Special Edition: Team Up for Health Equity

Recorded live at the Capri Theater in partnership with Stamp-Connect

Join us for this Special Edition of Black Market Reads as Lissa interviews Bukata Hayes about the book he co-authored with Stacy Wells, Write on Race to be Right on Race Resource Journaling Guide followed by a panel discussion exploring the intersections of health care, government, philanthropy, and community and the impact on Health Equity.

18:02 Reading of Summer Somewhere by poet Danez Smith, from their book Don’t Call Us Dead (Graywolf Press).

Special Edition: Team Up for Health Equity with Bukata Hayes

In this Special Edition of Black Market Reads, in a live production at the Capri Theater, Lissa Jones sits down with Bukata Hayes to talk about the book he co-authored with Stacy Wells, and then hear from a panel of representatives Nneka Sederstrom/Chief Health Equity Officer Hennepin Health Care, Chaz Sandifer/CEO theNEWmpls, and R.T.

Episode transcript follows…

BMR Host Lissa Jones at the Capri Theater, 2027 W. Broadway Avenue, Minneapolis
Photo Credit: Soren Schoen / iDream.tv
Lissa Jones and Bukata Hayes on stage
Photo Credit: Bre McGee / Uncommon Collaborative.
L-R: Lissa Jones, Bukata Hayes, Nneka Sederstrom, Chaz Sandifer, R.T. Rybak
Photo Credit: Bre McGee / Uncommon Collaborative
L-R: Bukata Hayes, Nneka Sederstrom, Chaz Sandifer, Photo Credit: Bre McGee / Uncommon Collaborative
L-R: Bukata Hayes, Chaz Sandifer, Lissa Jones, Nneka Sederstrom, R.T. Rybak
Photo Credit: Bre McGee / Uncommon Collaborative

Team Up for Health Equity Panelists

Bukata Hayes Vice President, Racial and Health Equity, BlueCross and BlueShield of Minnesota The most important thing about Bukata is that he is the son of Dia Damani and Karen Hayes, husband to Lisa and father to Damani, Jalen, Zavier, and Zuri. In addition to this, he recently became the first-ever VP for Racial and Health Equity at BlueCross BlueShield of Minnesota. Prior to that, he served 15 years as the Executive Director of the Greater Mankato Diversity Council, a non-profit, focused on diversity, inclusion and equity in Southern Minnesota. In March 2020, he co-authored WRITE on RACE to be RIGHT on RACE Resource Journaling Guide which is a self-study on race highlighting its many impacts on our communities. He also co-hosts a southern MN based radio show and podcast called DEI: Engaged Exchanges which discusses issues in diversity, equity and inclusion with local and statewide leaders. Bukata received his Bachelor’s Degree in Exercise Physiology from the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth, Minnesota. He has membership and/or is on the board of numerous organizations such as the Mankato Chapter of the NAACP (Executive Committee), Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Board (President), BlueCross BlueShield Foundation Board (Vice President) and the Blandin Foundation Board.

Nneka O. Sederstrom, PhD, MPH, MA, FCCP, FCCM, Chief Health Equity Officer.
Dr. Sederstrom joined Hennepin Healthcare in January, 2021 as the Chief Health Equity Officer. In this role, Dr. Sederstrom leads the work to assess, build, and execute strategies across the system to cultivate a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion and transform how care is delivered for our community. Dr. Sederstrom has served as director of the Clinical Ethics Department at Children’s Minnesota and Director of the Center for Ethics at MedStar Washington Hospital Center in Washington, DC, where she also led the Spiritual Care Department and was the creator and Executive Director of the Journal of Hospital Ethics. Dr. Sederstrom earned a BA in Philosophy from George Washington University, MA in Philosophy and PhD in Sociology from Howard University, and a MPH in Global Health Management from George Washington University. She is a Fellow of the American College of Chest Physicians and the American College of Critical Care Medicine and an affiliate faculty member of the University of Minnesota Center for Bioethics.

Chaz Sandifer is the CEO/Founder of theNEWmpls which focuses on affordable fitness, wellness and nutrition. Bringing her holistic approach to the community, Chaz teaches how to break generational cycles, instilling that fitness is fun, quality nutrition is king, and wellness is key to a healthy future. Chaz is 2020-2021 African American Leadership Forum fellow, a Northside Awesome Grant recipient, a Republic Services Grant recipient, a vendor at the BEE Marketplace, the recipient of 2020 Scissor Business of the Northside award, the 2021 fan favorite winner for the GoRedfoMN campaign for the American Heart Association and currently is nominated for the NDC Entrepreneur of the Year. She has expanded her brand to include a new wellness company, called Let Go Let Flow, focusing on anti-racist work between Black and White women, life & wellness coaching and weekly Wellness Wednesday Chats discussing various topics that affect the Black Community. Chaz joined Rolling Out AM morning live show for “Winning Wednesday’s”, highlighting the wins in the Black Community. She teaches numerous fitness classes, a monthly meal prep class called Meal Prep w/a Twist, Works with the CDC and MN Dept of Health on Diabetes & Arthritis Prevention Programs and operates /owns the Camden Farmers Market.

R.T. Rybak has led the Minneapolis Foundation since July 2016, deepening its community impact, growing its donor base and contributions, and launching a strategic framework that more directly focuses on using multiple impact levers to dismantle inequities. A Minneapolis native, R.T. spent 30 years in journalism, publishing, marketing before serving as Mayor of Minneapolis from 2002 to 2013.

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