Events

Location: LabCentral Lobby
Time: 4:30PM-8:00PM

Register

* A one-of a kind art and racial health equity event brought to you by Nucarta in association with Gallery 1832. This unique event includes both an art exhibition and a panel component, making it one not to be missed!
For full details on the associated art exhibit and artist statements for, 'The Art of Communication in Racial Health Equity Innovation' please click here!

THE PANEL

Moderated by LabCentral's Ignite Executive Director, Gretchen Cook Anderson, this panel discussion hosted by Nucarta will take place with key stakeholders in Boston’s healthcare, biotechnology, DEI, and art spheres. Discussions will include topics such as racial health equity barriers and facilitators in the city, the profound impact of art and storytelling, and how we can work collectively to translate discussions into real, improved health outcomes for our underserved communities. This is a unique opportunity for organizations to bring awareness to the health equity and DEI work that is currently underway and for community members to learn about health justice and ask questions. The overall theme is the importance of communication in racial health equity work, communication across industries, and communication with our communities.

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FEATURED PANELISTS

Ross Marshall

Senior Director of Diversity Advisory at MassBio

Founder of Blacks in Bio

Ross Marshall is a community strategist experienced in designing, building and leading measurable and scalable equity-focused programs and initiatives for complex organizations. As Senior Director, Ross leads MassBio’s community engagement efforts. In addition, he works in conjunction with the MassBio DEI team to support member organizations on their DEI journey. Prior to joining the MassBio team, Ross was a founding Partner of DEI Partners, where he harnessed the power of analytics to empower a smarter, data-driven DEI strategy. Besides his duties with MassBio, Ross is the Founder of Blacks In Bio. Blacks In Bio is an affinity group dedicated to the advancement of Black and Brown people in the life sciences. Ross brings experience articulating a vision, translating it into executable strategy, and driving cross-functional teams to deliver in alignment with their DEI strategy.

Catherine T. Morris

Founder & Artistic Director, BAMS Fest
Director of Arts & Culture, The Boston Foundation

A mother, entrepreneur, and visionary, who works at the intersection of arts, culture and creative placekeeping. Over the last 20 years, Catherine has spent her life  creating platforms that amplify Black creatives, as well as mobilize and engage local audiences to experience the arts. Catherine has been a presenter, panelist and moderator with SPARK Boston, Podcast Garage, Berklee College of Music, Emerson College, Northeastern University, Simmons University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and the Museum of Fine Arts. She is a 2018 National Art Strategies Creative Community Fellow (The Barr Foundation), and recently served on the host committee for the Earthshot Prize Awards, as well as grant review panels for the Cambridge Arts Council, The Lewis Prize for Music, and the Boston Neighborhood Fellowship (The Boston Foundation). Catherine is an alumna of Temple University School of Sport, Tourism and Hospitality Management in Philadelphia, PA, and received her Masters of Science from Simmons University (Boston, MA). It is Catherine’s hope that her organization BAMS Fest becomes a pipeline to New England's Black arts and culture ecosystem and creative economy in a manner that closes the racial wealth gap, and creates more opportunities for future creatives.

Sheila Phicil

Director of Innovation, Boston Medical Center’s Health Equity Accelerator

Sheila Phicil is the Director of Innovation at Boston Medical Center’s (BMC) Health Equity Accelerator, where she develops initiatives that advance racial health equity. Before her current role, Sheila served as the Administrative Director of the Neurology Department at BMC where she oversaw the operations and finance in support of the Department’s clinical, research, and teaching missions. Sheila has 13 years of experience in healthcare spanning policy, strategy, and operations. She has worked at multiple healthcare institutions, including Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, and the Veterans Health Administration. Sheila holds two Master’s degrees in Public Health and Financial Economics and is a Certified Project Management Professional (PMP). In 2020, she received the BMC Leadership Impact Award for transformative leadership on diversity, inclusion, and health equity. In 2022, Sheila was one of 24 high-potential healthcare leaders selected to participate in the Massachusetts Health Leadership College fellowship program. Sheila believes every system is perfectly designed to produce the results it gets. Therefore, she is passionate about innovating systems of care designed to work for and with vulnerable and marginalized populations. Sheila also has a knack for storytelling to shed light on complex issues, often drawing from her lived experience as a first-generation Haitian American woman. 

Reginald Swift

Founder & CEO of Rubix LS

Reginald Swift is the Founder & CEO of Rubix LS - using innovation at a greater scale to change how health outcomes can be realized through patient product and service innovation. With a background in mechanical engineering, many of his research pursuits also involve the development of regenerative metals to target specific diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis for Myelin regeneration, ALS, PLS, PKAN, and much more (with a rare and infectious disease focus). With a passion for health equity innovation, he has focused his efforts on designing, develop, and deploy systems, structures, and policies that will enable global access to innovative therapeutics across the board.

Kelly Marshall

Artist and Freelance Photographer

Kelly Marshall is a New York based photographer specializing in interiors, travel, food & portraiture. Her commercial and fine art work are interwoven as she explores inherent belief systems, how they construct our lives, our homes and in essence our everyday reality. Marshall's work has been exhibited at The Museum of The African Diaspora (MOAD), Southern Exposure, PhotoVille, and RUSH Arts. She is a regular contributor to The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal & Architectural Digest. Clients include CB2, The Four Seasons, Pottery Barn, and T Brand Studio. She is a 2018 Lit List Awardee and is a proud member of Diversify Photo, Black Women Photographers, Women Photograph and a board member of Color Positive, a directory of Black photo talent and arts mentorship programs for New York City schools. Currently she is directing her first film, Birthing of a Nation- an afro futuristic account of the reproductive justice movement and the healing arts of Black Women in America since 1619.

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Nucarta stands for New, Creative, Art and Advocacy. Our mission is to proactively push for racial health equity and justice by connecting public health, art, and scientific innovation efforts, to ultimately achieve improved health outcomes for our Black and Brown, racial and ethnic minority communities.

In order for us to effectively identify key barriers and facilitators of health equity in Boston, we must use both creative and analytical thinking. Nucarta aims to empower and highlight POC artists as key community stakeholders who can collaborate with biotechnology and healthcare entities to advocate and ‘creatively solution’ for racial health equity. Solutions for us, by us. Follow us on Instagram @nucarta.co

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