2024 CEnR Summit: Day Two

Friday, April 12

9:00 - 2:00 PM

Virtual event

View the Summit program here. 

Keynote Speaker: Kenyetta Dotson, DMIN, MSW: Rx Kids Flint: A Cash Payment Program for New & Expecting Moms

Kenyetta Dotson, DMIN, MSW, is the Director of Community-based Implementation and Engagement for Michigan State University, College of Human Medicine, Charles Stewart Mott Department of Public Health. Kenyetta is a lifelong resident of Flint, MI, and she is deeply rooted as a community organizer, veteran, and woman of faith. She encourages positive systemic change throughout the City of Flint, Genesee County, and extends her assets of time, talents, treasures, and gifts to serve our smallest and most vulnerable citizens. Dotson has over 30 years of community development experience, advocating for youth, families, and those susceptible to the culture of violence. These skills and qualities were developed in her pursuit of higher education, which began at Mott Community College, reinforced at the University of Michigan – Flint, and further strengthened through completing a Master of Social Work Degree from Michigan State University and a doctoral degree in Black Church and African American Studies at Ashland University.  

She is the Co-Chair of the Community Advisory Board for the Flint Registry, leads the Pediatric Public Health Youth Advisory Council, is an active Nationwide and local Violence Prevention Network member, and serves on many other non-profit and community boards. Dotson has been highly effective and successful in building healthy working relationships and establishing a strong foundation of trust. This trust embraces new and existing community partners throughout Flint, Genesee County, and the State of Michigan. This vast network of organizations, entrepreneurs, decision-makers, and community leaders helps establish effective outreach and engagement strategies that have proven effective and impactful. Substantially increasing the presence and relationships of the Registry and the Public Health Initiative in the community and among Flint residents and their families, to name a few.

When Dotson is not fearlessly working on improving the quality of life for others, she enjoys traveling, spending time with friends and family, attending church, and watching movies outdoors. She embraces her downtime to recharge and refocus to remain the voice of change. Her quotes are, “Change Begins With Me, Get Involved and Make a Difference.” Shen stands by the idea that “Everybody is somebody.”

Panel Discussion: Building Bridges, Sharing Solutions: Community-Academic Partnerships for Equity

Panelists: 

Shannon Lijewski, MCHW, MBA, CHCEF, s a Michigan native who loves spending time with her family outdoors in Northern Michigan. She has spent the past 22 years serving the most vulnerable community members through outreach, education, health policy and advocacy. Passionate about community impact, Shannon is a strong advocate in supporting the expansion of Community Health Workers, assisting those who are experiencing homelessness and helping to eliminate food insecurity. She is the creator of the “I AM A CHW” campaign, Founder of the Rural CHW Network and Principal at Everyday Life Consulting whose team brings vast experience that focuses on building individual, organization and

Danielle Atkinson has extensive experience as a church-based, electoral, and community organizer. She has worked with organizations such as America Votes, State Voices, Population Connection and ACORN. In 2012, Atkinson founded Mothering Justice, a leadership development and advocacy organization. Atkinson has led organizing efforts to raise the minimum wage in both Florida and Michigan. Mothering Justice also led the fight to get earned paid sick time in Michigan. Her work organizing mothers won her the 2013 Michigan Organizer of the Year Award. Atkinson received bachelor’s degrees in political science and sociology from Pfeiffer University and lives in Royal Oak, Michigan, with her husband Frank and their six children.

David Underwood is a retired sales and marketing executive, with 23 years’ experience serving diverse communities and major business customers. He is a change agent who builds strategic collaborations among stakeholders in government, education, non-profits, foundations, healthcare, private and public institutions, and others. Today, he leads Detroit Community Care Network (DCCN), a faith-based organization that serves those in need in our community connecting them to programs, services, resources, and information that has a positive impact in their lives. Utilizing ‘Transition to Success,’ a standard of care, as its foundation, DCCN deals directly with the Social Determinants of Health of those served. DCCN is the community engagement partner in the Wayne State University/Wayne Health LEAP-HTN project.  

David is a committee member for the RESTORE Community Engagement Council. He serves on the Advisory Board of Matrix Human Services after 13 years as a Matrix board member. He also serves as President of Tri-Unity Community Development Corporation, the non-profit community development arm of Third New Hope Baptist Church. David is a past recipient of Michigan Chronicle’s 2009 “Men of Excellence Award”. This award is given to local African American men who inspire others through vision and leadership, exceptional achievements, and participation in community service. A husband, father of four (4), David enjoys golf and dancing in his spare time. 

Theresa Hastert, PhD, MPP, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Oncology at the Wayne State University School of Medicine and the Population Studies and Disparities Research Program of the Karmanos Cancer Institute. Her research focuses on social, economic, and behavioral factors as predictors of cancer outcomes and in racial and socioeconomic health disparities. Her recent work focuses on cancer survivorship, financial and employment outcomes after cancer, and their impact on health-related quality of life for people with cancer and their caregivers using quantitative and qualitative methods.  

Samuele Zilioli, PhD, is a associate professor in the Department of Psychology and the Department of Family Medicine and Public Health Sciences at Wayne State University (WSU), Detroit. Before landing in the US, Dr. Zilioli completed his undergraduate and graduate training in Italy and Canada. In Italy, he received a B.A. and M.A. in Psychology from Catholic University of Sacred Heart. In Canada, he completed a Ph.D. in Cognitive and Neural Sciences from Simon Fraser University where he was the recipient of the Governor General's Gold Medal for achieving the highest academic standing upon graduation. He completed a postdoc in health psychology at Wayne State University.

Dr. Zilioli’s program of research focuses on the relationships between psychosocial stressors related to socioeconomic status (SES) and race/ethnicity, psychosocial resources, and glucocorticoid-related mechanisms, and the extent to which these biopsychological mechanisms serve as pathways through which stress affects other biological systems (e.g., immune, cardiovascular, and metabolic system) and physical health across the lifespan. His research has been funded by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) and is currently funded by the National Institute of Health (NIH). Dr. Zilioli’s work has appeared in Psychological Science, Clinical Psychological Science, Psychoneuroendocrinology, Brain Behavior and Immunity, The Journals of Gerontology Series A, Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology, Psychosomatic Medicine, and Health Psychology. His academic achievements earned, among others, the WC Young Recent Graduate Award from the Society for Behavioral Neuroendocrinology, the Excellence in Health Psychology Research by an Early Career Professional Award from Division 38 (Health Psychology) of the American Psychological Association, and the Neal E. Miller New Investigator Award. Academy of Behavioral Medicine Research.

Moderator: 

Ki-Jana Malone, BS, is the Community Strategist for Aetna Medicaid Community CARES Team. Ki-Jana is a native Metro-Detroiter, who graduated from Wayne State University in May 2019 as an NIH-ReBUILDetroit Scholar with a BS in Public Health and a minor in Health Psychology. A passionate and motivated public health professional with a background in STI/HIV prevention and education, she educated hundreds of Detroit community members on their health options at the Detroit Public Health STD Clinic. Ki-Jana is now continuing to serve the Metro-Detroit area as a Community Strategist for Aetna, Medicaid. In this role, she continues to contribute her knowledge and expertise in community engagement within a local community-oriented team focused on social determinants of health and health equity.  

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