Highlighting Dr. Olajide Williams

Dr. Olajide Williams is a tenured Professor of Neurology and Associate Dean of Community Research and Engagement at Columbia University. He is Chief of Staff of the Department of Neurology at the Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and a global leader in health disparities and behavior change in communities of color.

Dr. Williams is the Principal Investigator of multiple large NIH investigator-initiated awards and has served on several national panels on health disparities, including the 2021-2026 National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Strategic Planning Committee. An influential clinician-educator, Dr.Williams is a member of Columbia University’s Virginia Apgar Academy of Medical Educators and sits on the medical school’s Committee on Education Policy and Curriculum (CEPC).

He is co-Chair of the Academy of Community and Public Service, co-Chair of Columbia University’s Medical Campus Anti-Racism Task Force, and co-director of the Columbia University Community Wellness Center. Dr. Williams has authored and co-authored several books and numerous scholarly peer-reviewed articles, including the November 2020 AHA Presidential Advisory on Structural Racism.

Increasing health literacy in underserved communities through the art of Hip-Hop music!

Dr. Williams is the founder and board chair of Hip Hop Public Health, an internationally recognized organization that works with iconic Hip Hop influencers to use art, music, and science to promote healthy behaviors, health literacy, and health equity.

He is a board member of the Partnership for a Healthier America, whose honorary chair is former First Lady Michelle Obama, where he helps guide health equity-related activities.

Dr. Williams is an expert on COVID-19 vaccine acceptance in communities of color and COVID-related health disparities. He has received many prestigious international, national, regional, and local awards. These include the European Stroke Research Foundation Investigator of the Year award, the two-time Columbia University Outstanding Teacher of the Year award, the American Heart Association’s Trailblazer award, and the National Humanism in Medicine award from the Association of American Medical Colleges.

Dr. Williams has been named on Fast Company Magazine’s 100 Most Creative People list, Root 100’s Most Influential Blacks in America list, Advertising Age’s Creative 50 list, and consecutive New York Magazine’s Best Doctors list.

Highlighting Lori Rose Benson

Before joining Hip Hop Public Health as Executive Director and CEO, Lori Rose Benson served as Vice President of Healthy Lifestyles at the YMCA of Greater New York, spearheading all aspects of the preventative health and wellness portfolio for the largest YMCA in the United States with a key focus on health innovation, development of youth fitness programming and scaling chronic disease prevention programs to meet the diverse needs of New York City’s communities. Lori was the principal architect of the award-winning Y-MVP Teen Fitness Challenge.

Raised in Brooklyn, Lori attended New York City’s public schools and earned a B.A. from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in Communications and Graphic Design and an M.A. in Physical Education from Adelphi University in Garden City, NY, where she is currently an Adjunct Faculty member in the Department of Exercise Science, Health Studies, Physical Education, and Sport. Lori personally embraces physical activity and her love of music in her daily life as a yoga enthusiast, an aspiring DJ, and a spinning instructor who still teaches weekly cycling classes at Crunch Fitness in Brooklyn.