portrait photography

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MCW’s Syed Ahmed Partners with the Community to Address More than Symptoms

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Dr. Syed Ahmed is a long-time physician and academic who has dedicated his career to treating patients through community engagement. He takes time to get to know his patients and determines his diagnosis once he understands their daily concerns as well as their symptoms. Based on years of research at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW), he finds it is crucial to learn about his patients’ background and life situation in order to effectively improve their health.

Community engagement is a concept that is becoming more widely used in medical institutions around the country. The idea is that institutions can better improve the health outcomes of people by actively partnering with the communities they are working with. Academics and doctors tend to be removed from the populations they are treating. “What we do in the hospital system is very important and valuable, but it impacts only 20% of the outcome. Eighty percent of the outcome is connected to where the people are coming from,” says Dr. Ahmed.

The Muslim Women's Coalition Builds Bridges of Understanding

The Milwaukee Muslim Women’s Coalition (MMWC) sits on the South Side of Milwaukee, run by a group of influential Muslim women who have worked to educate people about Muslim culture for the past 25 years. The idea for the organization started to take shape when the group would meet regularly to discuss the prejudice and disparaging comments they were experiencing at work. Upset about the remarks made about their hijabs and customs, the women decided that teaching others about their culture was the solution.

“The vast majority of people are not racist by nature, but their racism is manifested as a result of fear of the unknown,” says president and founding member Janan Najeeb. “If we can work to help them understand and to help them address those fears by creating opportunities to engage with them, then I think we will do a tremendous job of dismantling a lot of these hatreds that are out there.”

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One Person Can Really Make a Difference

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Of the many heroes in our city, Camille Mays stands out because of the tireless work she has committed to violence prevention and speaking out for our city’s underrepresented neighborhoods. She is a hero because dedicates every free moment she has to helping others. Whether she is supporting families of victims of gun violence, organizing a protest or assisting people to register to vote, she puts her community first.

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Juneteeth, the Day of Freedom and a Shout Out to Some of Milwaukee's Heroes

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Juneteenth is the day that Texas proclaimed all slaves free and to this day it is a celebration of freedom among African American communities. Slavery has ended but there continues to be systematic racism in our country as well as underrepresented African American neighborhoods. There are many organizations and people in Milwaukee fighting for liberation and equality. These are only a few of our local heroes, but today is the day they should be recognized. Take today to learn about the causes they fight for.

Here are their names and organizations in order from left to right:

Brenda Coley of Milwaukee Water Commons

Cendi Trujillo Tena of Leaders Igniting Transformation

Kwabena Antoine Nixon: www.sensitivewarsongz.com

Antonio Butts of Walnut Way

Markasa Tucker of Wisconsin Voices

Angela Lang of Black Leaders Organizing for Communities

Fidel Verdin and Shalina S. Ali of True Skool

Supreme Moore Omokunde, representative of District 10 of the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors

Andre Lee Ellis of We Got This

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Valerie Carter is Helping Patients on the Front Line

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Valerie Carter MD works as a hospitalist in Internal Medicine at Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee. The job has its challenges on a regular day: determining the right treatments for severely ill patients and keeping them calm during uncertainty. But in the middle of a pandemic, Carter’s job has become drastically harder because she also has to manage her own anxiety. “It was a whole different ball game when this started because we didn’t know what this was and what the right treatments would be,” says Carter.

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Groundwork Milwaukee's Deneine Christa Powell

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Since 2007, Groundwork Milwaukee has been an organization in the city that is fundamental to the development of urban green spaces, urban farming and sustainability-focused programming for youth. During this time of crisis, their Urban Farm Program is the initiative that is changing lives by growing food and donating it to people in need.