Health Equity During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Legal Implications and the Need for Policy to Effect Change
Wednesday, November 18th, 2020 4:30 PM - 5:30 PM
The Oliver C. Schroeder, Jr. Scholar-in-Residence Lecture
event is free to attend virtually
Webcast Archive Content
Event Description
Health disparities persist across the spectrum. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic inequities experienced by communities of color, and the pandemic has further deeply entrenched the inequalities faced by these communities.
This lecture will examine the health disparities experienced by communities of color and explore the use of telemedicine.  Specifically, this session will address the inequitable deployment and access to new technologies, which are emerging as new tools for economic, educational, and social independence.  Also, this discussion will consider the legal actions and challenges of this new pandemic reality.  Lastly, our conversation will discuss legislative actions and policies to effect change and ensure access to quality health care for people of color.
Speaker Biography
Tammy Boyd is the Chief Policy Officer & Counsel for Black Women’s Health Imperative. She has extensive experience in creating and executing federal legislative policy strategy and facilitating outreach to members of the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate. Previously Ms. Boyd served as Managing Partner, for TKB Global Strategies, LLC /Watts Partners, where she successfully executed government affairs strategies through engagement of the U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Senate, and federal agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS), and Department of Veteran Affairs. 
Along with her past role at Johnson & Johnson, Boyd also served as Legislative Director for Congressman John Lewis (D-GA) where she exercised oversight over legislative activities within the office, including tax, trade, health care (Medicare, Medicaid, and Graduate Medical Education), financial services, judiciary and energy. She was the senior staffer that drafted the legislation elevating the Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities at NIH now an Institute. Tammy is a member of the American Bar Association, National Bar Association, Mississippi Bar Association, American Public Health Association, and the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. 
Boyd has been featured in USA Today (04/17); Clarion Ledger (04/17); Huffington Post (03/17); and Essence Magazine (02/2017) as one of the chief strategists that drafted the legislation that created Smithsonian National African American History & Culture Museum.  She received an M.P.H. degree from Emory University School of Public Health and a Juris Doctorate degree from American University, Washington College of Law.
Tammy Boyd, Chief Policy Officer & Counsel for Black Women’s Health Imperative