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ELI Utah to Host Virtual COVID-19 Forum on Health Equity & Multiculturalism

The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed and magnified pre-existing disparities in Utah’s socially disadvantaged populations. Join the Emerging Leaders Initiative of Utah on Friday, May. 8 at noon for a live discussion on how Utah’s underserved communities are facing additional challenges because of the pandemic.

WHAT: ELI Utah Virtual COVID-19 Forum – Health Equity & Multiculturalism
WHEN: Friday, May 8 noon to 1pm
WHERE: Online
REGISTRATION: https://bit.ly/2YCP819


A report from the Utah Division of Multicultural Affairs showed that many minority, low-income and other underserved communities are facing additional challenges because of the pandemic. Those include concerns about basic needs, limited technological resources, and limited access to healthcare, among other financial, social, cultural or language barriers.

To address these concerns, the state of Utah announced a new multicultural subcommittee as part of the Utah COVID-19 Community Task Force to promote inclusion, equity, and human rights in the state’s response to the ongoing health and economic crisis.

Hear from subcommittee co-chairs Nubia Peña, the director of the Division of Multicultural Affairs, Byron Russell, co-chair of the Utah Multicultural Commission, and Zee Min Xiao, director of the Salt Lake County Mayor’s Office for New Americans.

Event attendees are encouraged to submit their questions for the forum in advance using the form below.

About the Panel

Ze Min Xiao (Zee) leads the Mayor’s Office for New Americans at Salt Lake County. The office is leading the development and implementation of the Welcoming Salt Lake Campaign to ensure that Salt Lake’s New Americans’ economic, social, and civic potential is maximized – making Salt Lake more vibrant, welcoming, and globally competitive. Before her current role, she spent the last eight years championing for refugees in Salt Lake County.

 

Nubia Peña is the director for the Utah Division of Multicultural Affairs where their mission is to promote an inclusive climate for Utah's growing diverse community through training, outreach and youth leadership development. She is a national training consultant dedicated to bringing awareness to intersections of trauma and the School-to- Prison Pipeline, an epidemic that targets our most vulnerable youth by streamlining them into the juvenile justice system.

 

Byron is the co-chair of the Utah Multicultural Commission, which aims to promote an inclusive climate for Utah's multicultural communities by ensuring equitable resources and services to all Utahns. He is the founder of Byron Russell LLC, a consulting firm, based on his years of experience in academics, national and international politics, journalism, fundraising, finance, economic development, higher education, public relations, philanthropy and social enterprise.

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