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Layered Conversations: Bringing Diverse Perspectives to the Table

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Welcome to the First Edition of this podcast, Layered Conversations: Bringing Diverse Perspectives to the Table!

As clinicians and researchers, we learn the ethical principle of nonmaleficence and the ethical standard of avoiding harm. In application, we can do this by being open-hearted and active listeners as well as lifelong learners. We can also be open to becoming vulnerable to explore self-awareness as it relates to some of our own implicit biases and recognize that refining our cultural competencies is a continuous journey.

This podcast is an extension of the column, The Conversation Corner. The column turned podcast is designed to facilitate discussion on topics around diversity and inclusivity in healthcare and research implementation, with a keen focus and intention on pragmatic approaches for good clinical practice. Through honest and open dialogue with field experts hosting various perspectives, the podcast is sure to deliver a fresh and innovative outlook on health equity.

Join me at the table to listen and engage in this rich and timely conversation!



Episode 1

Conversation with Dr. Jocelyn Smith Lee: Contextualizing trauma and its effects on the health and well-being of Black men

Dr. Jocelyn R. Smith Lee is an Assistant Professor of Human Development and Family Studies at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. Dr. Smith Lee’s community engaged program of research investigates issues of trauma, violence, loss, and healing among Black boys, men, and families. Rooted in Baltimore and growing in Greensboro, her research examines the health disparities of violent injury and violent death and works to understand how losing loved ones to homicide shapes the health, well-being, development, and family relationships of Black males and their social networks. Dr. Smith Lee’s interdisciplinary research has been published in top-tier journals such as the American Journal of Public Health and the American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, presented at national scientific meetings and invited talks, and featured in national news outlets. At UNC Greensboro, she is the founder and director of the Centering Black Voices research lab (Twitter: @CenterBLKVoices) whose mission is to affirm humanity, prevent violence, and promote healing in the lives of Black boys, men, and families through research and action. Her new project “Disrupting Dehumanizing Narratives of Black Men in Poverty” is 1 of 28 winners of the 2020 Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Grand Challenge Competition: Voices for Economic Opportunity. Prior to her appointment at UNC Greensboro, Dr. Smith Lee completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Center for Research on Ethnicity, Culture, and Health (CRECH) at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, served as an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, NY, and practiced individual, couple, and family therapy in Maryland. She completed her undergraduate studies in Psychology at Hampton University and her graduate work in Marriage and Family Therapy (MS) and Family Science (PhD) at the University of Maryland, College Park. Having personally lost loved ones to homicide, Jocelyn is deeply committed to this healing work.

Selected Cited Works

  1. Unequal Burdens of Loss: Examining the Frequency and Timing of Homicide Deaths Experienced by Young Black Men Across the Life Course
  2. Posttraumatic stress symptoms in context: Examining trauma responses to violent exposures and homicide death among Black males in urban neighborhoods.
  3. “That’s My Number One Fear in Life. It’s the Police”: Examining Young Black Men’s Exposures to Trauma and Loss Resulting From Police Violence and Police Killings