Fairness First Campaign

(Recorded on February 28, 2024)

Guest: Megan McCoy, PhD

Watch the recording of Transforming Silence into Action: Building Alliances for LGBTQ2S+ Older Adults in Arizona with Megan McCoy, PhD.

In this conversation, hear more from Megan McCoy on the AZALEA Project, a recently formed stakeholder group focused on health equity for LGBTQ2S+ older adults that is being created with the community. Homophobia, transphobia, and ageism all conspire to create silences for LGBTQ2S+ older adults, many of whom fear having to go back into the closet to access care in later life. The AZALEA Project draws on the expertise of community members, service providers, and researchers to, in the words of the poet and activist Audre Lorde, “transform silence into language and action” through working together in alliance.

(Recorded on November 28, 2023)

Guest: Talima Pearson, PhD

Watch the recording of Finding golden grapes in the community: the foundation for controlling staph infections, a talk with Talima Pearson, PhD.

In this conversation, Talima Pearson shares his knowledge on Staphylococcus aureus, the golden grape-like bacteria under a microscope. These pathogens cause infections in various body parts, and while hospitals have made progress in controlling them, infections in the community are increasing. Tal’s research in Yuma, AZ, is groundbreaking, revealing that asymptomatic carriage of these bacteria is much more widespread than previously thought, with variations among different demographics. Understanding these dynamics is crucial for infection mitigation.

(Recorded on May 16, 2023)

Guest: Amanda Hunter, PhD

Watch the recording Healing Through Culture: My Journey with Cultural Identity and Mental Health in Graduate School

In this conversation, Dr. Amanda Hunter shares her own experiences as a graduate student, with a spotlight on cultural reconnection and mental health, and how her journey bridges to her research. She discusses her work regarding the development, implementation, and evaluation of a culturally-grounded after-school program intended to strengthen cultural identity, resilience, and self-esteem while preventing substance use in Indigenous youth. This work was supported through the Southwest Health Equity Research Collaborative Pilot Project Program at NAU.

(Recorded on April 27, 2022)

Guest: Josue Saldivar

Watch the Health Justice Futures recording Nuestras Historias: Belonging in a Time of Displacement and Immigrant Health

During this event, guest speaker Josue Saldivar discusses how immigrants find a sense of belonging in the arts, using creative writing as a vehicle to explore the intersection of immigration status, race, gender, and sexuality. This session will unpack what it means to live on the borderlines of identity, and how geographical borders and anti-immigration policy impact the wellbeing of immigrant communities in Arizona.

Josue Saldivar is an immigrant, LGBTQIA+ community organizer, and a DACA recipient from Tucson, Arizona. Josue has used the power of creative writing to tell stories about immigration, gender, and sexuality. Josue is currently a Program Organizer with Borderlinks, an educational nonprofit in Tucson.

(Recorded on April 6, 2022)

Guest: Jihan Gearon

Watch the recording Health Justice Futures: Emergence: Indigenous Feminisms, Environmental Justice and Health Equity

Join the Fairness First Campaign and Jihan Gearon for a discussion on how “Health equity means prioritizing the health of our full selves – mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual – and all of our relationships, including those with our homelands and Mother Earth herself. Prevailing values of recent history – patriarchy, colonialism, capitalism, racism – have made full healthiness all but impossible. Yet solving the challenges of today requires that very thing. Practices of reflection and connection, such as art, are tools to bring ourselves and our collective home into healthy balance.” – Jihan Gearon

(Recorded on February 18, 2022)

Guest: Beth McManis, PhD

Watch the recording Using a Health Equity Lens to Expand Postpartum Care for Women in Underserved Communities

Dr. Beth McManis discusses community-based efforts to expand postpartum care within underserved communities in northern Arizona. Her work explores how to educate primary care providers, staff and patients about long-term risks for cardiovascular disease and other chronic conditions while addressing the social and structural determinants of health that impact the accessibility and quality of postpartum care.

(Recorded on  December 7, 2021)

Guest: Cody Kelly

Watch the recording Health Justice Futures: The Power of Art for Communities with Disabilities

Join us for an online conversation with visual and mixed media artists who will discuss the role of art in supporting and sustaining the well-being of communities with disabilities and creating communities of care.

(Recorded on December 3, 2021)

Guest: Joseph Mihaljevic, PhD

Watch the recording Fairness FirstX Talk: Can we Predict the Risk of West Nile Virus like we Predict Weather?

This virtual, interactive discussion with guest speaker and NAU Health Equity researcher, Dr. Joseph R. Mihaljevic, addresses the efforts he is involved in to build models that attempt to predict areas in Maricopa County, Arizona, that will have high risk of West Nile virus infections on a week-to-week basis. Dr. Mihaljevic also highlights his use of mathematical modeling and climate data in this endeavor.

(Recorded on October 22, 2021)

Guest: Emily Schneider, PhD

Watch the recording How can incarcerated individuals be active participants in research that directly impacts them?

Dr. Emily Schneider discusses her ideas surrounding the necessity of engaging incarcerated individuals in research design, implementation and analysis.

(Recorded on Sept. 29, 2021)

Guests: Liva’ndrea Knoki & Garrett Etsitty

Watch the recording Visual Art & Indigenous Health

Indigenous visual artists Liva’ndrea Knoki and Garrett Etsitty discuss the necessity of art in the mobilization of Indigenous communities for health justice, the power of visibility, and what health justice means in the context of Indigenous sovereignty, settler colonialism, and community-engaged research.