Reclaiming Health, Sexuality, and Community: A Conversation with Ebonie Michelle, MPH

Reclaiming Health, Sexuality, and Community: A Conversation with Ebonie Michelle, MPH

“We see you. We hear you. We understand you... You are not alone.” — Ebonie Michelle, MPH In this powerful episode of Conversations About Health Equity, Angela Rochelle and co-host Donna Guran sit down with Ebonie Michelle, MPH — Founder and CEO of Prowl The LAB [https://prowlthelab.com]— to explore how health, trauma, and sexuality intersect, and what it means to truly support women navigating chronic illness, disease, and different abilities. With over 20 years of experience in health education and public health, Ebonie has dedicated her career to serving underserved communities. She shares her journey navigating personal health challenges, and how those experiences shaped her commitment to helping women embrace self-love, reclaim their sexuality, and foster holistic wellness. Ebonie speaks candidly about what “healthy sexuality” really means — far beyond sex and reproduction — and how it includes identity, womanhood, communication, mental health, and joy. She also dives into the community-building that makes Prowl The LAB a beacon for women and couples across the country. Learn more about Ebonie’s work: * Prowl The LAB's website [prowlthelab.com⁠] * Prowl the LAB on Facebook [facebook.com/ProwlTheLAB⁠] * Connect with Ebonie on LinkedIn [https://linkedin.com/in/ebonie-michelle-mph-73a4652ba] Make sure to check out Prowl The LAB's podcast [https://www.prowlthelab.com/services#:~:text=The%20Prowl%20The%20LAB%20Podcast], which launches April 15th. It will feature real stories, resources, and radical care for those navigating health challenges. Music: Aleksandr Abrosimov from Pixabay Editor: Dev Ramsawakh

R'Kes Starling of Reveles

R'Kes Starling, CEO, Founder, and President of Reveles, joins Angela Rochelle and Devra Densmore from Elevate Advocacy. During their conversation, R'Kes shares what led him to founding Reveles and their AI-powered platform Personally. He also touches on the importance of the ethical use of new technologies, connecting with diverse communities, and innovating to improve health equity. About Reveles Reveles Clinical Services is a technology-enabled, equity-driven clinical research company accelerating clinical development by bringing trials to patients’ homes. Focused on increasing representation and inclusion in clinical research, Reveles addresses barriers to enrollment for racial and ethnic minorities and under-served communities—such as lack of transportation, childcare, and healthcare access—through decentralized trials, AI-powered patient engagement, and hyper-targeted recruitment. By fostering trusted relationships with BIPOC communities and prioritizing representation, research, education, and engagement, Reveles continues to lead health equity efforts in partnership with sponsors and CROs, empowering underrepresented participants and breaking down barriers to clinical trial access. Links & Resources * Follow R'kes [https://www.linkedin.com/in/rkes-starling/] and Reveles [https://www.linkedin.com/company/reveles-clinical-services/posts/?feedView=all] on LinkedIn * Visit Reveles' webpage [https://www.revelesclinical.com]

Courtney Firak

Elevate Advocacy’s Angela Rochelle and Courtney Firak, MPH team up in this episode to discuss their personal stories about living with Alopecia for Alopecia Awareness Month. Their discussion touches on their path to diagnosis and the emotional struggles they’ve experienced. Our hope is that this conversation about Alopecia shines a light on the journey to diagnosis and treatment options that are available and helps to educate and ease the emotional weight of living with Alopecia. Links & Resources * For more information about alopecia areata, visit the National Alopecia Areata Foundation [https://www.naaf.org]. * You can learn more about scarring alopecia from the Scarring Alopecia Foundation [https://scarringalopecia.org]. * Connect with Courtney on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/courtney-firak-mph/]. * Learn more about Firak Consulting Group [https://firakconsulting.com]. * Connect with Elevate Advocacy on LinkedIn [www.linkedin.com/company/elevateadvocacy/] or our website [https://www.elevateadvocacy.com].

Brandi Underwood

In this episode, Angela & Devra speak with Brandi Underwood [https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandi-underwood-ga/] about the importance of including & reaching rural communities in health equity work. Brandi lives with both facial pain and migraine herself, which has fueled her career in advocacy. She is the Manager of Development, Research, and Advocacy for the Facial Pain Association [https://www.facepain.org] (FPA). She also serves as a member of the Alliance for Headache Disorders [https://allianceforheadacheadvocacy.org] Advocacy's Board of Directors representing the FPA as a member organization as well as serving as the Board Secretary. Links & Resources from Brandi * American Academy of Neurology [https://www.aan.com/PressRoom/Home/PressRelease/3843]: "Overall, 24% of people with a neurologic condition were seen by a neurologist. In more rural areas, this number was 21%, compared to 27% in the areas with the most neurologists. Most of that difference was made up of people with dementia, back pain and stroke. For dementia, 38% of people in more rural areas saw a neurologist, compared to 47% in more urban areas. For stroke, 21% of people in more rural areas saw a neurologist, compared to 31% in more urban areas." * Appalachian Regional Commission [https://www.arc.gov/about-the-appalachian-region/the-chartbook/rural-appalachia/] * Association of Migraine Disorders [https://www.migrainedisorders.org/migraine-and-trigeminal-neuralgia/#:~:text=The%20Connection%20Between%20Trigeminal%20Neuralgia%20and%20Migraine&text=In%20TN%2C%20the%20pain%20is,nerve%20in%20migraine%20with%20aura]: "Although they differ in how they affect the trigeminal nerve, a study found that those who had migraine with aura were at greater risk of developing trigeminal neuralgia.5 The link between these conditions is unknown, but it is known that women have a higher prevalence of migraine and trigeminal neuralgia." (journal article [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26692399/]) * American Headache Society [https://americanheadachesociety.org/news/suboptimal-treatment-of-episodic-migraine-may-mean-progression-to-chronic-migraine-2/]: "Individuals with episodic migraine (migraine with headache on 14 or fewer days per month) may progress to chronic migraine (migraine with 15 or more headache days per month) at higher rates without optimal treatment." * WVU Clinical Trial Resource Center - NIH funded [https://medicine.wvu.edu/News/Story?headline=west-virginia-university-to-lead-national-clinical-trials-resource-center] * The Appalachian Children's Health Initiative is a $64 million grant to support school or community-based health care services that will significantly improve access to care in Southeast Ohio. The proposal, prepared by Nationwide Children’s Hospital's School Health Services on behalf of Appalachian Children Coalition [https://www.appchildren.org/], and supported by Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, Lt. Governor Jon Husted, the State of Ohio General Assembly and many community partners, will provide new or expanded services, including primary care, behavioral health and preventive care, reaching nearly 375,000 youth, families and community members. * West Virginia Children's Health Project [https://www.childrenshealthfund.org/west-virginia-childrens-health-project/]

Sylvain Denoncin of Okeenea

There are over 1.3 billion people with disabilities in the world. Often, accessibility is an afterthought or completely looked over for most of these individuals. In this month's Conversations About Health Equity, Angela & Grayson speak with Okeenea [https://www.okeenea.com/en/home] President & CEO Sylvain Denoncin [https://www.linkedin.com/in/sylvain-denoncin/] about accessibility. Okeenea has created multiple solutions over the last decade to help make spaces more accessible, including pedestrian signals, a remote stop button for buses, audio beacons, and the wayfinding app Evelity [https://www.evelity.com/en/]. In fact, their work is so impactful that they will be providing accessibility support [https://www.linkedin.com/posts/sylvain-denoncin_innovation-for-innovations-sake-has-never-activity-7109916362289889282-8lck/?trk=public_profile] this summer for the upcoming Paris Olympic [https://olympics.com/en/paris-2024/the-games/olympic-paralympic-games/olympic-games] & Paralympic [https://www.paralympic.org/paris-2024] games.