In this first installment of Fireside Chats with Fascinating Faculty, part of the IES Abroad Global Leadership SerIES, Gretchen Cook-Anderson, IES Abroad Associate Vice President, Assistant to the President for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Antiracism, and Director of Diversity Recruitment and Advising, hosted a live Zoom event with IES Abroad London Professor, poet, and lawyer David (Dave) Neita. During a time when public health, the pandemic, and racial equity are hot topics globally, Gretchen Cook-Anderson sits down, virtually, with Professor Dave Neita of IES Abroad's London Health Practice & Policy program for a critical conversation that links each with study abroad. Neita's course, Social Welfare Policy in the United Kingdom and Jamaica: A Community-Based Learning Perspective & Practicum, guides students through complex questions addressing how we define and measure living standards from one country to another and how race, ethnicity, gender, age and disability influence public health and other needs of the UK population as well as the world population. Gretchen also talks with Professor Neita about his February meeting with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on racial and religious inequities inherent in aspects of the the UK's vaccine rollout.
About Dave Neita:
Dave Neita is a lawyer, published poet, lecturer, and international speaker specializing in cultural leadership. Based in the UK, he is a commentator on race, politics, mental health, and the arts. An advocate for human rights and an expert in organizational development and mental health, Dave has worked with the Zurich Corporation, Hartford Financial Services, and NASA and has delivered a sermon at St Paul's Cathedral in London on Redemption and Transformation. Dave continues to speak widely in churches in the UK and abroad, promoting a redemptive and inclusive message of bringing about harmony in community, and in March 2018 he delivered a Sermon at Oxford University. In February 2021, Dave was part of a discussion with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, alongside other community leaders, regarding racial equity issues related to the COVID-19 vaccine rollout in the UK.
“Growing up in a society where culture was so important—lyrics, music, theater, drama—those are the things I perceived that would get the attention of the public.”Dave Neita | IES Abroad London Professor, People's Lawyer & People's Poet
Global Leadership in Action
Learn more about our global leaders in the IES Abroad community—staff, faculty, students, and friends—and their areas of expertise through our Global Leadership SerIES and Fireside Chats with Fascinating Faculty! You can also view more of IES Abroad's organizational leaders.
