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Diversity Director Vows a United Front

Diversity Director Vows a United Front and Lasting Moves Toward Change

Podcast: Student leader joins Regina Richards in discussion on halting racism during critical time

minute read

Written by Chris Casey on August 25, 2020

CU Anschutz 360 talks to Regina Richards, PhD, MSW, new associate vice chancellor for diversity, equity, inclusion and community engagement at the Anschutz Medical Campus, and CU medical student Stephanie Nwagwu about this inflection point in American history – the demand for lasting change in social justice, health equity and access to opportunity.

Most of all, the imperative for ending racism and the inequities and systemic barriers it perpetuates.

The Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Community Engagement has a lot on its plate. Richards said she and her team aim to be drivers for systemic, strategic and sustainable changes campuswide. They will work to make standardized practices across campus, “and not just episodically in silos.”

“We’re stronger together than we ever will be apart,” she added. “So (our work is about) unifying these key areas and really using diversity, equity, inclusion and community engagement to focus on all the mission-focus areas of our campus.”

The collaborative work by Richards and her team comes at a time when CU as a system is putting diversity, equity and inclusion at the forefront.

On the podcast, learn what changes are in store for the campus community and hear important insights into how CU Anschutz is collaboratively responding to the critical issues we all face today.

The Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Community Engagement's website will be launching soon. Please watch our social channels and newsroom for more information. 

 

You can subscribe to CU Anschutz 360 podcasts via your favorite podcatchers, including: 

Episode Transcript

[Music]

Chris Casey Welcome to CU Anschutz 360, a podcast about the CU Anschutz Medical Campus. We spotlight the interesting and innovative work being done by our faculty, staff, and students. I'm Chris Casey an editor in the Office of Communications and today I have the pleasure of talking with Regina Richards and medical student, Stephanie Nwagwu. 

They both play key roles in addressing the issues of diversity, equity and inclusion both at CU Anschutz and in the broader campus community. Dr. Richards was recently appointed as the Associate Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Community Engagement for the CU Anschutz Medical Campus to lead our newly created Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Community Engagement. 

Prior to taking this new role, Dr. Richards has served in various campus positions in our more than two decades at CU Anschutz. She served as the inaugural Director of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion in the School of Medicine, co-founder of the Faculty Department Diversity Leadership Group and co-chair of the Dean's Diversity Council.

Stephanie Nwagwu is a rising fourth-year medical student who serves as a leader in the Student National Medical Association. Stephanie is also active in the newly formed Black Student Collective at CU Anschutz.

Congratulations, Dr. Richards on your new position at CU Anschutz. Can you tell us what attracted you to this post?

Regina Richards Yes. What attracted me to this position is understanding the need on this campus for diversity, equity and inclusion work and community engagement. Throughout my career, I have really been able to grow in the CU system and doing this type of work has allowed me to build relationships with faculty, staff, students, volunteers, residents, and the community. And we have a large physical presence in the community, but we have some structural issues that we really need to strengthen. And this opportunity provides leadership structure. It puts me in that position of being in senior leadership to be able to drive and make decisions as it relates to diversity, equity and inclusion and community engagement.

It's necessary. It's necessary when we think about the social unrest and discourse that's happening nationally, we know that it actually affects us regionally and locally as well. And we're a large enterprise system and to be able to advance this work and be a part of the change, is something that really attracted me to the position. I really believe that I've been a part of the change in the various different roles that I've occupied. But to really be at this level to make systemic strategic changes - sustainable changes - much more campus-wide.

Chris Casey Terrific. And right, your team's work is going to cover a huge span as you've mentioned diversity, inclusion, health equity, community outreach. And you've touched on the imperative, with the social unrest at this particular time. Could you expand a little bit more as to why each of those areas is so important to our campus community?

Regina Richards So diversity is by definition an opportunity for us to really see difference, to value difference. It's not just enough to be diverse. Inclusion is the action. That means that we have a plan that not only do we say we're diverse, but how do we include others in the work of removing social injustices and moving to a much more just system. Health equity as defined by so many organizations, I'm just going to use the Robert Wood Johnson and the American Public Health Association's definition, is really allowing everyone to have the opportunity to attain their level of achievement based on their particular goals.

Removing the barriers and systems that are unequal and injust, and when we put the lens of health on there, I mean, health is not just diagnosis and diseases. When we ground and rooted in the social determinants of health, which span across six domains, that is removing those barriers, addressing those areas specifically so that individuals can have the opportunity to - obtain their goals - and be the absolute best and achieve the best that they want to do. Right now, we are immersed and have historically been immersed in systems that perpetuate inequities. And we have to remove them. It's the right thing to do, but it's the human thing to do.

Chris Casey And you are currently building your team, so I'm sure you're developing a framework for your office and the goals and the strategic missions. Could you explain a little bit about what areas will, at the outset of your offices work, occupy your time?

Regina Richards There's really going to be three organizational domains we call them under the organization structure. The first one is pipeline programs. So we are by intentionality, going to be bringing the Office of Inclusion and Outreach which has been very much a strong presence on this campus and working with diversity, equity, inclusion issues. 

They focus heavily on pipeline programs across our campus. And so when you think about creating just systems, when you think about giving folks the opportunity from a health perspective - we're a health professions campus - then we have to start at the pipeline area focusing on and unifying all pipeline programs that are on this campus. And we can begin to have a standardization of how those programs are organized, what their mission and their goals are, and then be able to really guide, measure, and assess how they feed back into our campus and our campus community.

And so having that structure there is, I want to say the very entry point for a lot of individuals who may not otherwise have access to our campus. And then from there, they also oversee the undocumented student office. When you talk about inclusive practices, it's giving folks opportunity irregardless of citizenship. These are individuals that are here in our country that deserve the right to have access to healthcare, to education and systems that improve their lives.

From there, what we call the central office is looking at policies, practices around removing barriers to access as it relates to admissions practices in the various different schools and colleges and programs. Looking at HR practices to look at the barriers and create the same types of systems for access, education and training - a comprehensive education and training program for the individuals here that are faculty staff, and in the clinical and research spaces that actually are engaged in the work with our learners.

And so helping people to understand what their biases are, how they affect the everyday decisions, the microaggressions that happen in the clinical space because we hear that from our students, and from our faculty of color, underrepresented minorities. 

We want to make sure that there is a standardized central office that provides that comprehensive training to help not just bring awareness, but also add skills and knowledge that hopefully then will translate to behavior changes. It's important that this office also engages in the community engagement work. 

With the sun setting as I like to say of our Campus Community Partnership Program - which was a wonderful program here that connected and was well trusted in our North Aurora community - with that program ending, it was important to be sure that we bring the work forward and continue the work. What we know historically - as well as well researched - is that large institutions much like ours, that we have on this campus or in our systems, have a history of going into communities, doing research, doing work, and then not leaving the community better off. The community and campus partnership did a wonderful job building allies, programs and practices that as I said before, were impactful and that helped to strengthen the relationship between our campus and our community.

And we don't want to lose that. And so being able to bring that forward and look at spaces such as community, the clinical environment and how the community is accessing that and what is their satisfaction rate? And we will be bringing in the hospital perspective, what's the campus satisfaction rates and how can we improve on that? And make this a standard practice across this campus and not just episodically in silos.

What large institutions are really good about is creating silos. Here in academia, we know that there is a lot of ownership. When you think about power, when you think about tenure, when you think about professional development, tends to be on a hierarchy and it tends to be, "Well, I'm going to make sure that our unit is doing all of this work and that we get credit for that." 

What we need to move into is that collective action. Because we are stronger together than we ever will be apart. And so it's unifying these key areas and really using diversity, equity and inclusion, and community engagement, that will focus on all the mission focus areas of our campus.

Chris Casey Excellent, thank you. So to bring in the student perspective here - Stephanie, you are a student leader on the campus and a rising fourth year medical student. I'm curious, how did you first cross paths with Regina? Has her influence done anything in the way of motivating, inspiring, or shaping your medical career this far?

Stephanie Nwagwu Oh yes. (Stephanie and Regina laugh) I met Dr. Richards, I believe it was 2016. I was still an undergraduate student at Baylor University in Texas. And I decided to go to the Student National Medical Association Annual Medical Education Conference that was in Austin, Texas that year. And I was a junior in undergrad and I was going the premed route. I wanted to go to medical school and I wanted to go to medical school here. And I saw Dr. Richards at the booth and I beelined straight towards her. And I said, "Hi, I'm Stephanie. And I want to go to your medical school."

Regina Richards Yeah.

Stephanie Nwagwu And that was when we first met and Dr. Richards took me into her arms from that moment. She invited me and my mother to her office and we spoke about what it takes to get into medical school here, what I need to do, what I need to improve on, the things that I'm already doing well. And she was incredibly welcoming. And I knew that if I came here, I would be taken care of and there was going to be somebody who was going to be looking out for me, advocating for me and making sure that I'm successful here at the University of Colorado.

Regina Richards Mm-hmm (affirmative), thank you.

Chris Casey That's excellent. As a student, what does the current racial and social environment tell you about what needs to be done to afford equal influence and opportunity to black students and other students from underrepresented populations?

Stephanie Nwagwu I think that there is obviously a chandelier that is lit on what is going on in this country. However, this has been going on for years, decades, centuries, and it is finally coming to light in a way that is in your face and in everybody's faces. That question is one that should have been brought to light in the 60s, in the 50s, and the creation of academic institutions from the get go. And I think that now that this light has been shown on the racial injustices, social injustices, and the systemic racism that is in our political system and our school systems, it is important that we first recognize it, realize where it's coming from, realize its history and realize its impact on our students of color here.

Stephanie Nwagwu I think that it's very important to realize that for black students, it doesn't start when we get into medical school. It started when we were in preschool and elementary school, and that's why I think pipeline programs and strengthening those pipeline programs to create stronger applicants when they want to go to medical school, is incredibly important. 

And not only creating those pipeline programs, but creating a program here at the school on the campus level that supports those students when they get here and makes them feel that they are heard, that they are listened to, and that they will be successful and just as or more successful than their counterparts here on the campus. 

And that comes from looking at admissions and admission criteria, that comes from looking at what we're teaching in curriculum and making sure it's equitable and making sure it doesn't negatively affect the way that we see and practice medicine in regards to underserved communities. It's really important that we look at those systemic things that puts some students at a disadvantage.

Chris Casey You've also been a member or you are on the National Board of Directors for the Student National Medical Association. What does that organization do and what are the ways do you think the CU Anschutz Campus can cultivate just a more welcoming environment for all?

Stephanie Nwagwu Yeah. The Student National Medical Association is an organization that I hold near and dear to my heart. I've been in this organization running for 8 years now. And the mission of that organization is to support the needs of current - and future - underrepresented minorities, minority medical students. As well as addressing the needs of underserved populations and increasing the number of clinically excellent, socially conscious, and culturally competent physicians. 

And that mission statement aligns with so much of what I see myself doing and helping in the medical field. And I think that mission statement should align perfectly with what medical schools should want. They should want to, of course, increase the number of clinically excellent physicians. Of course, ensure that those physicians that leave their medical school are socially conscious and culturally aware and culturally humble to know that there's going to be things that you don't know.

There's going to be things about people's cultures that you don't know. There's going to be historical things that you don't know. But it's our job to bring them to light and to make sure that our unconscious biases and the things that we do not know, do not negatively affect our patients. And I think that integrating the mission of the Student National Medical Association as something that all medical schools should look into and want to incorporate into all of their programming.

Chris Casey Now turning our attention a bit to the current public health crisis that's affecting the entire globe, I would be curious to get your thoughts from both of you on this question. Over 20% of the COVID 19 fatalities in the United States are African Americans, but they only make up 13% of the US population. What do you think contributes to this disparity and what can be done about this?

Stephanie Nwagwu I can take that question.

Chris Casey Sure.

Stephanie Nwagwu I think many things contribute to that disparity, but they all are aligned with systemic racism and the history of this country. I think it all boils down to systemic racism within our hospitalist systems, whether we like to admit it or not, and unconscious bias amongst providers. 

As well as, those determinants of health outside of the healthcare system. Determinants of health like economic, environmental, political, that contribute to poor health outcomes of black people in this country. And it has nothing to do with any genetic predisposition to being sick from COVID, it has everything to do with factors that boil down to systemic racism in this country. And I think it's something that we need to admit to and figure out how to fix it. And I'll let Dr. Richards take it from there.

Regina Richards In 2003, the Institute of Medicine produced a report called the Sullivan Report. 'Unequal Treatment' is how oftentimes people refer to it. And it clearly outlined the impact of the determinants of health on our nation and specifically on underrepresented minority populations. 

It addresses, to some degree, systemic racism. In 2015, David Acosta, who is now the Chief Diversity Officer of the AAMC, put out an article that was entitled 'Breaking the Silence.' And in that article, he talks about medicine has not been good about talking about and/or addressing racism. When we go back then to the Sullivan report, I'll be bouncing between these two things, they talk about and name very explicitly the impact of social determinants. As Stephanie talked about, these are issues that are rooted in systemic racism. In the 1400s, blacks were put on a ship from Africa and brought over to the United States.

They were not slaves in Africa. They were enslaved in this country. Slavery is built on capitalism. White ideology is built upon power and capitalism. What has happened historically is that these systems of power are based on resource allocation. Those from vulnerable populations get less of those resources. Those who are in power and the systems that are structurally built, are built based on white ideology and white supremacy. Until we dismantle these systems, until we shift the way individuals think about diversity, more specifically, individuals of color, if we don't dismantle these systems, we will continue to perpetuate what has happened in the last 500 years. It is imperative. People are getting sick.

Health disparities exist in every subspecialty of medicine. From cancer to surgery, to family medicine, to OB/GYN practices, you name it. Well-researched, well-documented, that health disparities exist. The Institute of Medicine gave us a document, gave us documentation that health is not just diagnosis and diseases.

It spans and includes the social domains that affect people's well-being. And we have to address that, we have to move away from just diagnosis and diseases. I'm a community social worker by trade and what that means is that we look at people in their environment. What do they need beyond just what they have? What do they need to improve the quality of life and give them access? We have to dismantle these systems. We have to address this holistically, looking at the whole person - and not just the diagnosis and diseases. This is a national imperative and it just trickles down. 

Going back to your individual question, the pandemic is contributing to an existing problem. And until we fix the root cause of the problem and give everyone equal access to healthcare, to education, to safety and all of those domains, it is the poor and the vulnerable that continue to suffer.

And we have a responsibility not to just talk about it, but to do something about it.

Chris Casey And here on the Anschutz Campus, obviously, the research enterprise is a huge focus. And in the mission statement for your office, it mentions fostering health equity in our research agenda. In general, how diverse is medical research today and what are some of the ways CU Anschutz can help address that?

Regina Richards I'll take that and then I'll give it to Stephanie. From the perspective of first of all, again, understanding the historical context. People of color, specifically I'm going to talk about because I'm an African American woman, a black woman - I'm going to talk specifically about black people and research. Because of the atrocities of the Tuskegee experiment, because of atrocities related to Henrietta Lacks and the HeLa cells. Did I get that right?

Stephanie Nwagwu HeLa Cells.

Regina Richards Thank you. Yeah, HeLa cells, yes. There is a long history of black people, not trusting medical systems and certainly not trusting research. I'm working with the local community organization called 'BCART,' through the Colorado Black Health Collaborative. BCART stands for Black Community Action Response Team. And we're already looking at trying to get messaging out. First of all, we need to find where our trusted resources are. How are we going to address the issue of the COVID vaccine?

Because what we're hearing from communities of color, those black communities that are experiencing the highest incidences of COVID-19 is: "We're not going to be signing up, because it could be at Tuskegee all over again."

So having a research agenda - I am working with a group of folks to explore the possibility of having a large research center that focuses on minority health. We have to have that. Just like SNMA talks about it is specific to understanding the needs of black students, researchers have to understand holistically, the needs and also the distrust of the black community as it relates to research.

And so we have awareness, we have education that needs to happen, but we have to build systems of trust, which is another reason why our office had to add community engagement. Because if you don't have programs and processes that help reach out into the community - which we've done a good job in a lot of places with community outreach - but what we haven't done the best job of is having the community reach into us. 

And that shifting that thinking, that's shifting that engagement work, and that's shifting that mindset. And hopefully that shift will eliminate the barriers and create better, more collaborative opportunities for researchers to engage with the community and not the other way around or not going in and making decisions about research without the community.

Chris Casey Did you want to add anything Stephanie?

Stephanie Nwagwu Yeah, I would like to add also that when it comes to research, we want to also diversify who our researchers are. When you look at who the PhD candidates are at our school, who our teachers are at our school, who our researchers are, they don't look like us. And I think that reflects on how communities of color have been left out of academia. And I think it's really important that we engage our black students in research. And creating an environment that fosters innovation and the ability to obtain the same opportunities as our counterparts when it comes to research.

Because when you include diverse populations or diverse people in your research team, you have better outcomes. You have different people looking at it from different lenses and you create better research. You can look at data in different ways that you might not have thought of before. Or if you have more people of color in your IRB, it gives another dimension of looking at how we conduct our research to make sure that we are not misusing our vulnerable populations. And so just increasing the number of diverse representatives within the research community is extremely important.

Chris Casey Yeah. And that touches on the other issue of the wider workforce of the campus. And certainly I would imagine your office will be involved in that area of recruitment and talent, developing workforce personnel, and obviously an organization wants to reflect and should reflect the community it serves. Our campus certainly serves a very diverse population. How can the campus go about improving the diversity within our ranks? And you touched on some of that right there, Stephanie.

Stephanie Nwagwu That's a great question. And I think a number of students are bringing some of those issues to light and creating solutions and being innovative about the solutions that we bring to campus. There's a new student organization called the Black Student Collective. It's full of black student leaders on this campus from all four-years of the medical school who have brought a resolution to the Anschutz Medical Campus addressing numerous issues that face our campus as well as how we engage with our community. 

That resolution has been spread across the campus and I believe there's a committee who is working to create action items of how we can move forward to make this a more inclusive campus. It's a really great document that I hope everybody gets a chance to read because it not only addresses the problems that we have on this campus, but offer solutions to how we can work to fix this campus - to make it more inclusive.

Regina Richards And so just piggybacking on that and some additional things, is that we have formulated the chancellor's Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Community Engagement Leadership Council to do just that. To address this document that is not just specific to medicine, but it actually becomes a launching point for us to be able to start assessing: what are these areas across our campus? How have these schools addressed these issues? And if so, how? And then coalescing that information to strengthen the recommendations in the action items.

And this council will provide oversight of the various different initiatives that we as a council also will develop to create a much more inclusive campus. It becomes not just one person, but it's the collective action. The students put a lot of work into this document. Though it was I say, it came from our students in the medical school, it is applicable to so many of the schools and colleges across this campus.

Again, it is a nice document for us to look at and we're moving towards saying, "Here are the action items. How do we collectively address these items not just from a school's perspective, but also a campus perspective?"

In terms of diversification of the workforce, our campus community partnership with our Resident Leadership Council, who was a council of about 25 leaders in the North Aurora area, those leaders helped to inform us what the issues and concerns are in the community as it relates to health and health related issues.

Health related issues could be: strengthening the voice of the community, parents, or adult supporters of students in Aurora public school district. Giving those students access to this campus, helping and developing those adult supporters to be advocates for their schools and helping them to go to the school board to demand more resources so that the low performing schools can be higher performing schools. Giving their students an opportunity to be competitive applicants to undergraduate programs that then leads to health profession programs on our campus.

Looking at HR practices, what have been the barriers to access here? Looking at and asking and providing standardization and admissions practices in all schools and colleges here. Utilizing the AAAMC's holistic review, admissions' practice and policies, so that we can increase diverse representation on this campus.

Those are some of just the early areas. The council will also continue to look at what other areas are priority areas. Looking at: how do we change and build the relationship, a different relationship with campus police, that then obviously feeds into the Aurora Police Department. They are going through their own transformation right now, the Aurora Police Department. I also know that Chief Repola and this campus police are also engaging in a process. 

And so having collective action and having a council to oversee these particular issues will just help drive these initiatives to a much more systemic and sustainable and strategic approach. So that we are that campus model for other schools, for other campuses nationally as well as regionally. We have an enterprise and we can do things differently to be seen as an institution that not only values diversity in our statements, but values diversity in representation and those other domains that we're in the business of being in - education, healthcare, research, clinical spaces.

Chris Casey As you mentioned, there's many layers to our campus. And trying to ensure that there's an inclusive mindset gets embedded throughout the strata of our campus is a monumental task. And so, is there any particular strategy, and you've mentioned the Chancellor's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Leadership Council, but are there any other particular ways that your office, your team will address this embedding that mindset of inclusivity from the leadership strata all the way through the ranks of the university through the schools, colleges, the research enterprises, the clinical operations? Obviously, that's a lot, but are there any other particular outreach strategies to enmesh your work throughout these different layers?

Regina Richards Well, it's really important to do mandatory trainings. Our office will be putting together comprehensive training programs and working with HR to institute mandatory trainings for faculty, for staff, for administration in those mission-focused areas. And before it's been an optional situation and/or if schools even see it as something that's necessary. So getting to the standardization of having first of all, a comprehensive training program, and then being able to institute those mandatory trainings across our campus. It starts with education and awareness. 

And then being able to measure the impact of those trainings across our campus. If you put a system in place, you have to set up benchmarks to be able to monitor the progress and also report the outcomes. And so, it allows us to really be able to measure and benchmark our programs and our processes.

Chris Casey Speaking of the benchmarks, are there certain benchmarks you would like to see achieved through your efforts say 5 years down the road, 10 years down the road, et cetera?

Regina Richards I would say - representation on this campus. Representation in that underrepresented minorities are much more visible in leadership positions and the number of students in each of our colleges and schools in our research arenas. How is our community, our external community? Are we increasing their access to the resources here on campus? We need to benchmark that, we need to improve that. Those are tangible, realistic, not too far-fetched goals.

And then what are the health outcomes based on race concordance, based on access, based on dismantling power and political systems? Instituting no tolerance policies, providing anonymous and/or confidential reporting systems, having systems of accountability that if there are faculty members or individuals that are engaging with our learners and in our clinical and research spaces and there is discrimination bias and stereotyping practices that are going on - what's the system of accountability for that? And then looking to see how we have done over time in terms of the outcomes that are measured and the impact on our community both internal and external. Those are just a few.

Chris Casey Okay. That seems like quite a bit.

Regina Richards: Oh, it's going to be a lot.

Chris Casey And so, I'd like to wrap up our discussion with just a general question for each of you. And that is: what is it about doing this work? Regina you've worked in social work capacities in the past. I'm sure you've dealt with highly collaborative type efforts such as this, but what is it that drives you and motivates you and inspires you to do this kind of work?

Regina Richards Students inspire me every day. They are the reason I get out of bed every day. Obviously I've moved to a role that I won't be interacting with them as much as I did daily, but they are still my students meaning that they know who they are and they know that they are my babies. And that I have committed to them along their journey that I will be here for them. It's understanding because of my lived experiences, that social justice is a right and everyone should have the right to equal access.

I do this work because I know I'm called to do it. Physicians say they are called to do the work that they do. Educators are called to do the work that they do. Even in communication, you may have taken some different routes, but you know that you are called to do this work. I'm called to do this work. It is my purpose in life. I do it because I want to leave this world, this campus, society, a better place and set foundation and hopefully impact systems that eliminates the atrocities of racism that will lead us to a healthier society. That's why I do this work.

Chris Casey How about you, Stephanie?

Stephanie Nwagwu For me, it's the patients. Any time I have a black patient and they are so excited to see a black woman who is going to be taking care of them. I might have been the first black provider that they have ever had in their entire health career. 

And to see them light up when I walk into the room, is an unmatched feeling. Or when you're talking to a patient who has had that mistrust in the system for years. And they haven't seen a doctor for 10 years, and you're the first person that they see after not trusting the system for so long and they light up and they're excited that the future of medicine is changing. The face of medicine is changing. 

And it's cliche, but I want to be the change I want to see in this world. I want to see more people who look like me as doctors.

I want to see more people who look like me as faculty, because we are so underrepresented but we are so important. And when we are given the opportunity to help our patients, to help our students, that's where we shine. And I think that when we do this work, it shows that we are going places, that there is advancement to be made and we're moving up. And so that's what keeps me motivated to keep doing this. Is seeing my patients, seeing how happy they are to see people like me in the position that I'm in.

Regina Richards And that is such a core example of leaving this world better than it was.

Chris Casey I very much appreciate both of you for your thoughts and your candor on these topics and also taking time out of your extremely busy schedules for this, thanks very much.

Regina Richards Thank you for having us.

Stephanie Nwagwu Thank you for having us.

Regina Richards It's been a pleasure.

Chris Casey Thank you, same here.

[Music - Acknowledgments and Credits]

CU Anschutz 360 is produced by the University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus. Story editing and production by Chris Casey, mix and tech production by Matt Hastings, digital design by Sarah Adams and Jenny Merchant. A thanks to the rest of the office of communications team for support edits. We'd also like to thank our guests this week, Dr. Richards and medical student, Stephanie Nwagwu. You can read more on the university's work on diversity, equity, inclusion, and community engagement and the other latest stories and breakthroughs on our campus at news.cuanschutz.edu. 

This is CU Anschutz 360.

Disclaimer: Transcripts are generated using a combination of speech recognition software and human transcribers. It may contain minor differences from the audio, including some edits for clarity in print. Please check the recording and with the Communications team before quoting.