In this powerful episode of Danforth Dialogues, Dr. Valerie Montgomery Rice, President and CEO of Morehouse School of Medicine, sits down with U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra. As the first Latino to hold this distinguished office, Secretary Becerra shares his inspiring personal journey—from his working-class upbringing to becoming a key leader in the fight for health equity in America. Listeners will learn about his pivotal role in expanding health access for underserved communities, tackling health disparities, and his dedication to equitable health care through policy and leadership. Tune in to hear his thoughts on the values of hard work, advocacy, and servant leadership, as well as the personal experiences that shaped his path to public service.

RESOURCES RELATED TO THIS EPISODE
Morehouse School of Medicine:msm.edu
HHS Office of the Secretary: hhs.gov
Valerie Montgomery Rice X:@MSMPres
Xavier Becerra’s X: @SecBecerra

CREDITS
Produced by ChatWithLeadersMedia.com
Theme Music by Old Fire Music from Pond5.com

In this powerful episode of Danforth Dialogues, Dr. Valerie Montgomery Rice, President and CEO of Morehouse School of Medicine, sits down with U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra. As the first Latino to hold this distinguished office, Secretary Becerra shares his inspiring personal journey—from his working-class upbringing to becoming a key leader in the fight for health equity in America. Listeners will learn about his pivotal role in expanding health access for underserved communities, tackling health disparities, and his dedication to equitable health care through policy and leadership. Tune in to hear his thoughts on the values of hard work, advocacy, and servant leadership, as well as the personal experiences that shaped his path to public service.
RESOURCES RELATED TO THIS EPISODE
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Morehouse School of Medicine:<a href="https://www.msm.edu"> msm.edu</a></li>
<li aria-level="1">HHS Office of the Secretary: <a href="https://www.hhs.gov/">hhs.gov</a></li>
<li aria-level="1">Valerie Montgomery Rice X: <a href="https://x.com/MSMPres">@MSMPres</a></li>
<li aria-level="1">Xavier Becerra’s X:<a href="https://twitter.com/SecBecerra"> @SecBecerra</a></li>
</ul>
CREDITS
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Produced by<a href="https://chatwithleaders.com"> ChatWithLeadersMedia.com</a></li>
<li aria-level="1">Theme Music by Old Fire Music from Pond5.com</li>
</ul>

COVID-19 turned life upside down for all of humanity literally leaving no one untouched or unimpacted. At the onset of the pandemic, Morehouse School of Medicine President and CEO, Dr. Valerie Montgomery Rice, and her leadership team recognized that the health crisis would be the ultimate teaching opportunity for MSM’s students and staff. The school returned to on-campus instruction early in the pandemic because as future healthcare professionals, they felt the students should model behavior that will prepare them to be on the frontlines of any future public health crisis. Morehouse School of Medicine implemented rigorous testing and contract tracing programs which, over the course of the pandemic, kept the school’s positivity rate under 1 percent until the emergence of the omicron variant. The school also launched a community vaccination program and hosted a “Civil Rights Leaders” vaccination event to inspire Black Americans to get the shots.

Given its unique role as a public health resource focused on underserved and minority communities, Morehouse School of Medicine has garnered some valuable leadership insights over the past two years in the battle to stem the impact of COVID-19. Coupled with her own extensive experience as a medical professional, public health expert, and academic executive, Dr. Valerie Montgomery Rice wants to share these lessons learned with both the school’s students and the wider educational and business community in hopes they might offer help to others.

COVID-19 turned life upside down for all of humanity literally leaving no one untouched or unimpacted. At the onset of the pandemic, Morehouse School of Medicine President and CEO, Dr. Valerie Montgomery Rice, and her leadership team recognized that the health crisis would be the ultimate teaching opportunity for MSM&rsquo;s students and staff. The school returned to on-campus instruction early in the pandemic because as future healthcare professionals, they felt the students should model behavior that will prepare them to be on the frontlines of any future public health crisis. Morehouse School of Medicine implemented rigorous testing and contract tracing programs which, over the course of the pandemic, kept the school&rsquo;s positivity rate under 1 percent until the emergence of the omicron variant. The school also launched a community vaccination program and hosted a &ldquo;Civil Rights Leaders&rdquo; vaccination event to inspire Black Americans to get the shots.
Given its unique role as a public health resource focused on underserved and minority communities, Morehouse School of Medicine has garnered some valuable leadership insights over the past two years in the battle to stem the impact of COVID-19. Coupled with her own extensive experience as a medical professional, public health expert, and academic executive, Dr. Valerie Montgomery Rice wants to share these lessons learned with both the school&rsquo;s students and the wider educational and business community in hopes they might offer help to others.

Leadership Lessons From The Frontlines Of The Pandemic

Danforth Dialogues with Valerie Montgomery Rice, MD, FACOG

Danforth Dialogues with  Valerie Montgomery Rice, MD, FACOG

background to championing health equity and servant leadership in this inspiring conversation with Dr. Valerie Montgomery Rice.

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