The Minority Health Disparities Initiative (MHDI) will be exploring the ways that community advocacy, social justice, and health equity intersect, and bring together top organizations, researchers and thinkers in Nebraska and beyond to share strategies and resources for accelerating the shift to a more equitable, and sustainable health care system. The MHDI is proud to announce that this year’s keynote speakers will be Dr. Stephen Thomas, the Director of the Maryland Center for Health Equity at the University of Maryland and Elisabeth Hurst, Director of Advocacy for the Nebraska Hospital Association.

Stephen Thomas is one of the nation’s leading scholars in the effort to eliminate racial and ethnic health disparities and has applied his expertise to address a variety of conditions from which minorities generally face far poorer outcomes—cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity and HIV/AIDS.

Elisabeth Hurst is the Director of Advocacy for the Nebraska Hospital Association, where she focuses on state legislative issues concerning the hospital and health care industry and assists with government relations responsibilities.

This conference is free and open to faculty, staff, students, and organizations who are interested in minority health health disparities. Please register online: http://mhdi.unl.edu/2017-mhdi-conference.