Webinar sign-up: Panel discussion on healthcare disparities and equity with CannonDesign and Moody Nolan

This free webinar will be held April 17 at 4 p.m. EST. The panel discussion will encourage attendees to: 

• Engage: Hear diverse perspectives from experts in healthcare design, public health and social justice. 
• Self-reflect: Challenge your assumptions and consider how you can advance the conversation on healthcare equity. 
• Be the change: Apply the knowledge and actionable steps shared by the panelists to champion inclusive and equitable culture in your spheres of influence.

Course objectives will encourage people to:

• Unmask the past: Define the historical disparities that continue to impact access to quality healthcare for marginalized communities. 
• Define your role: Discover how students can be agents of change within the healthcare design industry, identifying and dismantling unconscious biases and promoting inclusivity throughout the built environment. 
• Become a community champion: Learn how architects, healthcare professionals, and researchers can collaborate to educate their communities about the crucial role they play in addressing systemic disparities and advocating for health equity. 
• Explore our collective responsibility: Define our shared obligation to advocate for a socially responsible future where healthcare is accessible and equitable for all. 

This webinar is open to all. We’re especially excited to welcome students who will join us via stream from some of the nation’s HBCUs that offer an architecture degree program. 

• Students in healthcare design, architecture, public health, and related fields 
• Healthcare professionals and researchers 
• Community advocates and educators 
• Anyone passionate about creating a more equitable healthcare system  

Join us for a journey of exploration, education, and action as we work together to build a healthier, more just future for all.

This webinar has been approved for one AIA CES LU|HSW.

Speakers

Abbie Clary
FAIA, FACHA, LEED AP 

With incredible drive, Abbie approaches every project she touches as an opportunity for design to be a catalyst for change—across an organization, a community, even society as a whole. Her passion lies in helping healthcare institutions break down physical and cultural barriers to advance bold innovation and medical breakthroughs. She understands how design can positively influence her clients' business plans, operations and physical environments. She is transforming the healthcare design industry through leading by example and never settling for the conventional, resulting in teams and solutions that raise the value and perception of architectural design and experience. Some of her past and present clients include Shirley Ryan Ability Lab, University of Chicago Medicine and Memorial Sloan Kettering. 

Deirdre' Matthews
MBA, Assoc. AIA, NOMA, LSSGB 

Deirdre' S. Matthews is a Managing Medical Equipment Planner, providing leadership to the Blue Cottage Medical Equipment Planning Team. She is a healthcare design professional with nearly three decades of experience in medical equipment planning, healthcare construction, project management and process improvement. Deirdre' specializes in managing the process of planning for complex equipment and technologies, providing oversight to an impressive array of healthcare, research, and education projects, totaling more the $90 million in capital equipment. 

Valarie Franklin Hernandez
AIA, NOMA, NCARB

Valarie brings over 24 years of experience with a wide variety of experience including healthcare, educational, corporate, religious, and institutional architectural design. Valarie, currently an Associate Principal at Moody Nolan, maintains a thorough knowledge of developing technologies and design concepts, has written several published articles and possesses the ability to communicate through all levels of project delivery and design.

Valarie is the founding President of the local Chapter of the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMAnash), she is on the AIA TN Board of Directors, is chairman of the AIA TN Justice Equity Diversity and Inclusion Committee and is a member of the Board of Directors for Nashville’s Civic Design Center. She received the AIA TN Presidential Award of Excellence in 2021 for being a leader champion furthering justice, equity, diversity and inclusion in the profession and AIA Tennessee as well as her leadership of NOMAnash, and her passion to engage K-12 students through several education initiatives. Valarie has also been recognized nationally by the American Institute of Architects as a Citizen Architect.

Roderic Walton 
FAIA, NCARB, NOMA 

Roderic is a principal at Moody Nolan architects, the nations’ largest black-owned architecture firm. He practices healthcare architecture exclusively, and his approach to professional practice aligns architecture with health equity and advocacy. Roderic is also the national leader of Moody Nolan’s diversity, equity, and inclusion committee. Roderic has authored and contributed to a large body of written work regarding equity and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on healthcare, with specific focus on communities of color. He is a former co-chair of the AIA Chicago Healthcare Knowledge community, and a former member of the AIA Chicago Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee. He is a member of the 2024 Healthcare Design Editorial Advisory Board and serves as a board member with the Academy of Architecture for Health. Roderic has twenty-seven years of industry experience.