Despite decades of growing interest in improving Black men’s health and the health disparities affecting them, the health of Black men consistently ranks lowest across nearly all groups in the United States. As part of a Stories from Heart of Health event held in New York City in the middle of the U.N. General Assembly, Julius Johnson, DNP, RN, FNP-BC, a Nurse Practitioner, educator, and football coach, shared his stories and approaches supporting Black men’s health.

In this episode, recorded on the road at Sigma Nursing’s Creating Healthy Work Environments conference, we meet Nurse Practitioner Selena Gilles, DNP, ANP-BC, CNEcl, FNYAM, associate dean and clinical associate professor at NYU’s Rory Meyers College of Nursing and learn how she’s fostering diversity, inclusion, and belonging in the academic setting in order to build a more representative workforce and how practicing globally builds a deeper understanding of your own neighborhood.

In this episode, we meet nurse innovators Ravenne Aponte, BA, BSN and Joanna Seltzer Uribe, RN, MSN, EdD (c) and their quest to introduce you to, in fun and sticky ways, NursesYouShouldKnow -- and more importantly -- WHY we should know them.

The CDC reports that Black mothers die at three to four times the rate of White mothers and that the mortality rate of Black infants is higher than that of any other ethnic group in the U.S. Regardless of income and education level, childbirth for Black women is more dangerous than it is for White women. In this episode, we hear from three healthcare innovators who personally and professionally—as Black women and advisors to the Black Mamas Matter Alliance—work tirelessly to advance policy grounded in human rights and reproductive justice to improve Black maternal health and lives.