Richmond, California used to be called America’s “Murder Capital”. But when city leaders chose a different path the city’s gun violence problem dramatically declined. Devone Boggan and UC Berkeley’s Jason Corburn join Claudia to discuss their new book “Advancing Peace”, which chronicles their efforts to reduce gun violence in Richmond and other cities by focusing on those most likely to pull the trigger. Boggan and Corburn make a case for an approach to gun violence interruption grounded in deep mentorship, community investment and healing and accountability.

We discuss:

• The book's core ideas: ending urban gun violence with redemptive love
• How public health overlooks community strengths by fixating on risk
• Why Richmond’s Office of Neighborhood Safety sits in government - but outside policing

Devone says that the greatest demonstration of this approach has always been Richmond:

“From the moment we implemented the Peacemaker Fellowship in 2010, within 18 to 24 months after we did that, there were dramatic, precipitous reductions in gun violence… Our argument has been [that] when you get the right people to get at the right people the right way over a long period of time, here's living proof and demonstration of what can happen…In 2014, we achieved a 40 year low in gun violence [in Richmond].”

Relevant Links

• Read Jason and Devone’s book “Advancing Peace: Ending Urban Gun Violence through the Power of Redemptive Love”
• Listen to an episode from our archives with Megan Ranney on gun violence as a public health issue
• Check out Richmond, California’s Office of Neighborhood Safety
• Read more about Jason Corburn’s work at UC Berkeley
• Get more information on Devone’s organization Advance Peace

About Our Guest

DeVone Boggan serves as Founder and CEO of Advance Peace. Advance Peace interrupts gun violence in American urban neighborhoods by providing transformational opportunities to young men involved in lethal firearm offenses and placing them in a high-touch, personalized fellowship. By working with and supporting a targeted group of individuals at the core of gun hostilities, Advance Peace bridges the gap between anti-violence programming and a hard-to-reach population at the center of violence in urban areas, thus breaking the cycle of gun hostilities and altering the trajectory of these men’s lives.

DeVone is the former Neighborhood Safety Director and founding director of the Office of Neighborhood Safety (ONS) for the City of Richmond, California. The ONS is a government, non-law enforcement agency that is charged with reducing firearm assaults and associated deaths in Richmond. Under his leadership as Neighborhood Safety Director, the city experienced a 71% reduction in gun violence between 2007 when the office was created and 2016. His work with ONS has been recognized in national publications and media, including the New York Times, Mother Jones, The Nation, Detroit Free Press, The Washington Post, TIME Magazine, PBS NewsHour, NPR, NBC Nightly News, ABC Nightline, CNBC, MSNBC, and CNN.

Prior to his...

Investor Nancy Brown joins us at Aspen Ideas Health to share her blueprint for impactful investments. Identify public health breakthroughs that deliver measurable cost and quality improvements — then show how they can thrive in the marketplace. You don’t have to look far to see this playbook in action. One of the year’s biggest health exits, Omada Health, is a digital version of the CDC’s Diabetes Prevention Program. At Oak HC/FT, Nancy has partnered with entrepreneurs who are redefining how America stays healthy — and she’s eager to see more people with public health roots take the leap into building impactful companies.

Please note: this conversation happened before HR1 was passed, so big Medicaid cuts were a threat but not yet a reality when we spoke.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Lessons from Todd Park in the early days of athenahealth
• How to turn good ideas into great businesses
• Nancy’s advice in an era of policy disruption: keep on building and proving value
• The lesson Kaiser Permanente is still teaching us

Nancy reminds us that in reality, even a brilliant idea needs to have ROI built in:

“We look for entrepreneurs, for innovators, who have really defined a way in which to find a cohort of patients, it could be pregnant Medicaid moms... And they have identified if they apply a certain clinical process consistently to that population, they will get a consistently good outcome, quality outcome, and they can do it in a sustainable [way] at a sustainable price.”

Relevant Links

• Read Oak HC/FT’s AI Investment Policy
• Explore businesses Nancy mentioned from Oak HC/FT’s investment portfolio:
• Maven Clinic
• Oshi Health

About Our Guest

Nancy Brown is a General Partner at Oak HC/FT, a leading venture and growth equity firm investing in transformative healthcare and fintech companies. Since joining Oak HC/FT at its inception in 2014, Ms. Brown has focused on identifying and supporting technology-enabled healthcare services that deliver measurable clinical and financial impact. She focuses on growth equity and early-stage venture investments in healthcare, serving on the boards of innovative companies such as Firefly Health, Groups Recover Together, InterWell Health, Maven Clinic, Oshi Health, Regard, Unite Us, and Wayspring. Her portfolio also includes Noom, TurningPoint Healthcare Solutions, Limeade (ASX: LME), OncoHealth, and OODA Health.

Ms. Brown brings over three decades of operational and leadership experience to her investment role. Prior to Oak HC/FT, she was Vice President of Strategy and Business Development at McKesson Technology Solutions and Chief Growth Officer at MedVentive (acquired by McKesson in 2012). Previously, she served as Senior Vice President of Clinical Services and Corporate Development at athenahealth, and earlier held senior roles at McKesson and Harvard Community Health Plan. She also co-founded Abaton.com, one of the first web-based clinical solution companies, which was later acquired by McKesson.

A graduate of the University of New Hampshire (B.S. in Zoology) and Northeastern University (MBA), Ms. Brown is an active mentor and advisor. She serves on Northeastern’s D’Amore‑McKim School of Business Dean’s Executive Council and is involved in the Roux Institute’s Future of Healthcare Founder Residency program.

Grey’s Anatomy Executive Producer and physician Dr. Zoanne Clack joins The Other 80 at Aspen Ideas: Health to talk about what public health leaders can learn from Hollywood storytelling. After training as a doctor and working for the CDC, Zoanne followed her childhood dreams and moved to Hollywood. With no job or warm leads, Zoanne set out to use the power of storytelling to drive health change.

We discuss:

• What Shonda Rhimes taught Zoanne about standing in power
• Making it as a Hollywood “showrunner”
• Why public health leaders should lean into storytelling

Zoanne reminds us that stories - even about fictional characters - have the ability to help us move the world:

“I think just having that, that feeling of belonging, that feeling of these are my people, and I am very interested in what they're doing and thinking is just a great way for the media in Hollywood to have impact.”

Relevant Links

• Watch the two episode Zoanne mentioned are her favourites: “Fight the Power” (Season 17, Episode 5) and “The Time Warp” (Season 6, Episode 15)
• See Zoanne’s filmography

About Our Guest

Zoanne Clack is executive producer and showrunner for “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Station 19.” An emergency medicine physician turned TV writer and showrunner, Clack is best known for her influential writing roles on these critically acclaimed ABC-TV series, where she combines her medical background and artistic flair, offering a unique and authentic touch. As a writer/producer on "Grey's Anatomy" since the show began, she has played an integral role in the show's longevity and cultural impact. She uses her knowledge of entertainment education to promote global public health issues through the media, advocating for representation and inclusivity and providing diverse characterizations as well as poignant social commentary. Clack is co-chair of the Norman Lear Center’s Hollywood, Health & Society program at USC’s Annenberg School of Journalism and serves on the board or as an advisor of several global health groups.

Source

Connect With Us

For more information on The Other 80 please visit our website - www.theother80.com. To connect with our team, please email claudia@theother80.com and follow us on twitter @claudiawilliams and LinkedIn

Subscribe to The Other 80 on YouTube so you never miss our video extras or special video episodes!