The next iteration of Power, Privilege, and Positionality will be held virtually on Wednesday, September 1, 3:00–4:30 p.m. Luella Benn, director of accessibility resources, Justice Shorter, Disability Justice advocate and Black Disabled Lives Matter amplifier, and Qudsiya Naqui, lawyer and activist, will discuss the intersection of race, health, and disability from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m.

The JEDI Office would like to acknowledge those who engage in Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) work at the IHP on top of their existing roles. Our goal is to use this information to make these contributions visible to the broader IHP community. Please fill out the form if a student, faculty, staff, and/or alum has supported you as it relates to JEDI.

The Student and Employee Assistance Program is available to support our Haitian, and Afghani colleagues others affected by the current crises.

Situations like these can be stressful for both those directly impacted, and those who learn about it through news or social media. You may find these resources helpful:

To speak confidentially with an SAP/EAP counselor, call (866) 724-4327, or request an appointment via our online form. Please note that the Student and Employee Assistance Program website can be translated into multiple languages by clicking the "Select Language" button in the top right corner.

Over the past year, Mass General Brigham has made an unprecedented commitment to creating greater levels of racial equity within our healthcare system through our United Against Racism Strategy. Education is a key part of our multifaceted initiative to ensure greater racial equity.

We are launching Mass General Brigham’s first system-wide anti-racism educational program, titled Stepping Stones. Stepping Stones are four short videos that help viewers understand how racism exists and functions in our society — and how they can combat it. Based on the work of Dr. Camara Jones, each short and engaging video is constructed as an allegory: a short story with a deeper meaning, and each build on the concepts of the one before it. As Dr. Jones narrates each story, they are accompanied by colorful and immersive graphic illustrations. Two of the four allegories are available now and the other two will be available this fall. Stepping Stones provides a common starting point and framework for how Mass General Brigham can be United Against Racism, as the fight against racism takes collective action.

The Stepping Stones videos will be available in six languages in the near future: English, Spanish, Haitian Creole, Brazilian Portuguese, Simplified Chinese, and French.

Stepping Stones is accessible via HealthStream, or by searching for “Stepping Stones” in the HealthStream catalog.

Jammy C.(Torres-Caraballo) Millet, MSW, is a Social & Racial Justice warrior and advocate. She is the daughter of Puerto Rican migrants who settled in Dorchester, Boston, Massachusetts (occupied land of the Massachusett, Wampanoag and Nipmuc people) in the 1980s. In experiencing the trauma of identity intersections and the complexities that come with being a Puerto Rican on the mainland, she learned that she had experienced the internalization of Anti-Blackness through her lineage (The enslavement of African peoples, the Taino Massacre, Spanish Colonizers). While in her (un)learning process, in 2015, as a Behavior Support Team Lead within the Boston Public Schools, she was introduced to the insidious, disproportionate impact of punitive school disciplinary practices on Black and Brown youth. It was then, she began her work and research on the school to prison pipeline, and came to embrace Restorative Justice in her search for eradicating punitive responses to student behavior and Racial Justice.

Jammy continues to be a dedicated Social Justice Education professional within the Boston Area and has been for nearly 10 years. In 2018, she began her work in Higher Ed, and in 2020, she founded StayJust, a Restorative Justice Education and Implementation Organization; created to challenge power imbalances, decolonize education, dismantle oppressive educational practices/pedagogies, and denormalize white supremacy within Higher Ed spaces.

Jammy's work is rooted in educating communities on the core values and practices of Restorative Justice through the lens of Social Justice, Equity Mindedness and Empowerment.

The JEDI Office updated the Fall 2021 holiday calendar. We recently worked with Rabbi Bem at the MGH Spiritual Care Department to create a guide for Jewish holidays and traditions. We will continue to work with the Spiritual Care Department to develop additional resources for other religious observances.

Dallas Ducar, NP, founding Chief Executive Officer of Transhealth Northhampton, will give the talk "Co-creating a Community-Based Health Center: The Story of Transhealth Northampton" on June 24. Watch the recording.

The JEDI Office held the webinar, "The History of AAPIs in the U.S. and Diversity within AAPI communities" was held on July 8. Phitsamay Uy, an associate professor in the College of Education at UMass Lowell, and Karthick Ramakrishnan, a professor of public policy and political science at the University of California, Riverside, were on a panel moderated by Gayun Chan-Smutko, an associate professor in the Department of Genetic Counseling at the IHP. Watch the recording.

Rawan AlHeresh, an associate professor of occupational therapy, is the recipient of the 2020 Award for Faculty Excellence. She received this at the OTD Awards Ceremony in May.

Students wrote "Dr. AlHeresh exhibits the qualities of the award through her strong commitment to enhancing the learning of her students and mentees. She is an excellent model and teacher when it comes to evidence-based practice in her courses. She creates motivating learning activities, is consistently engaged with her students, and truly cares about her students. She demonstrates professionalism, humility, honesty, and strength at all times. She inspires her ADE mentees to make ambitious but achievable goals that support their educational experience and expand their knowledge in OT and interprofessional collaboration. Dr. AlHeresh challenges her students to break through comfort levels to reach a higher place. In a safe place that Dr. AlHeresh created, I learned so much about myself and how to make adjustments in my everyday life to increase positive interactions with others. I utilize what I learned from her not just in the OT field, but in everyday life.”

Luella Benn, associate director for accessibility resources in the Office of Student and Alumni Services, recently partnered with Academic Impressions to create the online course Student Disability in Higher Education as part of its DEI Foundations series.

Dr. Kimberly Truong, Chief Equity Officer, was recently featured on an episode of the podcast Charged. The episode is called "Racism Against the Asian American and Pacific Islander Community." In this episode, Dr. Truong, Aswita Tan-McGrory, and Dr. Juliana Chen discuss the history of racism against the AAPI community, how the pandemic has fueled it and why this group has been widely excluded from the conversation, data, and policy intended to foster racial equality. Listen to the podcast.

A Padlet has been launched with JEDI resources for students. Please use the password IHPJEDI to access this. Thank you to JEDI Fellows Annika Chan, Bella Coyne, Rosa Ortega, Alejandra Luna, and Richard Monari, Amanda Tarbet, Callie Watkins Liu, and Lindsey Lo for putting this together. While these resources are geared towards students, they are open to everyone. Our team will launch Padlets for faculty and staff over the next few months. Please let us know if you have any feedback.

We can now add and share our pronouns on Zoom. To add your pronouns, sign into the Zoom web portal and click "Profile." Then click "Edit" next to your name and enter your pronouns. You can then decide how you would like to share your pronouns. Learn more.

Dr. Callie Watkins Liu curated a reading list for self-guided learning around White Supremacy and Whiteness. Employees can access this reading list via the intranet. Students must be self-enrolled in the JEDI Community D2L to view the reading list. Feel free to use this individually as a reading group. Please remember that this syllabus is a beginning, not an end. Use it as a jumping-off point for deeper conversation and exploration on your own and with peers. Complete this form if you plan to do these readings, the JEDI Office may follow up to receive feedback on the reading list and share information about additional learning opportunities.

We found a comic by Terry Blas that discusses the terms Latinx and Latine. Check out the comic to learn about the popularity of the term Latinx and why the artist uses Laine.

The Forum on Anti-Racism, Equity, and Justice in K-12 Education was held on July 29. This forum Massachusetts bills S.365 and H.584 and was hosted by Senator Jamie Eldridge. Dr. Kimberly Truong, Chief Equity Officer, help answer questions in the Q&A chat. To support these bills as an individual you can write to your legislators, email written testimonials, write letters to the editor to your local newspaper, talk to the school committee and town officials, and reach out to your network across Massachusetts.

Watch the recording, read the forum summary, and check out more ways to support these bills!

Academic Impressions will hold the training "Techniques to Build Greater Cultural Humility" on Tuesday, August 31, 1:00–2:30 p.m. Learn about the techniques that you can incorporate into your daily routine to help you become a more culturally conscious and sensitive individual. Register.

Check out the recording of the Academic Impressions webcast "Cultural Humility: A Framework to Mitigate Personal Bias." Develop a practice that promotes wonderment and curiosity about the diversity of others in your daily interactions.

The IHP has an institutional membership with Academic Impressions.. Sign in with your IHP email to access the recording. Learn more about the institutional membership.

Community Health Network Area 17 has a number of resources on its website including BIPOC mental health, JEDI tools and worksheets, articles, and videos. Check out their resources!

The MGH Center for the Environment and Health and MGH Institute of Health Professions Center for Climate Change, Climate Justice, and Health will co-host the webinars "Environmental Sustainability and Resiliency Goals: Approaches and Challenges in the Construction of a New Hospital Building" on Wednesday, August 18 at Noon and "Health Care’s Responsibility at the Intersection of Climate, Health and Racial Equity" on Wednesday, September 15 at Noon. Learn more and register.