racism. Importantly, Dr. Blackstock presents strategies and frameworks for us to take on the work personally and in our workforce to bring in structural anti-racist approaches through policies, practices, and standards. Her words, tools, and efforts were meaningful, effective, appreciated, and valued, and her style engaging.

— Timothy D. Dye, PhD Principal Investigator, Resource Center of Excellence , Clinical Education Initiative, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pediatrics, and Public Health Sciences, University of Rochester, Associate Chair for Research, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Director, Translational Biomedical Science (TBS) Doctoral Program

Dr. Blackstock is an inspirational and motivating facilitator, who speaks powerfully about ways to address unconscious bias to promote health equity. Her message and facilitation style takes you on an experiential and interactive journey from understanding the historical context of systems and structures to increased self-awareness to action-oriented solutions and application.She effectively created a safe space for deep and thoughtful conversation, provided great frameworks for a clinical and academic audience and created innovative breakout experiences that were memorable and impactful. Dr. Blackstock is a deeply committed advocate and thought leader. Her expertise, as well as her personal testimony, were well received and will help shape our direction as we move forward.

— Adeola Oduwole, MSc, Vice President & Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago

We were thrilled to have Dr. Blackstock for our health equity Grand Rounds. Her training on mobilizing for health equity and mitigating unconscious bias encouraged a deeper understanding of the profound impact of systemic racism on the health outcomes of Black and Brown people. The stories and history she shared will undoubtedly have a long-term impact on our thinking. As an organization who believes every human on earth should have access to primary care without having to make a financial trade-off to get it, we are deeply committed to working towards a healthier future. Dr. Blackstock’s insights empower us to do so with a revitalized sense of perspective and passion for everyone we serve.

— Dr. Brad Younggren, Chief Medical Officer, 98point6

Dr. Blackstock was amazing. During the webinar, we moved between my questions and those posed by the community. She literally fielded questions for over an hour, questions from the community who had really insightful comments as well. There was a special intimacy, unstaged without pretension that illustrated Dr. Blackstock’s love for our people, which was her closing statement (smile). She shared personal stories where she was herself vulnerable as she addressed the impact of structural racism on Black physical and mental and even spiritual health and well-being. We spoke of loss and grief, especially now as African Americans are suffering the brunt of Covid-19 and accelerated state violence.

She grounded her comments in concrete examples, many caused us — the audience, to pause, and think about her organization, Advancing Health Equity, and what lived experiences birthed it. Dr. Blackstock not only lives a life examining and facilitating racial equity, she also documents in her body (soma) its absence.

Again, we are happy that Dr. Blackstock graced our stage and look forward to a continuing relationship.

— Wanda Sabir, Professor, Webinar Facilitator, African American Steering Committee for Health and Wellness in Alameda County

I did a lot of research in finding the right Unconscious Bias training program for our university and School of Medicine partners. I wanted a solution that could deliver engaging training with excellent customer service at reasonable pricing. We are nationally recognized Doctoral University with a new School of Medicine and I needed Unconscious Bias and Health Equity training that would be relevant and resonate with our faculty, staff, students and clinicians. With Dr. Uché Blackstock of Advancing Health Equity, I found what I needed and then some! She facilitated a timely and effective launch. We continue to receive compliments throughout every level of our organization about the training (that never happens)! Dr. Blackstock’s Mitigating Unconscious Bias and Interrupting Microaggressions course addressed a timely and sensitive topic in an informed, entertaining, relevant, and engaging manner.

— Lisa M. McBride, Ph.D., Assistant Dean of Diversity and Inclusion, Professor, Medical Education, TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine

What struck me the most about Dr. Blackstock’s presentation was the shared energy in the room. She skillfully created a safe space — you could feel the truth of that space. The audience leaned in together, paused together, and laughed together. The group discussions were deep and rich; we listened to each other with respect and intention. Dr. Blackstock made difficult, and potentially uncomfortable, topics accessible and meaningful. Every person in the room left changed and inspired to share that change with others. It was an incredibly powerful talk.

— Mollie C. Marr, MD/PhD Candidate, Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, President-Elect, National Student Division, American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA)

The topic of bias is a sensitive one, and Dr. Blackstock does an excellent job creating an approachable, safe environment that allows participants to be productively introspective and questioning without getting defensive. Dr. Blackstock’s workshops are engaging, informative, and interactive. She also offers concrete actions that participants can take back to their workplaces to practice mitigating bias.

— Katie Quimby, MPH, Director, New York State Family Planning Training Center

Having Dr. Blackstock present on Unconscious Bias as part of monthly Continuing Education seminars was a revelation. Dr. Blackstock presented material on explicit and implicit bias in healthcare in an innovative, informative and thought-provoking way. Many of the participants commented on how much they appreciated Dr. Blackstock’s style of presentation, and how she made what can be a difficult conversation on racism and oppression very accessible. I will definitely consider her for more programs in the future.

— Benjamin Sher, MA, LMSW, Director, Office of Global and Lifelong Learning, NYU Silver School of Social Work

Dr. Blackstock has a wonderful way of making the complex concepts of bias and its impact seem both accessible and urgent at the same time. She is an engaging speaker who uses data to make, but not overwhelm her point. I believe she is creating real change among those who participate in her workshops.

— Richard Greene, MD, Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, and Director, Health Disparities Education, NYU School of Medicine

Dr. Blackstock actively takes on some of the most challenging issues like the detrimental impact of explicit and implicit biases and works collaboratively to develop strategies to create more inclusive and affirming practices and environments.

— Mason Patenaude, LMSW, Recruitment and Retention Program Coordinator, Office of Diversity Affairs, NYU School of Medicine

An innovative leader in diversity, equity, and inclusion in healthcare, Dr. Blackstock combines evidence, experience, and content expertise in the provision of digestible, yet powerful, unconscious bias trainings. Her creative workshop activities actively engage participants in self-reflection and provide avenues to explore the impact we, as individuals, have on the broader culture and climate of healthcare.

— Tiffany Cook, Program Manager, Training and Professional Development, Office of Diversity Affairs, NYU School of Medicine

Dr. Blackstock sheds light on the important topics of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion; and makes these complex issues more clear and the impact on people, teams, and organizations easier to understand. She speaks from passion and from experience and seeks to impact modern healthcare environments to evolve to be fairer and more functional organizations.

— Christopher I. Doty, MD FAAEM FACEP, Professor & Vice Chair, Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Kentucky-Chandler Medical Center