About the Speakers

New York Times Best-Selling Author of The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness

Michelle Alexander is a highly acclaimed civil rights lawyer, advocate, and legal scholar who currently holds a joint appointment at the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity and the Moritz College of Law at The Ohio State University. Prior to joining the Kirwan Institute, Alexander was an associate professor of law at Stanford Law School, where she directed the Civil Rights Clinics. In 2005, she won a Soros Justice Fellowship, which supported the writing of her first book, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness (The New Press, 2010). The book has received rave reviews and has been featured in national radio and television media outlets, including NPR, The Bill Moyers Journal, the Tavis Smiley Show, C-Span Washington Journal, among others.

For several years, Alexander served as the Director of the Racial Justice Project for the ACLU of Northern California, where she helped to lead a national campaign against racial profiling by law enforcement. While an associate at Saperstein, Goldstein, Demchak & Baller, she specialized in plaintiff-side class action lawsuits alleging race and gender discrimination.

Alexander is a graduate of Stanford Law School and Vanderbilt University. Following law school, she clerked for Justice Harry A. Blackmun on the United States Supreme Court, and for Chief Judge Abner Mikva on the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

Dr. Barbara Wallace is the conference Co-Director, along with Professor Christopher Emdin. She is a tenured Full Professor of Health Education, Coordinator of the Programs in Health Education and Community Health Education, Fieldwork Coordinator for the Program in Community Health Education, Founding Director of the Research Group on Disparities in Health, Founding Director of the Annual Health Disparities Conference at Teachers College, Columbia University, Director of Global HELP – Health and Education Leadership Program; and, Director of Health Equity for the Center for Health Equity and Urban Science Education (CHEUSE). She is Co-Director of CHEUSE with Professor Christopher Emdin, while Professor Emdin is Director of Urban Science Education. Dr. Wallace is also a New York state licensed (Clinical) Psychologist. She has been honored by the American Psychological Association, receiving the status of Fellow within both Division 50 (Addictive Behaviors) and Division 45 (Society for the Psychological Study of Ethnic Minority Issues) for her unusual and outstanding contributions to psychology.

Dr. Wallace was the first African American woman to move through the ranks and gain tenure in the 100 year history of Teachers College, Columbia University in Morningside Heights, doing so in 1994. For a time she was the only African American female tenured Full Professor at Teachers College, Columbia University, attaining the rank of Full Professor in 2007. She is the first African American Coordinator to serve the Program in Health Education. Noteworthy is how Dr. Wallace started the Research Group on Disparities in Health (RGDH) in 2003. The RGDH has actively pioneered online research and E-Health interventions. Having initiated the use of a communal group approach to advisement through the RGDH in 2003, in the following decade she graduated 82 diverse doctorates in health education (2003-2013); by 2014 this number had risen to 87. Also, the cohorts of graduating students with doctorates have been extremely diverse, reflecting how Dr. Wallace has effectively created and nurtured a pipeline for receipt of the doctorate by supporting access for diverse women, African Americans, Africans, Asians, Hispanics, and those who self-identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ). In 2006, Dr. Wallace pioneered at Teachers College the innovation of the Doctoral Dissertation Boot-Camp—as an intensive approach to completing the dissertation, including the more recent Virtual Boot-Camp conducted online. Dr. Wallace has also made other significant history at the college. She advanced online education at the college, as an early adopter of distance learning technology, and pioneered program-wide hybrid (in-person and online) courses using the TEGRITY Lecture Capture system, as reflected in the high percentage of courses in the Programs in Health Education and Community Health Education that are hybrid (i.e. 90% of MA, over 80% of MS, and 70% of Required Courses for the Ed.D.). She has also provided leadership for the effort to secure accreditation for a new 42 point M.S. Degree Program in Community Health Education. This has involved quality assurance becoming an essential part of the programs, while all degree programs (M.A., M.S., Ed.D.) have improved as a result.

As an author, Dr. Wallace’s 7 books include the following: Crack Cocaine: A Practical Treatment Approach for the Chemically Dependent (1991, Brunner/Mazel, Inc.), The Chemically Dependent: Phases of Treatment and Recovery (Editor, 1992, Brunner/Mazel, Inc.), Adult Children of Dysfunctional Families: Prevention, Intervention and Treatment for Community Mental Health Promotion (1996, Praeger Publishers), Understanding and Dealing with Violence: A Multicultural Approach (with Co-Editor Robert T. Carter, Ph.D., 2003, Sage Publications), HIV/AIDS Peer Education Training Manual: Combining African Healing Wisdom and Evidence-Based Behavior Change Strategies (2005, StarSpirit Press), Making Mandated Addiction Treatment Work (2005, Jason Aronson/Rowman & Littlefield), and, Toward Equity in Health: A New Global Approach to Health Disparities (2008, Springer Publications). She also serves as Editor-in-Chief of the electronic Journal of Equity in Health (JEHonline.org/), which has hosted a special theme issue for papers sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Thus, Dr. Wallace has over 80 publications, including numerous journal articles and chapters in edited books—while selected publications appear in the section, below.

Also, Dr. Wallace serves as a regional, national, and international consultant. She travels widely as a keynote speaker, conference presenter, “Trainer of Trainers,” and workshop leader—with a record of over 200 talks on: global health and achieving equity in health for all via a global civil rights movement; the right to health among indigenous populations world-wide; health disparities; multiculturalism/diversity training; adaptive versus maladaptive coping to the stress of racism/oppression/diversity, using her own package of research measures; training trainers of HIV/AIDS peer educators and HIV/AIDS prevention; repealing harsh laws/legislation contributing to the massive incarceration of drug offenders; making mandated addiction treatment work as an alternative to incarceration; chemical dependence treatment; relapse prevention for a range of addictive/problem behaviors; harm reduction and abstinence; treating the dually diagnosed; violence prevention; and, trauma resolution for sexual and physical abuse and domestic violence.

Dr. Wallace is a graduate of Princeton University (AB), and received her MA (City College, CUNY) and Ph.D. from the City University of New York. She completed post-doctoral training at NDRI (Narcotic and Drug Research Inc.—now National Development Research Institutes) in New York City.

He was recently the Caperton Fellow and Hip-Hop Archive Fellow at the WEB DuBois Institute at Harvard University. Dr. Emdin is a social critic, public intellectual and science advocate whose commentary on issues of race, culture, inequality and education have appeared in dozens of influential periodicals.

Dr. Emdin holds a Ph.D in Urban Education with a concentration in Mathematics, Science, and Technology; Masters degrees in both Natural Sciences and Education Administration, and Bachelors degrees in Physical Anthropology, Biology, and Chemistry. He is the co-creator of the #HipHopEd social media movement, and a much sought-after public speaker on a number of topics that include hip-hop education, STEM education, politics, race, class, diversity, and youth empowerment. He is also an advisor to numerous international organizations, school districts, and schools where he delivers speeches, and holds workshops/ professional development sessions for students, teachers, policy makers, and other education stakeholders within the public and private sector. Dr. Emdin writes the provocative “Emdin 5” series on a number of contemporary social issues for the Huffington Post. He is also author of the award winning book, Urban Science Education for the Hip-hop Generation.

The award-winning work of Dr. Emdin has been featured by the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, PBS, CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, Time magazine, Bloomberg, the Miami Herald, the Huffington Post, Forbes, and he will soon be honored at the White House for his national and global contributions to advance STEM.

Watch out! Dr. Christopher Emdin is destined to make his mark as one of the premier geniuses of the 21st Century! And, you have the opportunity to hear and interact with him as he infuses into the conference the critical national and global role of HIP-HOP + HEALTH + EDUCATION!

Dr. Charles E. Basch is the Richard March Hoe Professor of Health and Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. He specializes in planning and evaluating health education programs for urban minority populations to reduce health and educational disparities. His work has been diverse with respect to population groups (ranging from young children to older adults), disease topics (AIDS, cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, and eye disease), and behaviors (diet, physical activity, and screening), but has a common theme of translating research into practice. The health education programs he has developed and evaluated are philosophically grounded in informed voluntary decision-making and rely heavily on building strong interpersonal relationships. His evaluative research has been collaboratively conducted with self-insured unions, hospitals, community-based clinics, and schools.

Basch’s main scholarly interests are improving understanding about (1) health-related decision making, (2) dissemination and implementation of effective health-related programs and policies, and (3) the influence of health factors on educational outcomes in urban minority youth. He teaches courses related to epidemiology, planning and evaluation. During his more than three decades at Teachers College, he has directed approximately $20 million dollars of grant-funded research and program development (primarily supported by the National Institutes of Health), and he continues to do so.

Dr. Basch enjoys invitations to deliver keynote addresses all over the United States, given his status as a nationally acclaimed expert in school health education who has advanced the base of knowledge on the strong link between health and learning. His work has yielded over 100 peer-reviewed publications.

A recent 2014 presentation was featured at the Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences. His work advances the core concept that closing the academic achievement gap requires taking action on improving the health status of school children. Dr. Basch collaborates with the Children’s Health Fund to put these ideas into practice through the “Healthy and Ready to Learn” initiative, which will reduce health barriers to learning in schools in New York City and throughout the nation. At present, his transformative vision has led to a new model of education rooted in his work being launched at three New York City schools.

Dr. Robert E. Fullilove is the Associate Dean for Community and Minority Affairs and Professor of Clinical Sociomedical Sciences at the Mailman School of Public Health of Columbia University. He is Co-Director of the Community Research Group at the New York State Psychiatric Institute and Columbia University, as well as Co-Director of the degree program in Urbanism and the Built Environment in the Department of Sociomedical Sciences at Mailman.

Dr. Fullilove is also an Adjunct Full Professor in the Department of Health and Behavior Studies at Teachers College, Columbia University where he has received teaching awards, while also taking an active role in mentoring doctoral students in health education. Together with Professor Barbara Wallace, they have made history as co-sponsors of dissertations that have set an historical record at Teachers College by virtue of the national and international diversity of the graduates—nurturing the pipeline of professionals entering the health and public health professions in academia, research, and practice. Moreover, he plays a vital role in mentoring doctoral graduates in the areas of publishing, seeking post-doctoral training, and obtaining employment.

Dr. Fullilove has authored numerous articles on topics ranging from HIV/AIDS, minority health, to mathematics and science education. From 1995 to 2001, he served on the Board of Health Promotion and Disease Prevention at the Institute of Medicine (IOM) at the National Academy of Sciences. Since 1996, he has served on five IOM study committees that have produced reports on a variety of topics including substance abuse and addiction, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and damp indoor spaces and health.

In 2003, Dr. Fullilove was designated a National Associate of the National Academies of Science, an honor bestowed by the Academies for those who have made "significant contributions" to its work. In 1998 he was appointed to the Advisory Committee on HIV and STD Prevention (ACHSP) at the Centers for Disease Control, and in July, 2000 he became the committee's chair, serving on the Committee until 2004.
Dr. Fullilove serves on the editorial boards of the journals Sexually Transmitted Diseases, and the Journal of Public Health Policy. He has made history as being the only three-time winner of the Distinguished Award for Teaching Excellence (class of 1995, class of 2001, class of 2013) at the Mailman School of Public Health.

Dr. Patti Rose acquired her Master’s Degree from Yale University, followed by her Doctorate (Ed.D) from Teachers College, Columbia University. She has served as Faculty member (from Adjunct Professor, Instructor, to the Associate Professor Level) at the University of Miami, Florida International University, Springfield College, Worcester State College, Nova Southeastern University and Barry University. In recent years, courses that she has developed and taught included Black Women in Medicine and Healing, Psychosocial Health and Healing and Women (on-line course), Race and Healthcare in America, Culture, Race and Diversity Issues in the United States, Mass Incarceration and the Impact on the Black Community and Black Women in Medicine and Healing. She has given keynote addresses, conference presentations and workshops, for many national colleges and universities and other venues, including Yale University, Teachers College, Columbia University, LeMoyne College, Ross University, Des Moines University Medical School, Miami Dade College, the American Public Health Association, the National Association of Heath Care Executives and beyond. Her international presentations have included conferences in Nairobi Kenya, Barcelona, Spain, Paris, France, Aruba, St. Thomas and Puerto Rico.

Dr. Rose’s passion is to travel the globe to understand the world and to share her knowledge of various cultures, history, health education and health promotion, health disparities, globalism and diversity through her writing, teaching and speaking engagements. Her current research is focused on health disparities, particularly in the United States, from a social justice vantage point, utilizing a cultural lens, and through comparative analysis, from a national and global perspective. Her cultural work and research have included travel to Puerto Rico, Mexico, Fiji, Africa (South Africa, Kenya, Senegal and the Cape Verde Islands), Sri Lanka, Europe (Spain, Italy, France, Portugal and the Netherlands), the Caribbean (Jamaica, Tortola, St. Thomas, Barbados), Latin and Central America (Cuba, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, the Dominican Republic) and Asia including, Japan, China, Singapore, Bali and Thailand.
Her administrative roles include serving as Director and Founder of her own firm, Rose Consulting, her current role, and prior service as President and CEO of Plainfield Health Center in Plainfield, NJ and as Vice President of Behavioral Health Services at The Jessie Trice Center for Community Health, one of the largest community health centers in the nation, in Miami, Florida. 

She is the author of several books, including, Cultural Competency for Health Administration and Public Health, published by Jones and Bartlett Learning in 2011 and Cultural Competency for the Health Professions, published in 2013 by the same publisher. She also has published articles including a piece in the Harvard Journal of Minority Public Health, which focused on Teenage Pregnancy in the Black community. Her work currently includes serving as Administrator and sole writer for her Blog, entitled Natural Is Cool Enough (N.I.C.E.), which has a national and international following. She developed a DVD entitled “Cultural Competency: A Public Health Imperative” through her consultation for a project directed through the Alumni Office of the Yale University School of Public Health, where she also received the Public Health Service Award (2004), for her commitment to Community Health Service. Her next book, to be published by Jones and Bartlett Learning, will be released in 2016, and is entitled Health Disparities and Diversity Context, Controversies and Solutions, First Edition.

In the summer of 2013, she taught Chinese college students at Jiaotong University in Shanghai, China, for 6 weeks, and in the summer of 2014 for five weeks in Guangzhou, China at Jinan University. She will teach at Jinan University, in Guangzhou China, again, during the summer of 2015. Dr. Rose has studied and has language skills in both Spanish and Mandarin Chinese based on her travels and intense study and speaking practice in both languages.