Professor of Leadership and Psychology Fayth Parks, PhD, was the 2023 keynote speaker for the Communities of United Chicago’s A Gathering of Communities conference. The theme of the conference was Strategizing for a Healing Centered City. Parks’ keynote, “We All Have a Right To the Tree of Life” was in response to present-day and historical trauma. It included strategies for racial justice and transformative social change along with healing as an essential corresponding process, including traditional healers who provide the blueprint and wise guidance for tapping into inner strength and resilience embedded in cultural beliefs and pathways for healing.
Parks was also a featured guest on The HPP Podcast (Health Promotion Practice). The episode entitled Exploring Persistent Myths About HIV/AIDS, examines archaic ideas that are entrenched in misinformation and unfounded rationalizations around HIV and AIDS.