Jeannette South-Paul, M.D., DHL(Hon), FAAFP, executive vice president and Provost of Meharry Medical College, joins James E.K. Hildreth, PhD, MD, to discuss the longstanding relationship between the Department of Veterans Affairs and medical schools across the country. Together they delve into the impact this collaboration has on medical students, veterans and the broader health care landscape. South-Paul also shares insights from her 20 years of active duty service in the United States Army and highlights the importance of diversity in the clinical workforce for veterans.

Dr. Atul Grover, executive director of the AAMC Research and Action Institute, outlines his concerns regarding health disparities created by recent policy changes and the effects regulations have on minority populations. As a nationally recognized expert in health policy, Dr. Grover describes his goal of contributing to growth in academic medicine through increasing diversity within the health care workforce, the dangers of restrictive policies within OB-GYN and AAMC’s advocacy for federal support in residency training programs, and securing the funding which will make a lasting change.

CEO of the National Healthcare for the Homeless Council, Bobby Watts, joins Dr. Hildreth to discuss the vitality of health equity in the face of economic disparity, and how understanding the homelessness crisis as a substantial human rights issue promotes empathy and strengthens the country as a whole. They’ll also provide insights into effective strategies for ensuring equal access to healthcare despite one’s financial position, and emphasize the necessity of prioritizing disadvantaged citizens to care for the community at large.

A legendary transplant surgeon, Clive Callender, MD, FACS, founder and president of The National Minority Organ Tissue Transplant Education Program (MOTTEP) and professor of surgery at the Howard University College of Medicine. Dr. Callender joins Dr. Hildreth to reflect on how his difficult upbringing inspired his later success as a medical professional and educator, and highlights the importance of diversity in organ transplantation to preserve as many lives as possible.

Dr. Cherae Farmer-Dixon serves as Dean of Meharry’s superior School of Dentistry which produces 40 percent of the nation’s currently practicing Black dentists. Dean Farmer-Dixon joins Dr. Hildreth for an insightful conversation on the importance of oral health to one’s overall wellbeing and how a single visit to a dentist could potentially save your life by helping detect other related medical issues. We also discuss the challenges associated with the lack of diversity in the healthcare workforce, and why it’s so crucial to address them head-on, now more than ever.

Guest host Marcus Whitney, founder of Jumpstart Nova, the first venture fund in America focused on Black-led startups, interviews Dr. James E.K. Hildreth, PhD, MD, to hear his personal journey of struggle and triumph as a young Black man in health care, how his childhood impacted his path through elite higher education and why he continues to encourage others to take chances on their goals.

Join host Dr. James E.K. Hildreth, PhD, MD, as we step inside the minds of healthcare leaders across the country with a new series aimed at spreading factual, informative and inspiring knowledge through conversations with a list of influential and educated health and policy experts in various fields. Dr. Hildreth is an infectious disease expert and researcher and CEO and president of one of the country’s four HBCU medical institutions, Meharry Medical College. This first season we'll tackle important issues like the need for diversity and health equity in healthcare and why access to care for those in underserved communities matters more now than ever.