Public Health Joy: Community Power, Health Equity, and Leadership in Action

Hosted by Dr. Joyee Washington

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Nov 2026

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Public Health Joy is a podcast for public health professionals, researchers, and community leaders who believe equity, justice, and healing belong at the center of public health work. Hosted by Dr. Joyee Washington, the show explores community-engaged research, health equity, leadership, policy, technology, entrepreneurship and sustainable public health careers, bridging strategy with soul to reimagine public health. This is a space where rest fuels resistance, community power drives change, and public health becomes a tool for collective healing and transformation.

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November 6, 2026Episode 1946 min

S5 E19 - Redefining Public Health Leadership: The Balanced Leader

Let’s be honest: public health has a boundary problem. We’ve been conditioned to believe that limits mean we don’t care, aren’t dedicated, or won’t go above and beyond. But boundaries aren’t walls to keep people out. Think of the door to your home. You don’t open it for just anyone, and that doesn’t make every visitor a bad person. It just means you’re protecting what’s inside. In this episode, I’m back on the Region 4 Public Health Training Center’s Leading Public Health podcast for part four of our series on redefining public health leadership. This time, we’re talking boundaries. What if the reason we’re burning out isn’t that we care too much, but that we’ve never been taught how to protect what we’re caring with? When we don’t set boundaries, the system will take everything we have. We feel it as resentment, exhaustion, and a body that starts sounding the alarm. And whatever we model as leaders becomes the policy for our teams. Key Points From This Episode: The importance of boundaries for protection and capacity building [01:38 to 04:30] Common boundary problems in public health organizations [02:05 to 03:19] Strategies for setting and communicating boundaries effectively [14:01 to 19:55] The role of boundaries in preventing burnout and resentment [09:22 to 11:00] How boundaries foster psychological safety and team trust [05:30 to 07:59] The impact of boundary violations and how to address them [20:35 to 24:10] Reframing guilt as an act of service and self-care [14:01 to 17:30] Normalizing boundaries within team culture [26:30 to 28:30] Leadership modeling of boundary-setting behaviors [32:26 to 36:49] Consequences of boundary neglect and how to implement boundaries with consistency [09:22 to 13:14] If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and leave a review! For more transcripts, show notes, and more visit: Click Here

October 16, 2026Episode 1838 min

S5 E18 - Redefining Public Health Leadership: The Abundance-Minded Leader

In this episode, I’m back on the Region 4 Public Health Training Center’s Leading Public Health podcast for part three of our series on redefining public health leadership. We’re talking scarcity vs. abundance mindsets. When the needs feel endless, many of us lead from “not enough”: not enough funding, staff, or time. And when you lead from not enough, you keep creating not enough. It shows up as hoarding resources, micromanaging, avoiding innovation, and calling overwork “dedication.” Then burnout and scarcity feed each other. You can’t burn out your way to abundance. I’ve been that leader, so I’m speaking from experience. Here’s the twist: you can have abundant resources and still operate from scarcity. You can also have limited resources and lead from abundance. It isn’t toxic positivity. It means focusing on what’s possible with what we have while we fight for systemic change. What does leading from abundance look like? ✨ Take inventory of what you do have ✨ Ask “what is possible?” before “what’s wrong?” ✨ Delegate, even if it’s not done your way ✨ End your day reflecting on what you built ✨ Swap “but” for “and”: “We lost funding, AND here’s what we still have.” We also talk about leading through crisis and why trust is the bridge from scarcity to abundance. Abundance is a muscle, and it takes practice. If we build it together, we rebuild together. 💛 Key Points From This Episode: Scarcity versus abundance mindset in public health [07:28-37:29] Impact of scarcity mindset on decision-making and team morale [07:28-11:03] How burnout is intertwined with scarcity thinking [11:03-16:59] Strategies to shift from scarcity to abundance mindset [16:59-22:37] The role of trust in fostering abundance [35:15-37:29] Practical daily habits to reinforce abundance thinking [22:37-26:42] Leadership during crises and resource limitations [26:42-32:11] If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and leave a review! For more transcripts, show notes, and more visit: Click Here

October 2, 2026Episode 1749 min

S5 E17 - Redefining Public Health Leadership: The Rested Leader

In this episode, I'm back on the Region 4 Public Health Training Center's Leading Public Health podcast for part two of our series on redefining public health leadership. We're talking about rest as resistance and why modeling rest for your team is essential. The system many of us work in runs on our exhaustion. Exhausted people comply. They can't think strategically or innovate; they just survive. So when you rest, you're saying your humanity matters more than the urgency. I've been the exhausted leader who made poor decisions because I was too tired to think, so I'm speaking from experience. We also unpack why rest gets overlooked: the guilt, the myth that our worth equals our productivity, and the fear that everything will fall apart if we step away. (Spoiler: it won't.) Your team is watching. You're either modeling sustainability or self-destruction. What does resting out loud look like? ✨ Block rest on your calendar like a board meeting ✨ Use your PTO and respect your team's time off ✨ Start meetings with five minutes of quiet ✨ Add "respond when it works for you" to your email signature ✨ Track team well-being as a KPI You can't individual-effort your way out of systemic exhaustion. Rest has to be built into our structures. Rest is your weapon. If we rest together, we rebuild together. Key Points from This Episode: Rest as a form of resistance against systemic exhaustion [02:01 to 11:03] The impact of leadership well-being on team health [18:57 to 25:50] Practical strategies for integrating rest into work culture [29:35 to 36:33] The societal and systemic barriers to rest in public health [12:03 to 18:20] The importance of modeling and organizational support for rest [37:45 to 45:03] Rest as a tool for strategic decision-making and resilience [22:11 to 25:50] If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and leave a review! For more transcripts, show notes, and more visit: Click Here

September 18, 2026Episode 1642 min

S5 E16 - The Business Case for Health Equity and Actionable Change

In this episode, Dr. Joyee sits down with Sana Imam, who leads the development of health equity toolkits and playbooks for the Black Director's Health Equity Agenda (BDHEA) and oversees a $1.5 million grant strengthening safety net institutions across the country. We get into why BDHEA focuses on board directors specifically, why diverse representation alone doesn't create equitable outcomes, and the real dollar cost of health inequity: $320 billion a year right now, projected to top $1 trillion by 2040 if nothing changes. Leadership in public health means understanding the business case for healthy equity. Sana also breaks down what "actionable change" looks like on the ground; from reshaping vaccine access during COVID to BDHEA's newest playbook on advancing health equity in safety net boardrooms. If you've ever wondered what it takes to move health equity from a talking point to a boardroom decision, this episode is for you. Key Points From This Episode: Challenges in health equity work [25:18 – 29:41] The role of community listening [28:45 – 29:44] The health equity toolkit for safety net institutions [25:18 – 27:00] Policy advocacy and legislative impact [32:00 – 34:46] Success stories from health equity initiatives [30:17 – 32:00] The importance of community partnerships [27:00 – 28:00] The impact of COVID-19 on healthcare professionals [09:32 – 14:13] The vision for health equity transformation [29:44 – 34:46] Joy in public health work [34:46 – 39:46] If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and leave a review! For more transcripts, show notes, and more visit: Click Here

September 4, 2026Episode 1559 min

S5 E15 - Redefining Public Health Leadership: The Evolving Leader

In this episode, Dr. Joyee Washington sits down with the Region 4 Public Health Training Center's Leading Public Health podcast to unpack what leadership actually looks like in public health right now. Not the old top-down, credentials-first version, but something rooted in self-awareness, vulnerability, and community as our compass. She gets honest about what it means to lead in environments that feel less "high stakes" and more just plain hostile: shrinking departments, disappearing funding, jobs that don't feel stable anymore. And she names the thing most of us won't say out loud: that we've been taught to martyr ourselves for "the greater good," and that's not noble. That's extraction. That's why we're burned out. Dr. Joyee shares what effective leadership actually requires now: clarity in chaos, strategic rest, distributing leadership instead of hoarding it, and doing the internal work first; because you cannot give what you do not have. She reminds us that how you treat yourself is a mirror for how you'll treat your team, and that healthy leaders are the ones who build teams that can actually sustain the work. This conversation is part of a special series, and we're so glad to bring it to you here on The Public Health Joy Podcast. Whether you're leading a team, holding a department together, or just trying to figure out how to lead yourself well first, this episode meets you there. One thing is clear: leadership isn't about who's at the top. It's about who's willing to change, share power, and create space for everyone to do their best work. Redefining leadership in public health [01:53 – 09:58] The importance of vulnerability and self-awareness [16:29 – 25:07] Strategies for effective leadership in high-stakes environments [10:41 – 16:29] Leadership habits that unintentionally shut people down (perfectionism, scarcity mindset, emotional unavailability) [25:53 – 38:05] If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and leave a review! For more transcripts, show notes, and more visit: Click Here

August 21, 2026Episode 1422 min

S5 E14 - Quiet Rage: Naming the Grief, Choosing the Fight

In this episode, Dr. Joyee is being honest with you about where she's at right now. We're talking about the weight of racial violence, the grief that gets passed down before we even have words for it, and the quiet rage that builds in the body every time we hear another name. She's naming what it feels like to move through this world exhausted and still show up. Still lead. Still fight. This episode isn't just about the pain; it's about what we do with it. It's about choosing to be bold and strategic instead of silent. It's about protecting our joy in the middle of the fight, not after it, because joy has never meant everything is fine. For us, joy has always been resistance. This one is heavy. If you need to sit with it in pieces, that's okay. If you need a place to land when it's over, that's okay too. That's what we're building here. You don't have to have it figured out. You just have to know there's a place for you. Key Points From This Episode: The emotional impact of racial violence [0:00–6:00] The concept of quiet rage and its role in activism [0:00–1:30] Historical context of racial trauma from the civil rights movement to today [1:30–11:00] The importance of strategic and calculated resistance [6:00–14:30] Joy as an act of resistance and self-preservation [19:00–21:00] The need for community spaces for healing and belonging [19:00–21:00] Internal work to recognize biases and privileges [14:30–20:00] The role of public health in addressing systemic injustice [14:30–20:00] If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and leave a review! For more transcripts, show notes, and more visit: Click Here

August 7, 2026Episode 1354 min

S5 E13 - Connecting Purpose & Profit in Public Health

In this episode of the Public Health Joy Podcast, Dr. Joyee sits down with her friend, coach, and sister in faith, Reesi Wilson. As a funnel strategist, master copywriter, and profitability coach for women entrepreneurs, she joins Dr. Joyee for a raw, full-circle conversation about the journey it took to get here. They're tracing the story back to where it started: Dr. Joyee burnt out, underpricing herself, and still operating on academic time long after she'd left academia. Reesi walks us through the years, the pivot, the burnout, the boundaries, the trip to Mexico that cracked everything open, the summit that was born from a dream, and the "wilderness season" that followed when obedience didn't come with an immediate reward. They get into it: what happens when you do everything "right" and the harvest still doesn't come right away? What does it look like to keep your faith at the center of your business, even when nobody teaches you how to market that? And how do you know when a hard season is actually a restoration season in disguise? Reesi gets personal by discussing praying and fasting alongside Dr. Joyee through the hardest stretches, and reminding her that our actions always reveal what we truly believe. This episode is a masterclass in burnout recovery, faith-fueled entrepreneurship, and trusting the process even when the outcome isn't instant. If you've ever wondered whether it's possible to build a thriving business without leaving your faith at the door, this episode is for you. Key Points Faith and entrepreneurship [32:03 – 35:10] Overcoming burnout and scarcity mindset [12:13 – 17:07] Building impactful public health programs [25:23 – 30:57] The role of rest and reflection in success [20:16 – 25:22] Integrating faith into professional life [08:12 – 09:08] If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and leave a review! For more transcripts, show notes, and more visit: Click Here

July 17, 2026Episode 1245 min

S5 E12 - Reframing Black Men’s Health: From Disparities to Community-Driven Solutions

In this episode of the Public Health Joy Podcast, Dr. Joyee sits down with Dr. Okey Enyia — health policy researcher, author, and founder of the John Henry Institute for Black Men's Health and Policy Innovation — for a powerful conversation about what it really takes for Black men to not just survive, but thrive. They start with the legend of John Henry — the "steel-driving man" who beat the machine but lost his life doing it — and unpack what that story still teaches us about chronic stress, structural racism, and the cost of always having to prove yourself. Dr. Enyia shares the real history behind the legend, including the John Henryism hypothesis: the idea that chronic stressors kill, and how that shows up in the data on Black men's life expectancy today. They get into it: do Black men get to have a soft life? Who gives them permission to rest? And what does community care actually look like when we've all been conditioned to equate rest with laziness? Dr. Enyia gets personal too — talking openly about being laid off, navigating depression and identity shifts, and how Jesus and therapy have both been part of his own healing journey. This episode is a masterclass in self-care, soul care, and reclaiming rest as a birthright, not a reward. If you've ever wondered how we build spaces where Black men can just be , without having to earn it, this episode is for you. Key Points John Henry legend and its metaphor for health and stress [01:21 – 11:21] Health disparities among Black men and policy solutions [20:57 – 23:41] The importance of self-care, rest, and community support [19:41 – 29:07] Impact of white supremacy and capitalism on Black health [13:01 – 19:10] If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and leave a review! For more transcripts, show notes, and more visit: Click Here

July 3, 2026Episode 1142 min

S5 E11 - Redefining Worth: Reclaiming Identity, Data Storytelling, and Worth Beyond the Title

In this episode of the Public Health Joy Podcast, Dr. Joyee sits down with Dr. Zenobia Bryant Antoine for a powerful conversation about the deep connection between self-worth, data storytelling, and community impact. They're talking about the internal work required to lead authentically, challenging us to redefine our value beyond titles, degrees, and dollar signs. Dr. Bryant Antoine reminds us that data doesn't just tell a story about numbers; it tells a story about people, and the way we hold that responsibility says everything about our leadership. At its core, this conversation is about alignment: between who you are and how you lead, between the data you collect and the communities behind it, between your worth and your work. If you've ever struggled to separate your identity from your title, or wondered how authentic leadership creates lasting public health impact, this episode is for you. Key Points The importance of not defining oneself by roles or titles [01:41 – 04:17] Connecting data to real stories and community impact [01:41 – 08:02] Internal work and self-worth in leadership [08:02 – 12:49] The power of pivoting and adaptability [12:57 – 15:09] Redefining value and impact beyond money and titles [15:09 – 29:42] If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate and, leave a review! For more transcripts, show notes, and more visit: Click Here

June 19, 2026Episode 1058 min

S5 E 10 - Sitting at the Feet of Wisdom: A Juneteenth Conversation with Dr. Lovell Jones on Black Research, Health Equity, and Legacy

In this episode of The Public Health Joy Podcast, Dr. Joyee sits down with Dr. Lovell Jones. Dr. Jones is a pioneering cancer researcher, health equity scholar, and one of the most important architects of the infrastructure that made space for Black researchers in the biomedical sciences. As the first African American to be hired in the basic/behavioral sciences, at University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, rose through the ranks to a tenured full professor and the first to hold an administrative title. He has been mentored by giants. And he has mentored giants. Researchers now doing transformational work across the country and across the globe credit him as a foundational part of their journey. In this conversation, he opens up about mentoring the next generation, addressing health disparities, and what it truly means to lead with a servant's heart. From historical insights to real community impact, this conversation is packed with wisdom on collaboration, legacy, and showing up for the people who need us most. This is probably the most important podcast episode we have ever released, which tells you everything you need to know about how much work we have to do to recover and preserve our own history. Key Points From This Episode: Mentoring with purpose and heart [9:37 – 14:39] The role of community and collaboration in health disparities [14:39 – 28:25] The history and impact of the Intercultural Cancer Council [35:21 – 43:58] Building sustainable legacies in public health [43:58 – 51:22] Addressing systemic issues and fostering change [22:18 – 35:13] If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate and, leave a review! For more transcripts, show notes, and more visit: Click Here

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