Greater Lawrence Family Health Center is launching a speaker series, bringing together community leaders, educators, business professionals and health care experts to discuss issues surrounding community health.
The first session, Thursday, June 30, features Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers CEO Michael Curry and Beth Israel Lahey Health Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer Juan Fernando Lopera. During the talk, called “Health Equity Matters!” the two discuss the Commonwealth’s newly created Health Equity Compact.
“The GLFHC Speaker Series is an opportunity for leadership in the Merrimack Valley to ‘walk-the-walk’ on diversity. We can come together from various backgrounds to discuss significant challenges to healthier lives in Lawrence and collectively create solutions,” said Greater Lawrence Family Health Center CEO Guy L. Fish.
The inaugural session takes place 4:30 p.m., Thursday, June 30, at Lawrence High School auditorium. Those wishing to attend are asked to reserve by Friday, June 24, by contacting Chief Strategy Officer Richard Napolitano by email at [email protected] or calling 978-722-2870.
The speaker series is open to everyone.
Greater Lawrence Family Health Center operates clinics in Lawrence, Methuen and Haverhill.
As head of the Mass League, Curry supports more than 52 health centers and more than 1 million patients throughout the state. Prior to joining the League in 2008, he worked 16 years at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts, most of that time as senior policy advisor in the Corporate Affairs Division. He has served on the health care transition teams for former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick and former Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and was involved in the passage of Massachusetts Health Reform and the Affordable Care Act. Curry is also a past president of the Boston Branch of the NAACP and has more than 20 years of service to the organization at the city, state-area conference and national levels.
Lopera is Beth Israel Lahey Health’s first chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer and leads the system’s efforts to transform care delivery for the underserved while establishing diversity, equity and inclusion capabilities across the system. Before joining Beth Israel, he served as vice president and corporate business diversity officer at the combined Tufts Health Plan and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care. There, he led company-wide diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and co-chaired the company’s Anti-Racism Leadership Taskforce. Earlier in his career, Lopera served as director of affordability strategies at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts and held management roles at Deloitte Consulting.