Starting the Conversation: Episode 1
Over the last year, we’ve been reminded that systemic racism has had a devastating impact on our society. For centuries, health inequities have contributed to Black Americans and people of color suffering worse health outcomes than their white neighbors. This six-episode series, hosted by Michael Sneed, Executive Vice President, Johnson & Johnson, features conversations with Black doctors and nurses on the front lines of health equity with the hope that by Starting the Conversation and listening, we create empathy. Through empathy, we gain understanding. And, through understanding, we inspire change.
Chicago: History and hope
Chicago’s historically Black South and West Sides are something of a ground zero in the fight for racial justice. Michael Sneed, Executive Vice President, Johnson & Johnson, begins the series in his hometown, where his grandparents operated a nursing home and rehabilitation center for the community. Just because health disparities have always existed is no reason to allow them to stand. Sneed speaks with two health professionals working to change that narrative and reality.
If these conversations speak to you, please consider joining the effort by learning more about the National Medical Fellowships and National Black Nurses Association and by clicking here.
Michael Sneed
Michael Sneed most recently served as Executive Vice President, Global Corporate Affairs & Chief Communication Officer, and a member of the Executive Committee at Johnson & Johnson. He is a member of the Board of Trustees at the Thomas Jefferson Health System and a member of the Board of Directors of Wayfair. He holds a master’s degree in business administration from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College and a Bachelor of Arts degree, cum laude, from Macalester College.
Janice Phillips, Ph.D., RN, CENP, FAAN
Dr. Phillips is the Director of Nursing Research and Health Equity and Associate Professor at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. A 2010 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Fellow on Capitol Hill and a recipient of the Martin Luther King Jr. Humanitarian Award from the University of Chicago Medical Center, Dr. Phillips uses her platform to bring education and health equity to underserved populations after having spent her early childhood living in poverty and then foster care.
Ronald Rembert Jr., M.D.
Dr. Rembert was born and raised in Chicago and graduated from the Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University. After residency, he started practicing on the South Side of Chicago in a federally qualified health center, serving a Black and Latino community that had disproportionate rates of illnesses and opportunities. He also helped create a walk-in clinic for those without health insurance. He currently works as a healthcare consultant with hospitals throughout the United States.
For nearly 20 years, both in our laboratories and on the ground in countries impacted by TB and MDR-TB, Johnson & Johnson has been supporting global efforts to end TB and combat AMR.