2024 BILL GIST KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Amanda Joy Calhoun, MD, MPH is Chief Resident of the Yale Albert J. Solnit Integrated Adult/Child Psychiatry program. She received her BA in Spanish from Yale University and her MD and MPH from Saint Louis University. Amanda J. Calhoun is currently a Viola W. Bernard Social Justice and Health Equity Fellow, a Diversity Equity and Inclusion Emerging Leaders Fellow with American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and an American Medical Association and Satcher Health Leadership Institute Medical Justice in Advocacy Fellow.

Dr. Calhoun has authored over 30 publications, 19 of which she is has first-authored, and has presented abstracts and oral presentations in numerous conferences. Her research focuses on the mental health sequelae of anti-Black racism in children and has been funded by the Yale Child Study Center Pilot Research Award and is the recipient of prestigious National Institute of Health Loan Repayment Program award.

Dr. Calhoun also specializes in the effects of medical anti-Black racism. She writes for the general press and has published over 20 op-eds in the past 2 years, including, but not limited to, Boston Globe, TIME magazine, Washington Post, and HuffPost. She has been interviewed on countless radio shows and TV platforms, including CBS News, PBS Newshour, and MSNBC, discussing how racism affects the health of Black Americans and most importantly, what we can do about it.

2024 JACQUELYN HALLUM KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Dr. Portia Allie-Turco is an assistant professor, program coordinator, and clinic director at SUNY Plattsburgh. She has over 20 years of mental health counseling experience in non-profit management, community mental health counseling, private practice, and university counseling. Her clinical experience fuels her passion to train and prepare students to make an impact in the world through their strong counselor identity and by embodying a commitment to social justice advocacy.

Dr. Allie-Turco’s teaching approach focuses on supporting students in developing critical self-awareness and harnessing their professional power to make a meaningful impact to change lives. She believes in shared learning and often engages students in research projects and professional conference presentations. Her teaching philosophy draws from the principles of existential and African-centered theory as reflected in community building, meaning-making, and storytelling which are integrated into the learning process.

Dr. Allie-Turco uses a strength-based developmental model of supervision to enhance students’ self-efficacy by creating a bridge between counseling theory, interpersonal process, and emerging counseling skills. She strengthens students’ clinical decision-making in diagnosis, treatment planning, and intervention by cultivating hands-on learning and critical skill development during fieldwork experiences.

Leslie A. Council is a native of Asheville, North Carolina. She is a young professional who has worked in healthcare administration for over 19 years. While in this role, she has furthered her education in health equity and has become a consultant that is committed to dismantling racism in healthcare. Her expertise in event planning and marketing skills have afforded her opportunities to work with nationally recognized providers across the country.
Leslie is the Director of Health Careers and Diversity Education for the Center of Health Professions Education, and an Equity Consultant at Mountain Area Health Education Center. She serves as Co-Chair of the North Carolina AHEC Diversity, Engagement, and Inclusion Committee and is a member of the local MAHEC Diversity, Engagement, and Inclusion Committee where she is the Chair of the Education Sub-Committee. She is a current board member of the Western Carolina Medical Society and serves on the Steering Committee of the Black Physicians Affinity Group within the Medical Society. She is a previous President of the Board of Directors at Asheville Buncombe Institute of Parity Achievement (ABIPA), and previously served as a Commissioner of the Women’s Commission of Buncombe County. She owns and operates a local nonprofit called My Sistah Taught Me That, an organization that is dedicated to mentoring and supporting underserved youth in Western North Carolina.
Leslie is committed to diversifying the healthcare workforce by creating pathways for youth, Medical Students, Interns, and Residents who are interested in health careers. She is an educator who has traveled around the United States offering Continuing Medical Education to providers and healthcare leaders.
Leslie is a public speaker, blogger, Certified Professional Life Coach, Equity Consultant, and soon to be published author.

Leslie is the moderator of the Asheville African American Health Symposium.

Dr. Annaliesse Duncan is a 4th year Resident and native North Carolinian hailing from Greensboro, North Carolina. She has a Bachelor of Art in Hispanic Language and Cultural Studies from Dartmouth College, a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and attended Medical School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. During her residency at MAHEC, Dr. Duncan has served on the Board of Directors of the Western North Carolina Medical Society, the MAHEC Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council, and MAHEC SPECTRUM (LGBTQ organization).

Dr. Duncan is specifically interested in gynecologic surgery and increasing awareness and historical consciousness around race, medicine, and well-being.

Dr. Francisco Castelblanco received his Doctorate in nursing from Gardner-Webb University, BA in English from Rutgers University and numerous classes in between. AHEC Director & Chair of Continuing Professional Development at Mountain Area Health Education Center, formerly Director of Cardiac Emergencies for Mission Health. Cardiovascular nurse- ICU, Step-down, Cath Lab & Progressive Care Units. Healthcare lecturer and educator- K-12, College & Adult learning settings. Cultural Diversity specialist and speaker. Present and past board member of: Buncombe County Health & Human Services, Asheville-Buncombe Institute for Parity Achievement, Center for Diversity Education-UNCA, Asheville Latin Americans for the Advancement of Society, Pisgah Legal Services, Diversity Engagement Coalition, Thrive, ASAP and Minority Medical Mentoring Program.

Brianna M. Lombardi, PhD, MSW, is the Director of the Behavioral Health Workforce Research Center and Deputy Director of the Carolina Health Workforce Research Center at the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research. Dr. Lombardi is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Family Medicine and a Research Assistant Professor in the School of Social Work at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Lombardi's research focuses on understanding the use of team-based models of care to address the physical, social, and behavioral health needs of marginalized populations.

Tiffany is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker based in North Carolina with a strong background in supporting traumatized individuals and families. Specializing in trauma-focused modalities, she is trained in the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics (NMT), Child and Family Traumatic Stress Intervention (CFTSI), and Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT). Currently, she serves as a Clinical Supervisor for her local government, collaborating with local law enforcement to offer therapeutic assistance to children impacted by traumatic events.

Additionally, Tiffany is the founder of Sunflower Therapeutic Solutions PLLC and co-owner of Harbour & Holmes Publishing LLC. She co-authored "Your Feelings Matter, A Story for Children Who Have Witnessed Domestic Violence" and "Addy's Summer Adventure: A Story of BIG and Small Feelings". She has been a speaker at the NASW Conference, NC trauma conference, and CeYOU conference, sharing her passion for educating communities and professionals on mental health issues. In her free time, she enjoys reading, photography, escape rooms, and traveling to immerse herself in new cultures.

Amber Holmes is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and an ICF-certified coach with a rich background in both direct and indirect social work. She currently serves as a Licensed Clinician for Mecklenburg County, collaborating with the local police to assist child victims and witnesses of trauma.

Dedicated to empowering others, Amber shares her expertise through workshops, professional conferences, and speaking engagements for diverse audiences. She is also the author of two children's books: "Your Feelings Matter: A Story for Children Who Have Witnessed Domestic Violence" and "Addy’s Summer Adventure: A Story of BIG and Small Feelings."

As a passionate advocate for mental well-being, Amber actively participates in discussions and initiatives focused on mental health, aiming to promote awareness, normalize conversations, and enhance the quality of life for everyone.

Pam Diggs serves as the Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Diversified Talent Strategies for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina. In this role, Pam leads and executes the company’s DEI, Early Career Talent and underrepresented talent pipeline strategies. Through her leadership, her team develops programming and learning initiatives to create a more culturally aware and inclusive workforce throughout the Talent Management lifecycle. As the daughter of two cancer survivors, Pam has focused her passion on work that advances health equity, addresses root causes of avoidable differences in health and centers the voices of those closest to the solutions. Combining her passion for social justice and more than 15 years of experience working within multiple sectors, Pam is also a leading consultant on DEI, talent strategies, health equity, mitigating systemic bias, and organizational, policy, and system change. Pam is passionate about having conversations that matter and creating spaces that help ensure conditions for optimal health, safety and belonging for all people.

Pam earned a B.S. degree in Chemistry from UNC-Chapel Hill and a Master of Public Health degree in Health Behavior and Health Education from the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Public Health. She is a proud Durham, NC resident, member of the Gillings School ofd Global Public Health Alumni Association Advisory Board, founding member of the Alumni Inclusive Excellence Committee, and serves as an Ambassador for the Durham Chamber of Commerce.

Dr. Marc Latta is dedicated to restoring the heart, both physically through cardiac critical care and spiritually through his expertise in sociocultural traumatology. He addresses the need for advocacy in developing healthy communities.

Dr. Latta is nationally certified and a residency-trained physician associate specializing in Critical Care/Cardiac Surgery at Christiana Care Hospital in Newark, Deleware. He also serves in the United States Armed Forces as an Aviation PA at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Deleware Army National Guard. Dr. Latta is an international public speaker who advocates for men’s physical and mental health initiatives.

Dr. Latta earned his Doctor of Health Sciences (DHSc) from Eastern Virginia Medical School and is a biological sciences graduate of North Carolina State University. He holds dual master’s degrees from Duke University in the Nicholas School of the Environment, focusing on biohazard science/infectious disease epidemiology, and the Physician Assistant Program. He completed his general surgery residency training at Montefiore Medical Center in Bronx, NY.

Dr. Latta’s unwavering commitment to ending the paradigm that skin color should dictate the type and quality of healthcare any person receives is a beacon of hope. His tireless efforts in improving health in underserved communities, with a focus on healthcare disparities in minority communities, specifically among African American men, inspire a brighter future for healthcare.