E3: Health Equity and Student Workshop Game Show

Jacquita N. Johnson is a Little Rock, Arkansas native who graduated from Texas Southern University with a B.S. in Health Administration in 2017. Currently, she is a Master of Public Health in Health Promotion and Community Health Sciences student at Texas A&M University, graduating in May of 2022. Jacquita also serves as a Graduate Research Assistant in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health in the School of Public Health. She aspires to become a scholar-practitioner in the field of public health, health promotion and environmental justice.

Charniece Baptiste is currently a Patient Access Representative at Lyndon B. Johnson Outpatient clinic. She is also a full-time graduate student at Texas Southern University completing her Master of Healthcare Administration. Charniece earned her Bachelor of Science in Psychology at the University of Houston in 2019. Charniece is inspired daily by her experiences and is working to become a leader in healthcare with a focus on the healthcare disparities facing women and minorities. In her free time, Charniece likes to travel, read, dance, and continue learning a second language.

Ronny Bell, PhD, MS is Professor of Social Sciences and Health Policy in the Division of Public Health Sciences at the Wake Forest School of Medicine. Dr. Bell is also Associate Director of Community Outreach and Engagement and Director of the Office of Cancer Health Equity at the Wake Forest Baptist Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr. Bell received his undergraduate degree in Public Health Nutrition from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Public Health and his Master’s and Doctorate in Foods and Nutrition from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Dr. Bell completed a post-doctoral fellowship in Gerontology and completed a Master’s in Epidemiology from the Wake Forest School of Medicine. From 1996 – 2016, Dr. Bell was a member of the faculty in the Department of Epidemiology at Wake Forest, and from 2006 – 2016, he served as Director of the Maya Angelou Center for Health Equity. From 2016 – 2020, Dr. Bell served as Chair of the Department of Public Health in the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University. Dr. Bell is an enrolled member of the Lumbee tribe of eastern North Carolina, and currently serves a Chair of the North Carolina American Indian Health Board. He also serves as Co-chair of the Prevention Subcommittee of the North Carolina Advisory Committee on Cancer Coordination and Control. In 2019, he was appointed as Scientific Co-Editor for the North Carolina Medical Journal. He previously served as Chair of the North Carolina Diabetes Advisory Council and the Healthy North Carolina 2030 Task Force.

Alexander Lê (he/him) is a first-year medical student at the Texas A&M College of Medicine. He obtained his Master of Public Health at the Texas A&M School of Public Health. Born in Houston, Texas to Vietnamese refugees, his interests center on advocacy and community wellness through addressing the structural determinants of health. As the VP of Community Health Programs for the Vietnamese Culture and Science Association (VCSA), he has coordinated vaccine drives and health fairs for AAPI community members throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. In his free time, he enjoys obsessing over NPR podcasts, finishing Octavia Butler's library, and learning how to play guitar.

Kristie Hicks coordinates diabetes prevention activities as the Diabetes Prevention Program Coordinator for the Community and Clinical Connections for Prevention and Health Branch, NC Division of Public Health. She is also the Staff Coordinator for the NC Diabetes Advisory Council and has served as the Mentoring Co-Chair on the Diabetes Council Leadership Group for the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors since 2020.

Ms. Hicks provides statewide technical assistance to CDC-recognized organizations offering the National Diabetes Prevention Program and collaborates with state and national partners to accomplish diabetes prevention activities. Her passion lies with chronic disease prevention, health education and improving health outcomes for vulnerable youth and adults.

Prior to joining the NC Division of Public Health, Ms. Hicks worked at the Brody School of Medicine, ECU Family Medicine Center where supported patient nutrition education programs. At the ECU Family Medicine Center, she was the Program Coordinator and Lifestyle Coach of the National Diabetes Prevention Program, responsible for managing and facilitating yearlong lifestyle change programs for several groups of adults with prediabetes. 

Ms. Hicks earned her Master of Public Health degree from the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University and a bachelor’s degree in public health studies from East Carolina University. She has published a manuscript featuring her Master’s-level secondary research capstone project on Eastern North Carolina adolescent’s snack and beverage consumption in The North Carolina Medical Journal. She is a Certified Health Education Specialist and Certified Personal Trainer.