HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH PANEL | Latino & Underserved Community Leadership in Public Service

Hispanic Heritage Month at SUNY Downstate closes with a candid, solutions-driven panel on Latino and underserved community leadership in public service, health equity, and access. Opening remarks convey greetings from President Wayne J. Riley and frame why health outcomes are shaped far beyond hospital walls—by factors such as housing, transportation, environmental justice, education, and trust.

Moderated by Dr. Christina Gillian (Interim Chair, Pediatrics), the conversation explores how policy and place drive chronic disease disparities, why “all policy is health policy,” and how collaboration across healthcare, housing, education, and environmental justice can deliver real progress. Panelists share practical approaches to culturally safe care, language access, community-led research, and training future clinicians to meet the needs of diverse Brooklyn neighborhoods. They also tackle asthma hot spots, the impact of highways, peaker plants, e-commerce trucking, and how to rebuild institutional trust—especially for immigrants, LGBTQ+ patients, and elders navigating care across borders.

Featured speakers
• Dr. Marlene Camacho-Rivera – Social epidemiologist, SUNY Downstate School of Public Health
• Elizabeth De León Bhargava – Interim President, CUNY Guttman Community College; former HUD Assistant Secretary
• Dr. José Díaz – Research Assistant Professor, STAR Program, SUNY Downstate
• Kevin Garcia – Senior Transportation Planner, NYC Environmental Justice Alliance

Host/remarks

• Dr. F. Charles Brunicardi – Dean, College of Medicine
• Dawn S. Walker – Vice President, Communications & Marketing

Key topics
• Social drivers of health and community-engaged solutions
• Housing policy, displacement, and health equity
• Transportation, air quality, and environmental justice
• Intersectionality in HIV prevention and LGBTQ+-affirming care
• Cultural humility, language, and family-centered practice
• Education, advocacy, and curricula that reflect community realities

Recorded at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, Brooklyn, NY.