Promising Practices for Health Equity Podcast

Season 3, Episode 8 (Epilogue) | The Final Episode!

Hosted By: Krystal Lee, J. Robin Moon, Cody Cotton, and Mandy LaBreche In this reflective epilogue, the hosts look back on the final season of the podcast and their IRL experience, highlighting the transformative power of storytelling, vulnerability, and community. Through shared memories and insights, they emphasize how trust, authentic leadership, and collective narrative-building can foster deep connection, personal growth, and lasting impact. Well, what can we say, 3 Seasons and 26 episodes later, we have come to the final 27th episode of our podcast series. We have set out to create a dissemination product for our 10-year endeavor with Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, to share with our broader community in the most approachable, most versatile, and most popular form that we know - a podcast. It is our hope that the limited series of 3 Seasons will be out in the world to be available to anyone who needs it, whenever and wherever. We believe the content is timeless, and that the “right time” - in the sense of chronos and kairos - will find you. The four co-hosts met in Downtown Chicago in freezing late January 2026 - hailing from New York City, Minneapolis, Baltimore, and Southside Chicago - with the sole purpose of reflecting and recording the epilogue together. Take a listen and share your thoughts with us! And if you are new to our podcast, check out our Season 1 to learn about why we are creating this podcast! Thank you for your time to listen to us, and your energy to cheer for us. We feel it. Guests: * Krystal Lee [https://irleaders.org/leadership/%20krystal%20lee/] * J. Robin Moon [https://irleaders.org/leadership/%20robin%20moon/] * Cody Cotton [https://irleaders.org/leadership/%20cody%20cotton/] * Mandy LaBreche [https://irleaders.org/leadership/%20mandy%20labreche/] Mentioned: * IRL LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/groups/14587766/] Page * IRL Promising Practices Podcast [https://irleaders.org/promising-practices-for-health-equity-podcast/] Page Thoughts? Suggestions? Email us at researchleaders@umn.edu [researchleaders@umn.edu] You can find show notes, transcripts, and more episodes of “Promising Practices for Health Equity” at Promising Practices for Health Equity Podcast: Introduction - Interdisciplinary Research Leaders [https://irleaders.org/promising-practices-for-health-equity-podcast/]. This episode of “Promising Practices for Health Equity” was produced by Studio Americana [https://www.studioamericana.com/], and prepared by Cody Cotton, Mandy LaBreche, Krystal Lee, and J. Robin Moon of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Interdisciplinary Research Leaders [https://irleaders.org/] Podcast Team. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit irlpodcast.substack.com [https://irlpodcast.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Season 3, Episode 7 | StoryJAM Bonus Episode - Luis Ortega’s Story: Undocumented Time (recorded live from the 2025 IRL MN Leadership Meeting)

Hosted By: Krystal Lee & J. Robin Moon Guests: Luis Ortega In this Bonus Episode, we share Luis Ortega’s unbelievable storytelling. I hope you will tune in to all three episodes of the entire StoryJAM - Episodes 5, 6 and 7 - and experience life-changing stories. In this StoryJAM, which followed another set of workshops with Luis, fellows and other attendees of IRL at the convening reflect on their journeys and imagine the future through the metaphor of a river. And to kick off the StoryJAM, Luis shares his story of the “Undocumented Time.” Mentioned: * IRL LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/groups/14587766/] Page * IRL Promising Practices Podcast [https://irleaders.org/promising-practices-for-health-equity-podcast/] Page * Storyteller for Change [https://www.storytellersforchange.com/]Page * Bayo Akomolafe, “On Doors and \Cracks\” [https://www.bayoakomolafe.net/post/on-doors-and-cracks] * UnTimeliness as Resistance, Love & Justice: Lessons from Living in Undocumented Time [https://storytellersforchange.substack.com/p/untimeliness-as-resistance-love-and?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=3983887&post_id=185335585&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=false&r=on9wa&triedRedirect=true] * Kriss Wittman Home Page [https://www.wittmannstudios.com/about-us] Thoughts? Suggestions? Email us at researchleaders@umn.edu [researchleaders@umn.edu] You can find show notes, transcripts, and more episodes of “Promising Practices for Health Equity” at Promising Practices for Health Equity Podcast: Introduction - Interdisciplinary Research Leaders [https://irleaders.org/promising-practices-for-health-equity-podcast/]. This episode of “Promising Practices for Health Equity” was produced by Studio Americana [https://www.studioamericana.com/], and prepared by Cody Cotton, Mandy LaBreche, Krystal Lee, and J. Robin Moon of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Interdisciplinary Research Leaders [https://irleaders.org/] Podcast Team. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit irlpodcast.substack.com [https://irlpodcast.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Season 3, Episode 6 | StoryJAM Part 2 (recorded live from the 2025 IRL MN Leadership Meeting)

Hosted By: Krystal Lee & J. Robin Moon Guests: Michelle Chatman, Ivan Hicks, Sandra Echeverria, Je’Wana Grier McEachin Franklin Cosey-Gay, Regina Jackson, and Mandy LaBreche In Episodes 5 and 6, which are released together, we share the IRL StoryJAM, recorded live in September 2025 in Minneapolis, MN. This was our second StoryJAM, after the first one in 2024, after a series of workshops with Luis Ortega of Storyteller for Change. Episode 6 is part II of the StoryJAM. Our fellows proudly featured in the Part II StoryJAM, in the order of appearance, are: * Michelle Chatman * Ivan Hicks * Sandra Echeverria * Je’Wana Grier McEachin * Franklin Cosey-Gay * Regina Jackson * Mandy LaBreche We hope you will tune in to all three episodes and experience life-changing stories. At the end of the video recording (on YouTube Podcast), we share the illustration of the StoryJAM done by Kriss Wittmann, a strategic illustrator and owner of Wittmann Studio, who live-illustrated our StoryJAM virtually. Mentioned: * IRL LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/groups/14587766/] Page * IRL Promising Practices Podcast [https://irleaders.org/promising-practices-for-health-equity-podcast/] Page * Storyteller for Change [https://www.storytellersforchange.com/]Page * Kriss Wittman Home Page [https://www.wittmannstudios.com/about-us] Thoughts? Suggestions? Email us at researchleaders@umn.edu [researchleaders@umn.edu] You can find show notes, transcripts, and more episodes of “Promising Practices for Health Equity” at Promising Practices for Health Equity Podcast: Introduction - Interdisciplinary Research Leaders [https://irleaders.org/promising-practices-for-health-equity-podcast/]. This episode of “Promising Practices for Health Equity” was produced by Studio Americana [https://www.studioamericana.com/], and prepared by Cody Cotton, Mandy LaBreche, Krystal Lee, and J. Robin Moon of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Interdisciplinary Research Leaders [https://irleaders.org/] Podcast Team. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit irlpodcast.substack.com [https://irlpodcast.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Season 3, Episode 5 | StoryJAM Part 1 (recorded live from the 2025 IRL MN Leadership Meeting)

Hosted By: Krystal Lee & J. Robin Moon Guests: Antonio Tovar, Bruce Reilly, Kwame Owusu-Daaku, Jessica Owens-Young, Jonathan Chase, David Craig, Victor Rubin, and Robert Salcido In Episodes 5 and 6, which are released together, we share the IRL StoryJAM, recorded live in September 2025 in Minneapolis, MN. This was our second StoryJAM, after the first one in 2024, after a series of workshops with Luis Ortega of Storyteller for Change. Episode 5 is part I of the StoryJAM. Our fellows proudly featured in the Part I StoryJAM, in the order of appearance, are: * Antonio Tovar * Bruce Reilly * Kwame Owusu-Daaku * Jessica Owens-Young * Jonathan Chase * David Craig * Victor Rubin * Robert Salcido We hope you will tune in to all three episodes and experience life-changing stories. At the end of the video recording (on YouTube Podcast), we share the illustration of the StoryJAM done by Kriss Wittmann, a strategic illustrator and owner of Wittmann Studio, who live-illustrated our StoryJAM virtually. Mentioned: * IRL LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/groups/14587766/] Page * IRL Promising Practices Podcast [https://irleaders.org/promising-practices-for-health-equity-podcast/] Page * Storyteller for Change [https://www.storytellersforchange.com/]Page * Kriss Wittman Home Page [https://www.wittmannstudios.com/about-us] Thoughts? Suggestions? Email us at researchleaders@umn.edu [researchleaders@umn.edu] You can find show notes, transcripts, and more episodes of “Promising Practices for Health Equity” at Promising Practices for Health Equity Podcast: Introduction - Interdisciplinary Research Leaders [https://irleaders.org/promising-practices-for-health-equity-podcast/]. This episode of “Promising Practices for Health Equity” was produced by Studio Americana [https://www.studioamericana.com/], and prepared by Cody Cotton, Mandy LaBreche, Krystal Lee, and J. Robin Moon of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Interdisciplinary Research Leaders [https://irleaders.org/] Podcast Team. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit irlpodcast.substack.com [https://irlpodcast.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Season 3, Episode 4 | Video Interview Project: Reimagining The Future

Hosted By: Krystal Lee & J. Robin Moon In Episode 4, we share a screening of a collection from the Video Interview Project, or VIP. The VIP was conceived, planned, executed, and lovingly edited by the phenomenal Mandy LaBreche, the Associate Director of Operations for IRL of 10 years AND an artist in residence! At the 2024 October Leadership Meeting in Minneapolis, Mandy conducted more than 30 interviews with individual fellows and teams from Cohorts 6 and 7, as well as invited alumni. Each short conversation is a powerful reflection on their IRL journey and a glimpse into the more just and equitable worlds they are working to create. We heard about their journeys through the IRL program, how they approached their research, how they built their partnerships, and how their work is advancing health equity. This specific collection, Reimagining The Future, weaves together responses from a visioning question - Describe the world you want to see in the future. Grab your favorite snack, beverage, and a box of Kleenex and enjoy! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit irlpodcast.substack.com [https://irlpodcast.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]