Dr. Abdul El-Sayed is a physician, epidemiologist, educator, author, speaker, and podcast host. He is a commentator at CNN and his newsletter, The Incision, cuts into the trends shaping our moment. His three books include Healing Politics: A Doctor’s Journey into the Heart of Our Political Epidemic (Abrams Press, 2020), which diagnoses our country’s epidemic of insecurity and the empathy politics we will need to treat it; and Medicare for All: A Citizen’s Guide (Oxford University Press, 2021), co-authored with Dr. Micah Johnson, which offers a no nonsense guide to the policy. He is the host of “America Dissected,” a podcast by Crooked Media, which goes beyond the headlines to explore what really matters for our health. He is a Senior Fellow at the FXB Center for Health & Human Rights at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health and a Scholar-in-Residence at Wayne State University and American University, where he teaches at the intersection between public health, public policy, and politics.

In 2018, Abdul ran for Governor of Michigan on an unapologetically progressive platform, advocating for universal healthcare, clean water for all, debt-free and tuition-free higher education, a pathway to 100% renewable energy, and to rebuild the barrier between corporations and government. His bid was endorsed by Senator Bernie Sanders, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, The Nation, and Current Affairs. And though he earned over 340,000 votes, he finished second of three in the Democratic Primary. In 2020, he served as a national surrogate for both Sen Bernie Sanders in the Democratic Primary, and Vice President Joe Biden and Sen Kamala Harris in the general election. He also served as a Sanders appointee and one of eight members of Vice President Biden’s 2020 Unity Task Force for Healthcare.

He was the youngest health official in a major US city when he was appointed Health Director in the City of Detroit, charged with rebuilding the City’s health department after it was privatized during municipal bankruptcy. Responsible for the health and safety of over 670,000 Detroiters, the Detroit Health Department became a state and national leader in public health innovation and environmental justice, in one of the fastest municipal public health turnarounds in American history. He was awarded “Public Official of the Year” by the Michigan League of Conservation Voters and “40 under 40” by Crain’s Detroit Business.

As a professor at Columbia University’s Department of Epidemiology, Abdul became an internationally recognized expert in health policy and health inequalities. He was Director of the Columbia University Systems Science Program and Global Research Analytics for Population Health. He has over 100 peer-reviewed publications that have earned over 2000 citations, including a foundational textbook on Systems Science & Population Health (Oxford University Press, 2016). In addition, he has previously served as the DeRoy Visiting Professor at the University of Michigan, a Sine Fellow at American University’s Sine Institute of Policy & Politics, and Pritzker Fellow at the University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics.

Abdul holds a doctorate in Public Health from Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar, as well as a medical degree from Columbia University, where he was a Medical Scientist Training Program Fellow and a Soros New Americans Fellow. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa with Highest Distinction from the University of Michigan, where he was chosen to deliver the student commencement speech alongside President Bill Clinton. He was awarded the University of Michigan Bicentennial Alumni Award in 2017.

He is a native Michigander who was born and raised in Metro Detroit, where he lives with his wife, Sarah, a mental health doctor, and daughter Emmalee. He is a proud member of the National Writers Union, AFT Local 477, and SEIU Local 500. He enjoys good people, good coffee, good food, sports, and University of Michigan football.

The Rev. Dr. Shannon Fleck, an Oklahoma native, became OCC’s Executive Director in June 2018. She was ordained by the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in 2011.

Fleck was elevated to Executive Director after serving as OCC Director of Program Development from May 2017 to June 2018.

She brings a passion for social justice and interfaith relations, both core components of the OCC mission.

Prior to her current OCC position, Fleck served as the Central Christian Church Associate Minister in Enid, Oklahoma. There, she was instrumental in initiating several community outreach programs, such as:

· Weekly Welcome Table Ministry for the community’s food insecure

· Bi-monthly suicide survivor support group

· First ever religious presence at Enid’s (annual) Pride celebration; and

· Multiple services and programs though the church year accommodating other marginalized communities

Other assignments include serving in Little Rock Air Force Base chapel ministry; the First Christian Church of Yukon, Oklahoma, and Western Oaks Christian Church, Oklahoma City.

Dr. Fleck was selected for the 2017 Human Rights Award from Church Women United.

She spent her childhood in Guthrie, where she graduated high school before earning a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from the University of Central Oklahoma, Edmond.

Following college, she spent two years with the Oklahoma Office of Juvenile Affairs. She entered Phillips Theological Seminary in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where she was the Matthew Thompson Fellow. There she was the recipient of the Sojourner Award; the Interpreter’s Award and multiple book awards along with serving in the Phillips Student Senate.

Dr. Fleck graduated with her Doctor of Ministry Degree from Candler School of Theology at Emory University in May of 2021 with a focus on Leadership and Community Witness.

Dr. Fleck currently serves on the Advisory Board of the New Leaders Council and the Dialogue Institute of Oklahoma City.

Omar Regan uses entertainment and humor to promote tolerance and diversity, and aims to build bridges across racial, religious, and social divides.

His first stand up comedian appearance was in November 1999 in his hometown of Detroit, Michigan. After being booed off stage the first two times, the third time Omar Regan got his first laugh and fell in love with stand-up comedy.

The next few years Regan went through the ups and downs of Stand-up comedy and found his groove by 2005 where Stand-up comedy scouts invited him to perform at the world famous Comedy Store on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles. Omar Regan then was scouted by agents for VH1’s reality series titled “Fight for Fame” which earned him a Hollywood agent in 2006. His agent promised a Comedy Central special if you went “dirty” with his comedy act. (ie. use of profanity, explicit content etc). Regan strongly disagreed based on his vision of wanting to do comedy where a whole family could laugh together. Based on these creative differences, the agency eventually dropped him, and he decided to become independent.

In 2008 Omar Regan performed comedy for Al-Jazeerah and was invited to perform Stand-up in the Muslim World. This was a game-changer.

Omar Regan is now a veteran comedian and has earned a strong fan base in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, South Africa, Middle East, Pakistan, Malaysia and Indonesia and is among the top ten comedians in the Muslim World using comedy to promote tolerance, diversity and aims to build bridges across racial, religious and social divides.