Board Officers

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Jerome Blackwell MT(ASCP), LSSMBB, Chair

A Sr. IT Solutions Consultant, Process Strategy & Architecture at Kaiser Permanente, Jerome has an extensive background in medical technology, LAB Sciences, and Lean Six Sigma. He enjoys supporting activities and programs that promote the equity of health and equality of Black members within the communities he interacts with.

Dr. Terri L. Richardson, Vice Chair

Dr. Richardson is a retired Internal Medicine Physician who serves on a number of boards.

Board Members

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Courtenay D. Brown

Courtenay is the Eastern Division Operations Manager for Yes! Communities. He has more than ten years of diversified leadership experience in the functional areas of human resources, operations management, strategic planning and organizational development.

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Mariamawit Desta (Mary Desta), PharmD

After learning that Black communities were more than 30% at an increased risk of death related to COVID-19, Dr. Desta changed her plan to open APEX pharmacy in Aurora to be a community center.

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Dr. Mehul Gandhi, MD, MBA

Dr. Gandhi is an internal medicine physician and the founder & CEO of DenTriage, which helps connects people to affordable urgent dental care. He hopes to combine his scientific and business backgrounds to bring novel, innovative ideas to life that can transform access to healthcare for all patients.

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Rita Hill

Rita is a Stakeholder Engagement Specialist at the U.S. Department of Transportation. With a background in International Development and Public Health, She is driven by her belief that prioritizing safety and accessibility for the most marginalized groups benefits everyone.

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Jessica V. Jackson, JD

Jessica is a native of Colorado who has practiced law as a solo practitioner for the last 15 years. Her law firm specializes in Plaintiffs’ Personal Injury and Criminal Defense. Prior to opening her own law firm, she was an Assistant District Attorney in Brooklyn, New York.

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Tracie L. Randle

Tracie has a passion for helping both for and non-profit organizations succeed and is currently a sales and marketing consultant for Blackdoctor.org – the nation’s largest and most comprehensive online health resource for African Americans.

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Dawn Aladits

Dawn is an accomplished Senior Human Resource Professional with more than two decades of HR Management Experience working at Enterprise Holdings. Her expertise spans across multiple areas of Human Resources to include diversity equity and inclusion, community relations, and philanthropy. Dawn is experienced in strategic partnership and executing strategies around mission alignment, employee giving, and volunteerism. Dawn continues to find ways to make a difference in Colorado by aligning her support, to not only give back to the community, but also to educate the community.

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John Davis, Advisory Board Member

John volunteers his time to assist several non-profits with their efforts to obtain and maintain their tax exempt status, and assists low-income individuals with tax return preparation at Volunteer Income Tax Assistance sites during the filing season.

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Kingsley C. Okafor, M.D.

Kingsley C. Okafor, M.D. is a board-certified ophthalmologist who specializes in cataracts, refractive, and glaucoma surgeries. In addition to providing great clinical care for his patients, Dr. Okafor is pushing the field of ophthalmology forward by performing clinical research studies. Dr. Okafor also works as an active consultant for different medical companies to educate other practicing eye surgeons on how to improve their surgical techniques and surgical outcomes in glaucoma surgeries. He is originally from Eastern Nebraska and is of Nigerian heritage. Dr. Okafor is passionate about eyecare and reducing healthcare disparities.