Dr. Marcell Nunez-Smith To Receive Visionary Leadership Award

PUBLIC HEALTH HERO DR. MARCELLA NUNEZ-SMITH TO RECEIVE 11th ANNUAL VISIONARY LEADERSHIP AWARD FROM INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF ARTS & IDEAS

NEW HAVEN, CT- The International Festival of Arts & Ideas will present its 11th Annual Visionary Leadership Award to public health visionary and equity activist Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith on Tuesday, March 30, 2021 at 7pm in a virtual event featuring a talk by Dr. Nunez-Smith, a musical performance, and a three-course takeout dinner.

Dr. Nunez-Smith, Associate Dean of Health Equity Research at Yale School of Medicine, has spent her life and research focusing on improving health and healthcare equity for structurally marginalized populations through supporting healthcare workforce diversity and development, developing patient reported measurements of healthcare quality, and identifying regional strategies to reduce the global burden of non-communicable diseases. She was a co-chair of the Biden-Harris Transition Team’s COVID-19 task force and will co-chair the Biden-Harris administration’s COVID-19 Equity Task Force.

“Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith is a visionary in every sense of the word. Inspired by her family’s experience of inequity in the global healthcare system, she was driven to imagine a different future that didn’t rest in the current systems, but that named the challenges, questioned them and pushed through them for the benefit of all people. She has dedicated her life’s work to addressing racial injustice and inequity healthcare systems. It is a gift to be able to honor Dr. Nunez-Smith with this year’s Visionary Leadership Award. Her deep connection to New Haven, her global view and experience and her commitment to racial equity speaks to all that the Festival aspires to be.”
“In our 8th year as a sponsor of the Visionary Leadership Award, Bank of America remains committed to supporting our local community — now more than ever,” said Bill Tommins, Southern Connecticut Market President for Bank of America. “We believe in the power of the arts to help economies thrive and unite us, and we are thrilled to come together to celebrate the trailblazing leadership of Dr. Nunez-Smith. She is a local hero who has spent her life helping our community and our economy thrive by improving health and healthcare equity.”

At this event, Dr. Nunez-Smith will share her story and offer insight into the ongoing dual pandemics of COVID-19 and racism. The event will also feature a special performance by pianist Nachito Herrera.
View-only tickets start at $50. With the purchase of a regular or benefactor ticket, attendees will receive a three-course dinner from Forks & Fingers to enjoy while viewing at home. Dinner packages by Forks & Fingers Catering will be available for pick-up on Tuesday, March 30.

Proceeds from this event support The Jean Handley Fund for the International Festival of Arts & Ideas, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.

The Visionary Leadership Award was established in 2010 in honor of Festival Co-Founder Jean M. Handley, a champion of the arts in the New Haven community. The annual Visionary Leadership Award is presented to a leader whose trailblazing work is impacting the world. Prior Visionary Leadership Award recipients include George Takei, Jill Abramson, Majora Carter, Rosanne Cash, Charlayne Hunter-Gault, Angélique Kidjo, Sheila Nevins, Claudia Rankine, Zainab Salbi, and Sheryl WuDunn.

The annual event, co-chaired by Kimberly Goff-Crews, the Reverend Kevin Ewing, and Kiki Kennedy, M.D., draws more than 400 attendees from across the region and raises funds for the Festival’s diverse roster of programming presented in June each year. Proceeds from the event support work that represents the values and passion of Jean Handley, including world and U.S. premieres and community centered performances.

The International Festival of Arts & Ideas is a year-round organization that culminates with an annual celebration of performing arts, lectures, and conversations each summer in New Haven, Connecticut. The Festival convenes leading artists, thought leaders, and innovators from around the world for dynamic public programs to engage, entertain, and inspire a diversity of communities. More than 80% of Festival programs are free to the public, including events that feature some of the most influential jazz, classical, dance, and theater artists of our time.

Downtown New Haven, in the heart of the northeast corridor, is two and a half hours south of Boston and 90 minutes north of New York City.

The Festival’s programs have an impact throughout the year and include additional performances, educational opportunities, and the annual Visionary Leadership Award. The Festival was established in 1996 by Anne Calabresi, Jean M. Handley, and Roslyn Meyer. They envisioned an annual celebration in New Haven—a city steeped in a rich array of cultural and educational traditions—distinguished from other arts festivals by its fusion of the arts with events centered on sharing ideas.

The Festival is presented with major support from Yale University, The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, Connecticut Office of the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts with additional support from The City of New Haven, KeyBank, The Whitney Center, Yale New Haven Health, the Avangrid Foundation in partnership with United Illuminating and Southern CT Gas, Connecticut Humanities, a non-profit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, and our generous community of individual supporters.