EP 118: Designing Health Equity | Adriane Ackerman & Robert Fabricant

Design Lab with Bon Ku

On today's episode, we are going to talk about designing for health equity.

Adriane Ackerman is a community convener, strategic innovator and life-long rabble-rouser. She currently directs several programs at the Pima County Health Department in Southern Arizona, including a $4 million grant program from the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Minority Health to Advance Health Literacy, the department’s new Cultural Health initiative with its pilot project, SaludArte, the emerging Pima County Network for Equity and Resilience (PCNER), and the first ever Office of Health Policy, Resilience, and Equity, all of which aim to increase health literacy and equity through innovative models, by elevating and centering the leadership of historically and contemporarily excluded communities. Adriane holds dual Bachelor’s degrees in Political Science and Urban & Public Affairs and seeks to bring the depth of her lived experience to bear as she convenes, facilitates and uplifts the work of harm reduction from within bureaucracies and community partnerships.

Robert Fabricant is Co-Founder and Partner of Dalberg Design, where he brings human-centered design and innovation services to clients looking for new, creative approaches to breakthrough innovation and expanded collaborations in the field of social impact and international development. Before Dalberg, Robert Fabricant was the Vice-President of Creative for frog design, where he managed frog’s global leadership across Design Research, Product Design, Software Design, and Experience Strategy. Robert writes about Design and Social Impact for publications like HBR, SSIR, Fast Company, Rotman Business Journal, MIT Tech Review, ChangeObserver, and Core77. He is a member of the adjunct faculty at NYU and SVA. His client portfolio includes experience across verticals including financial services and financial inclusion, social impact, mobile and technology, healthcare and public health, and media. Robert has an MPS in Design and Technology from NYU and a BA from Yale University.

Episode mentions and links:

https://www.fabricant.design/

https://dalberg.com/who-we-are/our-leadership/robert-fabricant/

https://www.adrianeackerman.com/

Adriane’s previous work: https://www.portlandpeoplescoalition.org/

Adriane’s restaurant rec: La Indita (a mixture of native Sonoran, Pascua Yaqui, and Tarascan cuisine)

Robert’s restaurant rec: Le Succulent

Follow Adriane: LinkedIn

Follow Rob: LinkedIn | Twitter

Episode Website: https://www.designlabpod.com/episodes/118