In 2006, an unlikely pair teamed up in New York City to tackle health inequities. Our founders, Dr. Olajide Williams, a neurologist and health behavior change expert at Columbia University, and Doug E. Fresh, “The Original Human Beat Box” and revolutionary hip hop artist, joined forces to construct a new approach to health education.
The idea behind our work originated from Dr. Williams’ experience working with patients in historically marginalized communities. This is where he saw firsthand the impact of low health literacy levels. He realized that traditional approaches to health communication and behavior change were not effectively reaching the people who needed them most. After a series of NIH funded programs, our nonprofit was established in 2011 to increase the reach of Dr. Williams’ proven interventions.
To date, we have created more than 200 resources, and developed community-focused programs and partnerships to support health promotion and disease prevention.
Founding Artist & Honorary Board Member
Doug E. Fresh
Founder & Board Chair
Dr. Olajide Williams
Dr. Gillian Barclay
Jimmie Briggs
Valarie Clark
Wendy Dessy
Imani Greene
Dr. Monique Hedmann
Dr. Saju Joseph
Dr. James M. Noble
Eric Pliner
Andrew Post
Darryl DMC McDaniels
Chuck D
Ashanti
Cheryl "Salt" James
Dr. Olugbenga Ogedegbe
John Allegrante, PhD
Ana Cepin, MD
Rob Shepardson
Scott Silverstein
Ian Ellis James
Raymond Javdan, ESQ
Mindy Feldman Hecht
Kelly Fogel
Tony Drootin
Alexandra Desorbo Quinn
Valentina Nicolette
James "Jimmy" Maynes
Terry Nelson
Maibe Ponet
Pete Colon
Dana Austin
Jonathan Fassberg
Lori Rose Benson
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