African Americans Aren\'t Getting Tech Jobs

Marc Morial, President of the National Urban League discussed the contents of the Urban League’s 2018 State of Black America report. He said African-Americans are among the top owners of mobile devices, but aren’t being fairly considered for jobs at social media and technology companies. He also talked about improving unemployment rates and growing civic engagement among African-Americans.

Opioids and Car Crashes

Stanford Chihuri, MPH is a Biostatistician/Data Analyst and Epidemiologist at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. Mr. Chihuri was the co-author of a study that found evidence of prescription opioids in fatal car crashes in the United States has increased 700% in the past two decades. He said women drivers and those over age 65 were more likely to be involved in opioid-related fatal crashes. The study also found significant numbers of drivers under the influence of opioids also had alcohol and other drugs in their systems.

Misplaced Optimism for Social Security

Tina Ambrozy, Senior Vice President, Nationwide Financial outlined the results of a survey that found that Americans are overly optimistic about how much they will receive from Social Security once they retire. The survey found that half of current retirees and 42% of future retirees say Social Security is or will be their primary source of retirement income. She offered suggestions for those who are saving for retirement.

Mark Morial

As a Lawyer, Morial won the Louisiana State Bar Association’s Pro Bono Publico Award for his legal service to the poor and disadvantaged. He was also one of the youngest lawyers, at age 26, to argue and win a major case before the Louisiana Supreme Court.



As a Professor, Morial served on the adjunct faculty of Xavier University in Louisiana, where he taught Constitutional Law, and Business Law.



As a Louisiana State Senator, Morial was named Legislative Rookie of the Year, Education Senator of the Year, and Environmental Senator of the Year, while authoring laws on a wide range of important subjects.



As Mayor of New Orleans, Morial was a popular chief executive with a broad multi-racial coalition who led New Orleans’ 1990’s renaissance, and left office with a 70% approval rating. With vigor and creativity he passionately attacked his city’s vast urban problems.



Elected by his peers as President of the bi-partisan U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM), he served during the 9/11 Crisis and championed the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, and the Federalization of airport security screeners.



As President of the National Urban League since 2003 he has been the primary catalyst for an era of change -- a transformation for the 100 year old civil rights organization.



Under his stewardship the League has had record fundraising success towards a 250MM, five year fundraising goal and he has secured the BBB nonprofit certification, which has established the NUL as a leading national nonprofit.



His creativity has led to initiatives such as the Urban Youth Empowerment Program to assist young adults in securing sustainable jobs, and Entrepreneurship Centers in 5 cities to help the growth of small businesses. Also, Morial created the National Urban League Empowerment Fund, which has pumped almost $200 million into urban impact businesses including minority business through both debt and equity investments.

The National Urban League

Stanford Chihuri

Stanford Chihuri, MPH is a staff associate at the Department of Anesthesiology. He received graduate training in epidemiology and biostatistics from Columbia University Mailman of Public Health and has work experience in data management, statistical analysis and manuscript preparation at Columbia University Medical Center. Stan has worked as the biostatistician/data analyst for Dr. Li and colleagues on a variety of research and training projects. He is skilled in performing statistical analysis such as hierarchical modeling using complex data systems and multiply imputed datasets in statistical software such as SAS, R, SPSS etc. He is also responsible for creating and managing datasets for ongoing projects and assisting other investigators with manuscripts and reports. Stan also directs and coordinates the injury epidemiology lab at the Center for Injury Epidemiology and Prevention.

Columbia University Medical Center