Episodes
42
Latest episode
Aug 2026
Language
EN
Since 1996, in honor of the late U.S. Secretary of Commerce, the Ron Brown Scholar Program has been cultivating and investing in the next generation of African American leaders, directly impacting thousands of students and professionals every year. This podcast highlights the stories of the people that make this network special. To learn more, visit www.ronbrown.org.
As students head back to school this fall, Principal Montell Brown (RBS '15) is kickstarting his first school year as a Principal in Manassas City Public Schools in Virginia. In this episode, Ray Pryor (RBS '15) talks with Montell Brown about what reaching this milestone in education leadership so early in his career means to him personally and for him professionally.
Pulling from his career as an executive in healthcare innovation, Jonathan Piper (RBS '98 and Trustee) has taken to Substack to write about lessons he's learned about leadership that separate individuals and organizations with potential from those who actually live up to it. In this episode, Ray Pryor (RBS '15) and Jonathan dive into the major themes from his first two articles and what leaders across sectors should take away from them. Jonathan's Substack: https://substack.com/@jonathanpiper1 Article #1: The Metric Became the Mission ( https://substack.com/@jonathanpiper1/p-199239954 ) Article #2: Everyone Agrees With Your Idea. So Why Won’t Anyone Support It? ( https://substack.com/home/post/p-201949691 )
There are few people as multi-faceted as Leslie Turner (RBS '13); she's been a project manager, a consultant, a researcher, an entrepreneur, an author, a doula, and is a budding entertainer, too. In this episode, Ray Pryor (RBS '15) interviews Leslie as she shares her evolution from a pre-med student focused on one single goal of becoming a doctor to embracing that her career can and should reflect the multiple dimensions of her professional skills and personality. Whether it's about adjusting to the rise of AI or finding direction early in your career, this episode has something for everyone. Leslie Turner, MPH, brings nearly a decade of professional experience in the healthcare industry and is currently a Project Manager at Risant Health, a Kaiser Foundation-backed value-based care startup. In this role, she drives health system integration efforts and fosters alignment across cross-functional stakeholders, including executive leadership. Passionate about making healthcare more accessible, affordable, and equitable, Ms. Turner thrives on collaborative, data-driven strategy development and execution. She earned her Master of Public Health in Health Policy from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in 2021. Prior to Harvard and joining Risant Health, she held roles as a Senior Healthcare Consultant at Chartis, a Health Industries Senior Associate at PwC Strategy&, and a Public Health Analyst 2 and Study Coordinator at RTI International, where she managed behavioral health intervention studies for women in North Carolina and South Africa. Leslie is also the Founder and CEO of LBMT Solutions, LLC, offering tailored and evidence-based coaching, mentoring, and doula services to healthcare and non-healthcare clients. A proud Duke University alumna, where she majored in Cultural Anthropology, and published author, Ms. Turner enjoys cooking, improv, and dancing in her free time.
Three 2023 Ron Brown Scholars—Kishanti Barmoh , Faith Buggs , and Aisha Makama—were selected as recipients of the Obama-Chesky Voyager Scholarship for Public Service, a prestigious national award recognizing students committed to creating positive change. In this episode, Ray Pryor (RBS '15) interviews them about their interests in public service, along with Makenna Turner (RBS '20) who was the 1st Ron Brown Scholar to be selected as an Obama-Chesky Scholar in the inaugural cohort.
Dr. Ku McMahan (RBS 1999) moderated a fascinating fireside chat with Dr. William Tarpeh (RBS 2008), a 2025 MacArthur Genius Fellow. Their conversation explored how sustainable engineering can solve global challenges of equity and access. Miles Johnson (RBS 2004) was the emcee for the "Celebration of Excellence" dinner in Washington, DC during the 2026 Selection Weekend.
Florence Onyiuke is a 2022 Ron Brown Scholar in the Huntsman Program studying International Relations and Business at the University of Pennsylvania. Originally from Florida representing U.S. District 7, she is the 1st Rhodes Scholar in program history. To learn more, visit www.ronbrown.org .
Dr. Joel Bervell is a 2013 Ron Brown Captain and a member of Ron Brown’s Advisory Board. Known as the "Medical Mythbuster", Joel's social media platforms (@joelbervell) have grown to over 1.5 million followers, 500 million+ impressions, and a monthly reach of more than 10 million people. His work has been featured by the White House, The New York Times, NPR, Good Morning America, FDA, TED, SXSW, Google, Microsoft, Meta, AMA, Forbes, TIME, and more. Joel's also the the host of The Dose, a podcast by The Commonwealth Fund , and he’s creator of The Doctor Is In , a mixed live action and animated TV series on YouTube for kids. He earned his bachelor's degree in cellular and molecular biology at Yale, master’s in Medical Clinical Sciences at Boston University, and MD at Washington State University. To learn more, visit www.ronbrown.org .
Across his career as a consultant at McKinsey, director at Blue Cross Blue Shield, Partner at BCG, and now a Partner at Strategy&, Dr. Diarra Lamar 's (RBS '97) clients have included providers, payers, service providers, pharma and tech companies, as well as investors across the healthcare space. He earned his bachelor's degree in Cognitive Neurosciences, MD, and MBA from Harvard University. To learn more, visit www.ronbrown.org .
Dr. Keon Pearson is a 2011 Ron Brown Scholar and Medical Director of Human Longevity where he works on the frontier of longevity medicine, a fast-emerging field of medicine aiming to extend lifespan and improve healthspan. Prior to that, he worked with healthcare startups as a Scout investor for Lightspeed Venture Partners. He studied Human Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University as an undergraduate and earned his MD and MBA from Stanford University. To learn more, visit www.ronbrown.org .
Dr. Travis Gayles is a 1997 Ron Brown Scholar and is currently the CEO of Howard Brown Health, a nonprofit LGBTQ healthcare and social services provider with an annual budget of $145 million dollars that serves tens of thousands of patients in the Chicagoland area. Prior to joining Howard Brown Health, Travis was Chief Health Officer of Hazel Health, Chief of Public Health Services and Medical Officer for Montgomery County in Maryland, Chief Medical Officer for the DC Department of Health, and adjunct professor at the University of Illinois, Northwestern, DePaul, Johns Hopkins, University of Maryland, and NYU. He earned his MD and PhD from the University of Illinois, and BA in Public Policy and African/African American Studies from Duke University. To learn more, visit www.ronbrown.org .
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