Harolyn M.E. Belcher MD, MHS

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This presentation discusses root causes of health disparities related to mental health conditions and treatment and offer culturally -responsive solutions to promote mental health and wellness for Black children, youth, and families.

Learning Objectives:

1. Define mental health, health disparities, health equity, racism, and social and political determinants of health.
2. Discuss root causes of health disparities in mental health conditions.
3. List strategies to promote mental health and well-being for Black communities.

Speaker Bio:
Harolyn M.E. Belcher, MD, MHS is a Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer, Director of the Office for Health Equity Inclusion and Diversity and Senior Director of the Center for Diversity in Public Health Leadership Training at Kennedy Krieger Institute.  She is a Professor of Pediatrics at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and jointly appointed in the Department of Mental Health at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.  Dr. Belcher is a graduate of Howard University’s BS-MD Honors Program.  She is the Associate Director of the Leadership Education in Neurodevelopment and Related Disabilities (LEND) Program at the Kennedy Krieger Institute and former Director of Research for the Family Center (now called Center for Child and Family Traumatic Stress) – a community-based mental health center that provides evidence-based mental health treatment focusing on children with a history of abuse and neglect and exposure to parental risk factors, poverty, racism, and community and/or domestic violence. Dr. Belcher received 16 years of funding from the CDC Office of Minority Health and Health Equity to promote excellence and diversity in the public health workforce. She currently directs/co-directs two CDC public health leadership programs (undergraduate and graduate level) and a HRSA-funded MCH undergraduate pathway training program.