Goodwin Lecture Series

Dr. Ngozi Ezike, president and CEO of Sinai Chicago and former director of the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), was the eighth Goodwin Distinguished Lecture Series lecturer. Ezike, a board-certified physician in internal medicine and pediatrics, was the first Black woman appointed to lead IDPH in its nearly 150-year history as a state agency and is a nationally recognized expert in the area of healthcare within the juvenile detention and justice systems.

As the state’s top official for public health from 2019-2022, Ezike said the COVID-19 pandemic’s extreme challenges underscored the importance of effective communication strategies to reach vulnerable communities about the importance of vaccinations.

“The messaging that works for one community won’t necessarily work for another,” Ezike said, adding that finding “trusted messengers that people will actually listen to” was a key component of the state’s efforts to educate and vaccinate the public.

Ezike described leaders from different religious denominations helping to organize, distribute information and be leaders in their communities to get vaccinated. She said when people could see their trusted community members getting vaccinated, they were more inclined to follow their example. The state also adopted a COVID-19 ambassador’s program to communicate with the public. She shared that nearly 1,500 people were recruited, including teachers, pastors and stay-at-home moms. The ambassadors were willing to use their social networks to share accurate and vetted health information with their friends, family and community.

Concluding her lecture, Ezike said the virtual platforms used during the pandemic’s lockdown and post-lockdown periods for work, religious and social meetings and healthcare appointments were efficient, valuable and should be maintained. However, she noted many continue to experience mental health trauma due to COVID-19.

“We know there aren’t enough mental health specialists throughout the state for everyone, so using telehealth to be able to reach more people,” Ezike said.

She added that building a wider telehealth network and sustaining the partnerships developed during the pandemic would help address issues the pandemic brought to light.

“There are quite a few lessons from the aftermath of COVID that we need to take from, to not repeat some of the lessons from the past and, hopefully, do things better for us,” Ezike said.

The Daniel L. Goodwin Distinguished Lecture Series was created in 2015 by Daniel L. Goodwin, Chairman and CEO of Inland Real Estate Group of Companies, Inc., as part of his historic $2.5 million commitment to Northeastern Illinois University. The lecture series fund supports freedom of speech by providing prominent thinkers representing all sides of issues.