David Nevins Interviews Destiny-Simone Ramjohn, Ph. D., VP of Community Health & Social Impact, CareFirst

Destiny-Simone Ramjohn, Ph.D., is the Vice President of Community Health & Social Impact with CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, the largest healthcare insurer in the Mid-Atlantic region. Dr. Ramjohn leads philanthropic giving and authentic community engagement strategies where people live, learn, work, play and seek care to drive measurable health improvements. This intentional alignment of business, social and health impact, with an eye toward equity, enables CareFirst to enhance members’ lives and the communities it serves.

Creating conditions that promote health equity is at the core of Dr. Ramjohn’s personal and professional mission. Her work examines the role of anchor institutions, like universities and health systems, in generating economic and health impacts that minimize inequities, especially jobs, added years of life from better health, reduced use of emergency departments for primary care, and more. Dr. Ramjohn is a strategic disruptor and innovative change agent, enthusiastically implementing new ideas to ensure that large health systems’ policies, programs and practices align with an equity agenda.

Her research and work are guided by a strong desire to advance health equity using authentically inclusive, empowering, and evidence-based techniques to bring our nation’s most vulnerable from the margins of our society to the center of dialogue, advocacy, and power.

Interview questions:

Q1: When we last spoke, you had recently begun your tenure as Vice President of Community Health and Social Impact at CareFirst. Tell viewers about what your team does and how they served as a community resource during the pandemic.

Q2: Give viewers an update on CareFirst’s priorities as the world re-opens?

Q3: What are CareFirst’s philanthropic goals for 2021?

Q4: CareFirst recently announced its initiative to transform the workforce and workplace experience. Tell me about this effort and what it means for the community?

Q5: What do you want individuals and families in this region to know about CareFirst’s dedication to their health and that of the community?

Connect with Destiny-Simone on LinkedIn and Twitter

David Nevins is president & CEO of Nevins & Associates, a highly regarded strategic communications company and proactive public relations partner. The firm’s regional and national client base is a unique mix of organizations across a variety of industries including: healthcare, professional service firms, finance, not-for-profits, distributors, state agencies, national media companies, technology, political and grassroots campaigns, real estate development, sporting events, and more.

With more than 30 years of experience in marketing, public relations, and community and government relations, David is a talented and seasoned executive. Prior to founding Nevins & Associates in 1983, David served as the Director of Marketing for both Towson University and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. In 2001, he was tapped by the CEO of Comcast to employ his marketing expertise as President of the company’s regional sports network, Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic. David is a Past President of the Board of Governors for the Center Club and is a former Chairman of the Board of Regents for the University System of Maryland, a position to which he was appointed by the Governor of Maryland. David has chaired the Maryland Public Broadcasting Commission and the Maryland Higher Education Loan Corporation, served as President of both the Jewish National Fund and the Towson Business Association and was a member of the PNC Bank board.

David is highly involved in the business, civic, and political communities, and his many years of active leadership in numerous organizations have built a network of contacts that he regularly puts to use for the firm’s clients. For more information, visit www.nevinspr.com.