2024 Keynote Speakers

Dwinita Mosby Tyler, Chief Catalyst & Founder The Equity Project, LLC
Dean Cathy Bradley, Dean of the Colorado School of Public Health
Jill Hunsaker Ryan, Executive Director of Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment
Lt. Governor Dianne Primavera
Montelle Tamez, Colorado Public Health Association (moderator)
Kweku Hazel, Co-Founder of Gyedi Project and General Surgeon and Faculty Fellow, University of Colorado Hospital
Robert Belknap M.D., Executive Director, Public Health Institute at Denver Health
Nadine Bridges, MSW, Executive Director, OneColorado
Madison Goering, MSW, MPH, Senior Professional Research Assistant, Center for Health, Work, and Environment

Dr. Ned Calonge, MD, MPH (moderator)


Dwinita Mosby Tyler
Chief Catalyst & Founder
The Equity Project, LLC

Background:

Dr. Dwinita Mosby Tyler is the Chief Catalyst and Founder of The Equity Project, LLC — a consulting firm supporting organizations and communities in building diversity, equity and inclusion strategies — as well as The HR Shop, LLC, a human resources firm designed to support non-profits and small businesses. She is the former Senior Vice President and Chief Inclusion Officer for Children’s Hospital Colorado -– the first African-American woman to hold that position in the organization’s 100+ year history. She is also the former Executive Director of the Office of Human Resources for the City and County of Denver –- the first African-American woman to hold that position in the 63+ year history of the agency. Dr. Mosby Tyler, a consultant accredited by the Georgetown University National Center for Cultural Competence and recipient of the Cornell University Diversity & Inclusion certification, is nationally recognized for her equity work with non-profit, community, government and corporate organizations. has received many local and national awards for her service and leadership accomplishments including recognition from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Department of Agriculture and Human Rights Campaign.

Dean Cathy Bradley
Dean of the Colorado School of Public Health

Background:

Cathy J. Bradley, PhD, is the Dean of the Colorado School of Public Health and the Deputy Director of the University of Colorado Cancer Center. Dr. Bradley is a health economist and holds the Paul A. Bunn, Jr. Endowed Chair in Cancer Research. Prior to joining the University of Colorado, she was the founding Chair of the Department of Healthcare Policy and Research, at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine.

Dr. Bradley received a Bachelor’s degree from Old Dominion University and a Master’s of Public Administration and PhD in Health Policy and Administration from the University of North Carolina Gillings School of Public Health.

Dr. Bradley’s research focuses on decisions made at the intersection of work, health insurance, and cancer, and seeks to explain how when faced with a serious and expensive path to treat illness such as cancer, many workers remain employed to keep employer-based health insurance, despite needs for treatment and convalescence. This research has extended to families and caregivers and their financial consequences. Within this realm, Dr. Bradley concentrates on policies that reduce disparate outcomes and financial burden among people who must make these stark choices. She is also an expert in Medicaid and using administrative datasets to explore research questions related to health disparities. Since 1998, she has been continuously funded as a principal investigator by the National Institutes of Health, and has received funding from the American Cancer Society, the Commonwealth Fund, and other state and international agencies.

Dr. Bradley served on national advisory committees including the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine National Cancer Policy Forum and formerly served on the National Advisory Committee to the Agency for Healthcare Quality & Research. She currently serves on the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) Methods Committee. She is also an Associate Editor for Journal of the National Cancer Institute, on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Cancer Survivorship, and was formerly an Associate Editor of Health Economics.

Dr. Bradley has received numerous awards and honors including the Women in Science, Dentistry, and Medicine Professional Achievement Award in Leadership, the Distinguished Faculty Award at Michigan State University, and the Distinguished Faculty Scholar Award at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Lt. Governor Dianne Primavera

Background:

Dianne Primavera is serving her second term as Colorado’s 50th Lieutenant Governor. In her role, she leads six programs: the Office of Saving People Money on Health Care, the Office of eHealth Innovation, the Colorado Disability Funding Committee and Disability Policy, the Colorado Commission of Indian Affairs, Serve Colorado, and Aerospace and Defense. Dianne is a lifelong Coloradan and longtime Broomfield resident. Prior to her role as Lieutenant Governor, she worked as chief executive officer (CEO) of Susan G. Komen Colorado and served eight years in the State Legislature, representing Broomfield, Superior, and parts of Erie and Westminster

Montelle Taméz
Colorado Public Health Association (Moderator)

Background:

Montelle Taméz is the Deputy Director of Community Engagement & Health Equity at the University of Colorado’s Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (CCTSI) where she co-leads the CCTSI’s Community Engagement (CE) Core, which aims to build capacity in community-academic research partnerships to improve the translation of scientific discoveries into culturally relevant interventions and programs that improve health in vulnerable communities. Ms. Tamez has more than 20 years of experience working to improve health equity through public health interventions, community engagement and community engaged research. Before joining the CCTSI in 2009, Ms. Tamez worked for the Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment’s Prevention Services Division, where she specialized in community-based initiatives to promote chronic disease prevention, screening and treatment. While at the health department, Ms. Taméz co-lead the Cancer, Cardiovascular Disease and Pulmonary Disease Competitive Grants Program. In this role, Ms. Tamez managed the communications and daily operations of the program, provided technical assistance to more than 70 grant recipients across the state, and worked closely with the legislatively mandated review committee. Ms. Tamez began her public health career at the American Cancer Society (ACS) as a Cancer Control Specialist, developing and implementing community-based tobacco control initiatives. Ms. Tamez worked closely with external partners and coalitions to pass legislation that made Colorado smoke free. In this role, Ms. Tamez also worked in the Latino/a/x community as a health educator, promoting cancer prevention, screening and treatment. Ms. Tamez co-authored the American Cancer Society’s You Can Quit smoking cessation program, developing a train-the-trainer model, which she implemented in businesses, community-based organizations, primary care clinics and hospitals throughout the state. In addition to her role at the University of Colorado, Ms Taméz is a senior consultant with the Otowi Group, LLC, specializing in communications, engagement and health equity.

Nadine Bridges, MSW, Executive Director, OneColorado

Nadine Bridges is the first Black and female Executive Director of One Colorado, the state’s leading advocacy organization advancing equality for LGBTQ+ Coloradans and their families. She has dedicated herself to working with and advocating for vulnerable communities for over 20 years.  Nadine has been a professor, director, counselor, mentor, volunteer, Peace Corps volunteer, and activist.  She is committed to racial equity, social justice, and anti-oppressive movements.

Nadine is an adjunct professor at the University of Denver’s Graduate School of Social Work.  She professionally mentors former students and colleagues and serves on the Advisory Committee of Racial Diversity to the Dean at the University of Denver’s Graduate School of Social Work and is a Health Equity Commissioner for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

Nadine earned her BS in Biology from the College of Charleston and her Master of Social Work from the University of Denver along with a Certificate for Social Work with the Latinx Community.

Madison Goering, MSW, MPH
Senior Professional Research Assistant, Center for Health, Work, and Environment

Madison Goering’s, MSW, MPH (she/her/ella) professional background is rooted in community development, from running a referral hotline for survivors of human trafficking to supporting families experiencing homelessness gain more power over the services they utilize. She has extensive experience in bilingual group training and facilitation, from presentations on motivational interviewing to trauma-informed care. Madison lived and worked in Bolivia for two years. She is currently a Sr. Professional Research Assistant at the Center for Health, Work and Environment at the Colorado School of Public Health where she develops the Latino Total Worker Health Leadership Training and assists with chronic kidney disease research in Guatemala and México. 

Dr. Ned Calonge, MD, MPH (moderator)

Background:

Ned Calonge, MD, MPH, is a professor of Epidemiology and the Associate Dean for Public Health Practice at the Colorado School of Public Health, and is the Chief Medical Officer for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. He is an associate professor of Family Medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. Nationally, Dr. Calonge chairs HRSA’s Advisory Committee on Heritable Disorders of Newborns and Children and is a member of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) Standing Committee on Reproductive Health, Equity and Society.  He is past chair of the NASEM Board on Population Health and Public Health Practice, past chair of CDC’s Community Services Task Force, past chair of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and past chair of CDC’s Evaluating Genomic Applications in Practice and Prevention Working Group.  He has served on and chaired several NASEM consensus studies including studies on health equity, genetic testing in medicine, safety and quality of abortion services, evidence-based public health emergency preparedness and response, PFAS testing, exposure reduction and clinical follow up, the VA Presumptive Decision Process, and alcohol and health. Dr Calonge received his MD from the University of Colorado, his MPH from the University of Washington, and is board certified in Preventive Medicine.