❙ Conference Organizers
IJEOMA NNODIM OPARA, MD, FAAP, FAIM
Dr. Ijeoma Nnodim Opara is a double-board certified physician scientist activist and Associate Professor of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics at Wayne State University School of Medicine and Wayne Health. Her mission in life is to dismantle white supremacist delusion by eliminating antiBlack racism in medicine, healthcare, and public health while centering and celebrating Black brilliance, abundance, and joy. She is an NIH-funded health equity implementation researcher and the founding director of the “Health Equity and Justice in Medicine” (HEJiM) initiative, co-founding director of Wayne State University Global Health Alliance, and co-created the Global Urban Health & Equity curriculum. She is an internationally renowned award winning educator, scholar, and thought leader in antiracism and antioppression, decolonization, and Black liberation and focuses on the joy, abundance, and brilliance of Blackness. She is a member of the White House Office of Public Engagement Healthcare Leaders in Minority Health where she advises on antiracism, health justice, and health equity, Racism and Health section editor for Global Public Health PLOS One journal, and member of the National Health Equity Collective. She is a leader in the Michigan State Medical Society Taskforce on Health Equity, the Governor’s Roundtable on Reproductive Justice, the state of Michigan Pharmacy & Therapeutics committee, and a community health influencer for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. As CEO and founder of OparaSpeaks, she inspires and equips individuals and organizations with the tools to transform their systems into antiracist, just, equitable, and nurturing environments where Black brilliance thrives. She founded and directs the Opara Equity, Justice, & Joy lab and mentors hundreds of trainees, youth, and community members in community-based and -led implementation action research. She is also co-chair of the Detroit End Race Based Medicine Taskforce, Canada-US coalition to End Race Correction in Healthcare, and The North American Conference to End Race Based Medicine. She is a renowned speaker, consultant, coach, & facilitator and hosts an online think tank: Antiracism in Action Roundtable #AIART, a interdisciplinary community of Black leadership to eliminate antiBlackness from medicine & healthcare, and public health.
LATONYA RIDDLE-JONES, MD, MPH
Dr. Riddle-Jones is a proud Chemical Engineering graduate of Michigan State University, Wayne State University School of Medicine (WSUSOM) and DMC/ Wayne State University School of Medicine Internal Medicine- Pediatrics Residency program. She practiced at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital for 2 years upon graduation, and served as Clinical Instructor for University of Michigan Med/Peds program while there. Here at Wayne State University, she is an Assistant Professor, Medical Director for the Corktown Health Center (a medical home for Detroit’s LGBTQ community), Associate Medical Director for the Tri- County Breast and Cervical Cancer Control Program, faculty mentor for FitKids360 at WSU School of Medicine (an obesity treatment program for children), and serves as a representative on the Diversity and Inclusion Committee for the Department of Internal Medicine.
Her research interests include obesity prevention and treatment, effects of the Affordable Care Act on safety-net programs, and the performance of engineering students in medical school, while her clinical interests include addressing the medical needs of the LGBTQ community, asthma, diabetes and obesity. She is a proud wife, and mother of two. She loves ambulatory medicine, and her goal is to keep patients out of the hospital by staying on top of their preventative health needs – mind, body and spirit.
SEUN ROSS, DNP, MS, CRNP-F, NP-C
Seun Ross is the Principal Advisor at Encoding Equity Alliance. A recognized expert in implementation science, systems innovation, policy reform and clinical transformation, Dr. Ross is dedicated to achieving health justice through strategies that address barriers at their root. At Encoding Equity Alliance, her work focuses on transforming how race is considered in research design and clinical algorithms which is aimed at tackling inequities in healthcare delivery. Her leadership has played a pivotal role in closing disparities, including spearheading the creation of the Regional Coalition to Eliminate Race-Based Medicine in Greater Philadelphia.
She is a published author and has contributed to significant reports, the National Academies of Medicine's Medications for Opioid Use Disorder Saves Lives, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Advanced Practice Nursing Leadership: A Global Perspective, and the American Nurse Credentialing Center's The Doctor of Nursing Practice and the Executive Role.
As a thought leader, Dr. Ross has lectured extensively on topics such as healthcare policy, evidence-based practice, and addressing systemic inequities through research-driven approaches. Her contributions to the field have earned her numerous accolades, including the Healthcare Trailblazer Award from City & State PA, the Women of Achievement Award from the Philadelphia Tribune, the Health Equity in Business Award from the March of Dimes-Philadelphia, and the Healthcare Award from Coppin State University's College of Health Professions Helene Fuld School of Nursing.
Dr. Ross serves on the Board of Directors for YMCA Delaware, the Children's Crisis Treatment Center, and the March of Dimes Greater Philadelphia. She is the Chair of the National Kidney Foundation Leadership Summit, an active member of the University Science Center Health Innovation Council, Sigma Theta Tau International Nursing Honor Society, and the American College of Healthcare Executives. She holds certification as a family nurse practitioner and remains steadfast in achieving clinical and community impact for equal outcomes.
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