CPH 10 - The Sound of Shattered Glass: A Conversation with Dr. Gabriela Alcalde
Release Date: 06/24/2025
CPH 19 — Fear as Fuel, Joy as Resistance, Liberation as Practice: A Conversation with Jannah Bierens, MPH, MA
Courageous Public Health
On This Episode Of The Courageous Public Health Podcast In this expansive and soul-stirring conversation, Jannah Bierens, MPH, MA shares how courage, curiosity, and lived experience have shaped her radical reimagining of public health. From leaving traditional institutions to stepping fully into purpose, she reflects on what it means to color outside the lines, take up space, and practice public health as a form of protest, healing, and love. Jannah invites us into her world as an educator, community builder, and truth teller—someone who lights the way by embodying the change she wants to...
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CPH 18 — Self-Love, Representation, and Advocacy: A Conversation with Dr. Ericka Horne
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CPH 17 — Courage in Grief, Power in Presence, Strength in Family: A Conversation with Dr. Nandi Marshall
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CPH 16 — Courage on the Homefront: A Conversation with Dr. Chambraia Jones
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CPH 15 — Master Connector, Lived Experience, and Spectacular Nails: A Conversation with Dr. Nicole D. Vick
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CPH 14 — Community, Courage, and Collective Power: A Conversation with the Honorable Attica Scott
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CPH 13 - Unapologetically Me: A Conversation with Dr. Zenobia Bryant Antoine
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CPH 12 - Bright Colors, Big Courage, Boundless Heart: A Conversation with Tansy McNulty, MBA
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CPH 10 - The Sound of Shattered Glass: A Conversation with Dr. Gabriela Alcalde
Courageous Public Health
In this insightful, rich, and layered conversation, Gabriela Alcalde—author, public health leader, and values-driven changemaker—invites us to rethink what leadership really means. Drawing from her experience as an immigrant woman of color in philanthropy and public health, Gabriela speaks with bold clarity about the discomfort, responsibility, and power of leading with integrity. She shares the origin story of her courage—a six-year-old girl in Peru who broke through a glass door in the name of fairness—and how that moment has shaped her commitment to justice ever since. From...
info_outlineIn this insightful, rich, and layered conversation, Gabriela Alcalde—author, public health leader, and values-driven changemaker—invites us to rethink what leadership really means. Drawing from her experience as an immigrant woman of color in philanthropy and public health, Gabriela speaks with bold clarity about the discomfort, responsibility, and power of leading with integrity.
She shares the origin story of her courage—a six-year-old girl in Peru who broke through a glass door in the name of fairness—and how that moment has shaped her commitment to justice ever since. From confronting hospital mergers that threatened community health, to being repeatedly silenced for speaking inconvenient truths, Gabriela unpacks what it means to claim space in systems never designed to hold your voice.
Grounded in her “Four Cs” of leadership—courage, curiosity, creativity, and care—this episode challenges us to move beyond models of supremacy and reimagine leadership as a collective, values-based practice. Gabriela reminds us that courage isn’t about certainty—it’s about showing up, speaking up, and creating the world we know is possible.
Meet Dr. Gabriela Alcalde
Born in Lima, Peru, Dr. Alcalde is a creative, anti-supremacist leader with experience in the philanthropic, academic, governmental, nonprofit, and grassroots sectors. She writes and speaks locally, nationally, and internationally about shifting the philanthropic and nonprofit sectors, culture change, racial justice, and leadership of women of color. She earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Louisville, a master’s in public health from Boston University, and a doctorate in global public health from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. What Your Comfort Costs Us is her first book.
Listen To This Episode of The Courageous Public Health Podcast
Conversation Highlights
- The Origin of Courage - Dr. Alcalde shares a powerful childhood story from Peru, when she broke through a glass door at age six to stand up for fairness—a defining moment that shaped her lifelong commitment to justice.
- Courage in the Workplace - She reflects on the courage it takes to simply show up as an immigrant woman of color in leadership roles, navigating systems not designed to hold her full voice—and why she continues to do it anyway.
- Leading with the Four Cs - Dr. Alcalde introduces her “Four Cs” of courageous leadership: courage, curiosity, creativity, and care—and explains how they serve as values-based anchors for transformational leadership.
- Power Reimagined - She unpacks the difference between “power over,” “power with,” and “power within,” and invites listeners to move away from supremacy-based models toward collective, values-driven leadership.
- Advocacy in Action - Dr. Alcalde shares a compelling example of professional courage: speaking out publicly against a hospital merger that threatened reproductive health and LGBTQ+ protections—despite political and professional backlash.
- Public Health as a Values-Driven Practice - She reminds us that public health at its core is about preventing harm and alleviating suffering—and that we must align our systems and institutions with the values we claim to hold.
- Imagining New Systems - Rather than returning to broken norms, Dr. Alcalde calls for a radical reimagining of our institutions—centering equity, care, and shared humanity at the heart of leadership and policy.
“Power without values is abuse. But power, rooted in community values—that can transform everything.” - Dr. Gabriela Alcalde
Stay In Touch:
Dr. Gabriela Alcalde on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabriela-alcalde/
Email Dr. Kristi McClamroch - [email protected]
Dr. Kristi McClamroch on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristi-mcclamroch/
www.CourageousPublicHealth.com
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At Courageous Public Health, we are turning up the volume on courage within women, particularly Black, Indigenous, and Women of Color who are doing the work of public health. We support public health organizations through workshop design and facilitation, and speaking engagements. Interested in working with us? Reach out on email, LinkedIn, or our website!