The Black Equity Coalition is a network of predominantly black professionals, executive leaders, medical doctors, researchers, and community stakeholders who are intentional about ensuring that black and brown communities receive accurate and reliable information about COVID-19.
About Us
Liv Bennett
Raised in Manchester, Liv is passionate about improving social equity. She is currently a resident of Northview Heights where she has been, and continues to be, a community activist. Liv graduated Magna Cum Laude from Carlow University in May of 2018 and is currently attending graduate school at the University of Pittsburgh at GSPIA where she is studying Public Policy Management. Click the link below to learn more about Liv Bennet!
Dr. Dara D. Mendez
Dara D. Mendez, Ph.D., MPH, is an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Epidemiology and of Behavioral and Community Health Sciences and Interim Director of the Center for Health Equity at University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health and an affiliate faculty member of the Geoinformatics Laboratory at Pitt. Click the link below to learn more about Dr. Mendez!
Dr. Tiffany Gary-Webb
Tiffany Gary-Webb, Ph.D., MPH, is currently Associate Dean for Diversity and Inclusion and a tenured Associate Professor in the Departments of Epidemiology and Behavioral and Community Health Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh, Graduate School of Public Health. Click the link below to learn more about Dr. Gary-Webb!
Fred Brown
Fred Brown, President, and CEO of the Forbes Funds, has been a Transition Trainer since 2012. Fred is a celebrated environmental justice leader in the Pittsburgh area, who has shared his ground-breaking approach to the Urban Transition Cities Movement with our network via trainings, blog posts, teleseminars, and a workshop at the first Transition US National Gathering. Click the link below to learn more about Fred Brown!
Mark Lewis
Mr. Mark S. Lewis, President and Chief Executive Officer of POISE Foundation, February 2002 to present. Mark is a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. After graduating from Michigan State University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree majoring in accounting, he began his career as a financial auditor with the Pittsburgh office of Price Waterhouse, a public accounting firm. Click the link below to learn more about Mark Lewis!
Richard Garland
For over thirty years, I have been a practitioner and specialist of violence prevention for at-risk youth and those associated with gang and drug violence. My work has resulted in lives transformed from violent offenders to community members, major truces between gang members locally in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County, and community organizing around gun violence and homicide research. Click the link below to learn more about Richard Garland.
Dr. Jamil Bey
Originally from Beltzhoover, Dr. Jamil Bey is the President & CEO of UrbanKind Institute.
On a mission to create social justice, he is focused on improving communities and creating change. He endeavors to establish Southwestern Pennsylvania as a place where Black children and families can prosper and thrive. In addition to Dr. Bey's role as UrbanKind's visionary and his myriad charitable efforts, Dr. Bey serves on many boards and councils throughout Pittsburgh.
Dr. Tracey Conti
Dr. Tracey Conti joined the Latterman Family Health Center faculty as a part time preceptor in 2002 and became full time faculty in September 2005. She has held many leadership roles within the residency including; Director of Research and Scholarly Projects, Medical Director and Associate Program Director. Dr. Conti became the Program Director in 2012.
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Dr. Noble A-W Maseru
Dr. Noble A-W Maseru served for more than a decade as health commissioner for the City of Cincinnati Health Department where he oversaw more than 400 employees in seven divisions; seven preventive and primary health care centers; twenty-two school-based health centers; environmental, surveillance, chronic disease prevention and public health preparedness programs; creating healthy communities initiatives; and an annual budget of $49 million dollars. Maseru devoted his energies to achieving a healthier Cincinnati through establishing strategic partnerships with numerous public, private and grassroots agencies with the overall goal of elevating the department's health equity impact on Cincinnati---particularly vulnerable and underserved populations.
Dr. Jerome Gloster
Dr. Jerome Gloster is currently the CEO/CMO for Primary Care Health Services (PCHS) and is a Pediatrician with 25 years of experience in clinical medicine, all of which have been with Federally Qualified Community Health Centers. He accepted the position of CEO/CMO in November of 2018 for PCHS, a Federally Qualified Health Center Corporation of ten clinical health center offices throughout the greater Pittsburgh area with its headquarters located at the Alma Illery Medical Center in the Homewood neighborhood of the city of Pittsburgh.