SLS 22RS-1981 ORIGINAL
2022 Regular Session
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 66
BY SENATOR BOUDREAUX
COMMENDAT IONS. Commends 2021-2022 Inspiring Health Justice Residents and
scholar-in-residence on their residency collaboration of DESPAIR-ity: The Call of History
to Pull Us Forward.
1 A RESOLUTION
2 To commend the 2021-2022 Inspiring Health Justice Residents and scholar-in-residence on
3 their residency collaboration of DESPAIR-ity: The Call of History to Pull Us
4 Forward.
5 WHEREAS, the mission of the Minority Health and Health Disparities Research
6 Center (MHHDRC) at Dillard University is to take a comprehensive approach to advancing
7 research across disciplinary areas, to enhance and promote coordination and collaboration
8 throughout the scientific community, and to improve the overall quality of health for racial
9 and ethnic minorities; and
10 WHEREAS, A Studio in the Woods, a program of Tulane University's ByWater
11 Institute, is one of the leading artistic and academic residency programs in the Gulf South
12 region, fostering creative responses to the challenges of our time by providing retreat to
13 artists, scholars, and the public; and
14 WHEREAS, the collaboration focuses on inequities in both our past and present, and
15 the responsibility we all have going forward toward awareness, education, and
16 transformation; and
17 WHEREAS, Kristi L. Anderson, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), developed the Health
18 Disparities Grant Program for the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center School
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1 of Medicine with the Interim Chancellor for the School of Medicine and the Associate Dean
2 for Research in response to the national call of awareness to and elimination of healthcare
3 disparities and the understanding and movement toward diversity, equity and inclusion; and
4 WHEREAS, during the Fall 2021 semester and the entire Spring 2022 semester,
5 Dr. Kristi Anderson, scholar-in-residence, has been working with four incredible Dillard
6 University artists-in-residence: Karen Grant-Anderson (Music), Zaria Ivory (Music),
7 William Shelton (English), and Nailah Starks (English); and
8 WHEREAS, Dr. Kristi L. Anderson received her doctoral degree from the University
9 of Louisiana at Monroe (ULM) in the College of Health Sciences with the concentration of
10 systemic studies, which has origins in marriage and family therapy, focusing on the diverse
11 principles of transform and change; and
12 WHEREAS, Dr. Anderson represented ULM in Berlin, Germany, where she was
13 selected to study in Hanover, Germany; she also participated as a student member of the
14 International Society for the Systems Sciences; she was nominated for Who's Who Among
15 Universities and Colleges and she was also inducted into Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society; and
16 WHEREAS, she currently serves as an Assistant Professor of Research for the
17 Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, Louisiana State University (LSU) Health
18 Sciences Center, Lafayette, Louisiana Campus and, in her role, she provides oversight of the
19 accreditation of graduate medical education (GME) and undergraduate medical education
20 (UME) programs on the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center Lafayette
21 campus, working collaboratively with GME and UME offices in New Orleans and with
22 affiliated clinical partners; and she is also adjunct faculty for Tulane University School of
23 Medicine where she teaches in the Department of Family and Community Medicine; and
24 WHEREAS, Karen Grant-Anderson, is a New Orleans native, a gifted singer, and
25 at a very young age, she turned toward her gift of singing and discovered her own identity
26 through music, and through the years, the city's many cultural influences have shaped her
27 as an artist and a person; and
28 WHEREAS, Karen is a current full-time music industry major and psychology minor
29 at Dillard University; after obtaining her bachelor's degree, she plans to enter graduate
30 school to achieve her PhD in music therapy after which she plans to use her PhD to aid the
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1 senior community with a better quality of life through interactive experiences that are
2 entertaining and therapeutic; and
3 WHEREAS, Zaria Ivory is a sophomore vocal performance major originally from
4 Oakland, California; was "singing before she could even talk" and she has made it her goal
5 to be a participant in every performance opportunity on the Dillard University campus to
6 help perfect her craft; and
7 WHEREAS, her goal is to become a professional singer and build a musical and
8 business empire that spreads throughout many fields while pursuing one of her passions –
9 helping to build up the next generation with the goal of combining her passion for youth with
10 her love for the arts and create a nonprofit organization to help youth who are interested in
11 the fine arts; and
12 WHEREAS, William Shelton is an English major from Nashville, Tennessee, and
13 has a passion for creative writing – specifically play writing, short stories, and poetry; and
14 WHEREAS, William interned with New Orleans Writer's Workshop as a social
15 media and marketing intern, and recently his play "Yellow Dancer" was selected by the
16 Black Seed Project, presented by The Black Academy of Arts and Letters, and scheduled for
17 a live staged reading; and
18 WHEREAS, William is in his final year of his undergraduate studies and he hopes
19 to go to graduate school to further his studies in English and creative writing; and
20 WHEREAS, Nailah Starks is a junior English major from Amite, Louisiana, and she
21 has a passion for teaching, reading, and writing; her poetry has been published by 2019
22 Appelley Rising Stars Collection and the 2020 Upon Arrival Anthology; and
23 WHEREAS, her personal statement is to educate, influence, transform, and inspire
24 those who face adversity through her teachings, writings, and personal experiences; upon
25 graduation from Dillard University, Nailah is planning on attending an alternative teaching
26 certification program.
27 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
28 does hereby commend the 2021-2022 Inspiring Health Justice Residents and scholar-in-
29 residence on their residency collaboration of DESPAIR-ity: The Call of History to Pull Us
30 Forward.
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1 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to
2 Kristi L. Anderson, PhD, Karen Grant-Anderson, Zaria Ivory, William Shelton, and
3 Nailah Starks.
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Kathy Liberty.
DIGEST
SR 66 Original 2022 Regular Session Boudreaux
Commends the 2021-2022 Inspiring Health Justice Residents and scholar-in-residence on
their residency collaboration of DESPAIR-ity: The Call of History to Pull Us Forward.
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