As part of our work to advance diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility and anti-racism within FAS, SVC Gore asked UCSF Health Administrative Fellow Nina Smith to help tell the story of a FAS leadership retreat facilitated by Dante King, a San Francisco native, professor and author of the new book The 400-Year Holocaust: White America's Legal, Psychopathic, and Sociopathic Black Genocide and the Revolt Against Critical Race Theory. Nina attended the day-long session and will be writing a paper about the work. We talked with her about her journey to UCSF and her time with us.
Tell us about your administrative fellowship.
I am a first-year administrative fellow under Sheila Antrum, chief operating officer of UCSF Health and our executive sponsor. It's very project-based work. In the two-year program, you get to experience being at the table and how decisions are made. Our projects are also passion-aligned, which is how I was able to help with Dante's workshop. UCSF Health is in a very transformative time and it’s exciting to see the way we're taking on these challenges.
What was your journey to UCSF?
I always knew I wanted to be in the healthcare industry. My grandfather, Jewel, who I sadly didn’t get to meet, got his PhD from Notre Dame and was the Director of the Biology Department at Prairie View A&M. He was committed to educating the community and uplifting them. Perhaps, that’s the legacy he left and why there are so many healthcare providers and physicians in my family.
I got my bachelor's degree in health management and policy with minors in psychology and healthcare ethics from Saint Louis University. It was during the Ferguson uprising and protests at my school that led me down the path of self-discovery, knowing I had to work with purpose. I want to ensure organizations are working towards inclusion and sense of belonging every day. We need people across the nation committed to decreasing disparities and helping invest in others, so that they get to live in health and wellness in the same way our white counterparts do. This work is my chance to uplift and amplify Black voices. My next goal is to get a PhD in race work and leadership, and the impact on health equity.
What were some of your thoughts from your day with us?
What Erin is doing is so important and other leaders should think about taking it on. It’s important to understand the history and hear about trauma-informed care, having empathy and compassion. It was important that the retreat “pre-work” included reviewing policies. Policies aren't reviewed as often as they should be, and they're likely created with a biased lens. When it comes to diversity, equity and inclusion, you can't have diversity without equity, and you can't have equity without inclusion, and that takes every single person on every single level to contribute to the work.
