Greater Lawrence Family Health Center is launching a Speaker Series bringing together community leaders, educators, business professionals and health care experts to discuss issues surrounding community health.

The first session in the series features Michael Curry, Esq., CEO of the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers; and Juan Fernando Lopera, Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer at Beth Israel Lahey Health. The topic is “Health Equity Matters!” The two will talk about the Commonwealth’s newly created Health Equity Compact, which aims to chart the course toward addressing disparities in health equity head-on.

“The GLFHC Speaker Series is an opportunity for leadership in the Merrimack Valley to ‘walk-the-walk’ on diversity; we can come together from various backgrounds to discuss significant challenges to healthier lives in Lawrence, and collectively create solutions. We are delighted to have Mr. Curry and Mr. Lopera set the proper frame as one of health equity,” said Guy L. Fish, MD, CEO of GLFHC.

The series is open to everyone. The inaugural session is 4:30 pm on Thursday, June 30 at Lawrence High School auditorium. People are asked to please RSVP by Friday, June 24 to Richard Napolitano, Chief Strategy Officer, at rnapolitano@glfhc.org or 978-722-2870. The presentations will last about an hour and include time for questions and discussion.

As head of the Mass League, Curry supports more than 52 health centers and more than 1 million patients throughout the Commonwealth. Prior to joining the League in 2008, Curry worked for 16 years at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts, most of that time as Senior Policy Advisor in the Corporate Affairs Division. He has served on the health care transition teams for former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick and former Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, and was involved in the passage of Massachusetts Health Reform and the Affordable Care Act. Curry is also a past President of the Boston Branch of the NAACP, and has more than 20 years of dedicated service to the organization at the city, state-area conference and national levels.

Lopera is Beth Israel Lahey Health’s (BILH) first Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer and leads the system’s efforts to transform care delivery for the underserved while establishing diversity, equity and inclusion capabilities across the system. Before joining BILH, he served as Vice President and Corporate Business Diversity Officer at the combined Tufts Health Plan and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, where he led company-wide diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and co-chaired the company’s Anti-Racism Leadership Taskforce. Earlier in his career, Lopera served as Director of Affordability Strategies at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts and held management roles at Deloitte Consulting.