Designing Healthy Communities

Designing Healthy Communities: A Discussion on Diversity and Change

AIALA Committees: Healthcare and JEDI

Acknowledgements:
Westside Family Health Center
Hawkins\Brown Los Angeles
AIA Los Angeles Urban Design Committee
The Queer 26
The Vernacular Project

The AIA Los Angeles Committees JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) and Architecture in
Healthcare invite you to this joint committee event on equity in healthcare. This is a moderated panel of professionals with diverse perspectives coming together to discuss healthy communities, access to healthcare and wellness and how diversity in design can help enact change.

RSVP HERE

Moderator:
Joshua Foster, NOMA, Assoc. AIA – KFA, LLP
A native of the Philadelphia area, a seasoned New Yorker, and now a settled Angeleno, Joshua has a strong passion for creating community empowerment driven solutions. As the 2021 AIA California Associates Award winner and an architectural designer, Joshua focuses on affordable and market-rate housing projects in Los Angeles while advocating for diversity as a SoCal NOMA Executive Board member and the Co-Chair of the Joint AIA|LA + SoCal NOMA Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (J.E.D.I.) committee. He is also an Adjunct Professor in the architecture department at East Los Angeles College. Outside of architecture, Joshua is a musician, high school football coach, digital graphics designer, and the Co-Founder and CEO of Mint Inc., a platform empowering a community of young professionals and entrepreneurs of color. Joshua is a graduate of both Columbia University and the University of Southern California.

Panelists:

Debra Farmer – CEO, Westside Family Health Center
Debra Farmer is the Chief Executive Officer of Westside Family Health Center, a federally qualified
health center located in Culver City, California. The Center sees over 12,000 patients annually in 29,000 medical visits – from prenatal to healthy aging. As of July 1st , the Center will offer oral health services to its patients. Nearly 95% of the Center’s patients live at 200% or below of the poverty level and 25% speak a language other than English. Ms. Farmer has over 34 years of experience in healthcare – ranging from COO to CFO to CEO.

Diane Thepkhounphithack – Project Manager, Hawkins\Brown
Diane Thepkhounphithack is a Project Manager at Hawkins\Brown Los Angeles and the Vice Chair of the
AIA Los Angeles Urban Design Committee. With more than a decade of leadership on award-winning projects in Los Angeles, Diane has extensive knowledge and experience working across a variety of project types. Prior to joining Hawkins\Brown, Diane was a Designer and Project Manager with Brooks + Scarpa Architects, working on projects with aggregate construction costs nearing $1 billion. This work included The Six, an affordable housing project for formerly homeless veterans, which garnered national recognition for design and sustainability.

Camille Ora-Nicole – Founder and Creative Director, Q26
Camille Ora-Nicole is a Creative Director, Placemaker, and Artist who encourages audiences to expand
their thoughts on how the world can look and function. She founded The Queer 26, a non-profit
multimedia organization, that aims to support queer creatives of color to thrive through their art. The goal is to expand responsible diversity in the arts and media where queer people can create, hold events, and call home. Alongside The Queer 26, Camille runs The Vernacular Project, which explores equitable placemaking by defining a Black vernacular. The Vernacular Project also offers opportunities for black folx to gain the knowledge and resources needed to better the places we live in. She strongly believes that minority communities can gain freedom through creativity.

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