Who We Are
The Health and Racial Equity (HRE) Committee is a department under the Mississippi Public Health Association (MPHA) born out of the MPHA’s strong commitment to health and racial equity and justice for all Mississippians. The MPHA is an affiliate organization of the American Public Health Association (APHA).
Committee Members
- Committee Chair – Jackie Hawkins
CEO/Owner of Delta Community Solutions, LLC - Committee Co-Chair- Katie Crawford Buys, DNP, MPH, FNP-BC, PMHNP-BC
Assistant Professor, Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Specialty Track, Family, Community, and Health Systems, School of Nursing| The University of Alabama at Birmingham - Danielle Fastring, PhD, MS, MPH
Director of Student Research and Associate Professor of Preclinical Sciences, College of Osteopathic Medicine, William Carey University - Tanya T. Funchess DHA, MPH, MSM
College of Nursing and School of Health Professions, Assistant Professor of Public Health, University of Southern Mississippi - Errolyn Y. Gray, BA, MPPA
Chief Executive Officer of Smith-Brown Consulting, LLC - Alyce Hayes, DrPH, MPH, MCHES, CPM
Assistant Professor, College of Health Sciences in the Department of Health Policy and Management at Jackson State University - LeJeune Johnson, LCSW-S, PMH-C
Executive Director of Therapy Plus - Lydia West
Executive Director, MPHA
execdir@mspha.org
Our Declaration
Mississippi Public Health Association Statement on Racism and Racial Equity
“The Mississippi Public Health Association (MPHA) acknowledges that racism in all its forms, implicit or explicit as well as individual, group-based or structural, is a threat to public health and that together, we will work for racial equity. MPHA commits to reject overt racism, reduce structural racism and implicit bias and promote equity.”