Across our country, people and communities are trapped in a vicious cycle of economic injustice and poor health. A nascent paradigm for tackling the root causes of health inequities exists - one that builds a more just and inclusive political economy. We can directly invest in people and places. We can value health workers. We can build public capacity and take on privatization. In a political era fraught with dangerous disruption, the possibility of positive transformation also exists – but only if we think and act boldly together. How can we put such a paradigm into practice and grow power for it?
Join us for the second event of our spring 2025 Henry Cohen Lecture Series, From Paradigm to Power: Building a Just Political Economy for Health, on Tuesday, April 1 at 7:00 pm ET at The New School’s Auditorium located at 66 W. 12th St.. Featuring a public lecture from Acting Commissioner Dr. Michelle Morse who will then join a panel with Darrick Hamilton, Jamila Michener, and Brian Smedley, moderated by Dr. Dave Chokshi. Supported by the Health and Political Economy Project, this discussion will explore the kinds of health investments and policies, power-building strategies, and narratives we need to see real change.
This event is part of the 2025 Henry Cohen Lecture Series, which will bring leading thinkers, changemakers, policymakers, journalists, and activists to the New School to present their perspectives and explore the intersections of race, social stratification and political economy that inspire economic and racial justice.
Presented by the Institute on Race, Power and Political Economy and the Milano Schools of Public Engagement.
Dr. Michelle Morse is the Acting Health Commissioner and Chief Medical Officer of the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYC Health). She leads the agency’s work in bridging public health and health care to reduce health inequities and serves as a key liaison to clinicians and clinical leaders across New York City.
Darrick Hamilton is a university professor, Henry Cohen Professor of Economics and Urban Policy, and founding director of the Institute on Race, Power, and Political Economy at The New School. Professor Hamilton redefines how an economy should work, identifies powerful opportunities for investment in human capacity, and propels collaboration alongside field leaders to advance the realization of economic inclusion, social equity and civic engagement.
Dave A. Chokshi — a practicing physician and public health leader — is currently the Sternberg Family Professor of Leadership at the City College of New York. He is also Chair of the Common Health Coalition, Co-Chair of the Health and Political Economy Project, and a Senior Fellow at the Institute on Race, Power, and Political Economy.
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Brian D. Smedley is a Senior Fellow at the Urban Institute in Washington, D.C., where he conducts research and policy analysis to address structural and institutional forms of racism that impact the health and well-being of people of color. Formerly, Dr. Smedley was Chief of Psychology in the Public Interest at the American Psychological Association (APA), where he led APA’s efforts to apply the science and practice of psychology to the fundamental problems of human welfare and social justice. Previously, he was co-founder and Executive Director of the National Collaborative for Health Equity, a project that connects research, policy analysis, and communications with on-the-ground activism to advance health equity. During this time he also served as co-Director of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Culture of Health Leadership National Program Center. Dr. Smedley has also held leadership positions at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies in Washington, DC, and The Opportunity Agenda, in New York City. Prior to helping launch The Opportunity Agenda, Dr. Smedley was a Senior Program Officer at the Institute of Medicine (IOM), where he served as Study Director for the IOM reports, Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care, and In the Nation’s Compelling Interest: Ensuring Diversity in the Health Care Workforce, among other reports on diversity in the health professions and minority health research policy. Among his awards and distinctions, in 2013 Smedley received the American Public Health Association’s Cornely Award for social activism; in 2009 he received the Congressional Black Caucus Congressional Leadership in Advocacy Award; in 2005 he received a Presidential Citation from the APA; in 2004 he was honored by the Rainbow/PUSH coalition as a “Health Trailblazer” award winner; and in 2002 Smedley was awarded the Congressional Black Caucus “Healthcare Hero” award.
Dr. Michelle Morse is the Acting Health Commissioner and Chief Medical Officer of the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYC Health). She leads the agency’s work in bridging public health and health care to reduce health inequities and serves as a key liaison to clinicians and clinical leaders across New York City. She previously served as Deputy Commissioner for the Center for Health Equity and Community Wellness where she led place-based and cross-cutting health equity programs.
Dr. Morse is an internal medicine and public health doctor who works to achieve health equity through global solidarity, social medicine and anti-racism education, and activism. She is a general internal medicine physician, part-time hospitalist at Kings County Hospital, Co-Founder of EqualHealth, and Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Morse’s continued commitment to advancing health equity and justice is informed by her experience in leadership roles as Deputy Chief Medical Officer of Partners In Heath, as a Soros Equality Fellow launching a global Campaign Against Racism and as a Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy fellow with the Ways and Means Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives. In 2024, Dr. Morse was named a TIME100Next honoree.
Darrick Hamilton is a university professor, Henry Cohen Professor of Economics and Urban Policy, and founding director of the Institute on Race, Power, and Political Economy at The New School. Considered one of the nation’s foremost public intellectuals, Professor Hamilton redefines how an economy should work, identifies powerful opportunities for investment in human capacity, and propells collaboration alongside field leaders to advance the realization of economic inclusion, social equity and civic engagement for all people in the US and across the globe. One of the pioneers of identity group stratification, he has been profiled in the New York Times, Mother Jones, Bloomberg’s Business Week and the Wall Street Journal. He has developed and collaborated on transformative policy proposals that have shifted billions of dollars into the hands of people, inspiring legislative proposals at the federal, state, and local levels, including baby bonds, guaranteed income, and a federal job guarantee. Professor Hamilton was named a Freedom Scholar by the Marguerite Casey Foundation. He advises national and global leaders on economic policy, including the Joint Economic Committee and the Senate Banking Committee. Born and raised in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, New York, he is a graduate of Oberlin College and received a PhD in Economics from the University of North Carolina.
Jamila Michener, PhD is an associate professor of Government and Public Policy at Cornell University. She is inaugural director of the Center for Racial Justice and Equitable Futures and Associate Dean of Public Engagement at the Brooks School of Public Policy. She studies poverty, racism, and public policy, with a particular focus on health and housing. She is author of the award-winning book, Fragmented Democracy: Medicaid, Federalism, and Unequal Politics.
Dave A. Chokshi — a practicing physician and public health leader — is currently the Sternberg Family Professor of Leadership at the City College of New York. He is also Chair of the Common Health Coalition, Co-Chair of the Health and Political Economy Project, and a Senior Fellow at the Institute on Race, Power, and Political Economy.
Dr. Chokshi previously served as the 43rd Health Commissioner of New York City. From 2020-2022, he led the City’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including its historic campaign to vaccinate over 6 million New Yorkers. Earlier, he was the inaugural Chief Population Health Officer at NYC Health + Hospitals (H+H), the largest public healthcare system in the nation, where he also served as CEO of the H+H Accountable Care Organization.
Dr. Chokshi has practiced primary care internal medicine at Bellevue Hospital since 2014. He has held successive senior leadership roles that span the public, private, and nonprofit sectors, and is currently a board member for Community Solutions, Rock Health, and Yuvo Health.