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Racism has been declared a public health crisis across the country and throughout Washington State. The North Sound Race and Health Equity Alliance formed to advance education and advocacy to eliminate racial disparities in health care systems, focusing on:
- – Increasing positive care experiences for black, Indigenous, people of color (BIPOC) patients and providers
- – Catalyzing change at the systems-level
- – Advocating for patient-centered health equity policy
The Health Equity Scholarship was created by the Alliance to support students of color on the path to receiving their advanced medical degrees and increase diverse representation in health care in the North Sound region.
The Alliance also hosts an annual conference featuring innovative speakers and stories of local practitioners and students, sharing experiences of healthcare inequities and exploring systems change.
6th Annual North Sound Race & Health Equity Conference
September 18, 2026 | 9:00 AM – 11:45 AM | Virtual
Join us for a focused morning of learning, connection, and skill-building centered on mutual aid as a strategy for advancing health equity. This conference is designed for healthcare providers, as well as administrators, students, public health nurses, community health workers, and all who care for community: bringing together diverse perspectives to examine how grassroots, reciprocal support systems can help address longstanding healthcare inequities in our region.
Past Conferences
Catch up on previous conferences and continue your self-paced learning!
Women’s Health
The 5th annual conference on May 9, 2025 focused on the health of women and its centrality to community well-being, featuring Dr. Nandita Gupta, MD, Therese Horan, CNM, and Devyn Nixon, ARNP.
Video Coming Soon!
Equitable Systems
The 4th annual conference was held on April 13, 2024, with keynote speakers Dr. Yaw A. Nyame, MD, MS, MBA, and Dr. Paula Houston, Ed.D, UW Medicine’s Chief Equity Officer, who are leading voices on racial inequity in healthcare and advocates for building equitable healthcare systems for all.
View More Conferences
Watch previous conferences from 2021-2023 on our YouTube playlist.
Additional Learning Opportunities
Advancing Health Equity through Cultural Humility
This free, self-paced online course by the Area Health Education Center for Western Washington is in accordance with the state requirements for health care professionals to receive a minimum of two hours of health equity continuing education every four years. The course takes two hours to complete and includes a quiz and various additional resources.
Clinicians for Health Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (CHEDI)
Alliance member Devyn Nixon, ARNP, invites licensed, patient-facing clinicians to join the CHEDI Community of Practice (CoP) for ongoing reflection, action, and partnership in addressing health disparities. Members come together for dialogue, mutual learning, and resource sharing, to build collective strategies to reduce inequities at the community level.
Reach out to Devyn Nixon at Devyn@divinityhealthandwellness.org to learn more.
North Sound Race & Health Equity Alliance Steering Committee
The Alliance includes community partners, throughout Island, San Juan, Skagit, Snohomish, Whatcom counties. The 2026 Steering Committee members include:
- – Devyn Nixon, DNP, MPH, APRN of Divinity Health and Wellness, PLLC
- – Rachel Lucy, PhD, MA, Director of Community Health, Northwest PeaceHealth
- – Arielle Furtado, ARPN of Family Care Network
- – Erica Gadzik, MD of Family Care Network
- – Shu-Ling Zhao of Chuckanut Health Foundation
- – Hallie Pritchett of North Sound ACH
- – Kitty Kitnikone of North Sound ACH
Contact Us
Interested in joining the North Sound Race and Health Equity Alliance? Contact Devyn@divinityhealthandwellness.org to learn more.
North Sound ACH Land Acknowledgement: We begin by acknowledging, with humility, that the land where we are today, is the territory of the People of the Salish Sea. Their presence is imbued in the waterways, shorelines, valleys and mountains of the traditional homelands of the Coast Salish People – Since Time Immemorial…
