Person Place Thing: Mary Travis Bassett

Dr. Mary Travis Bassett has dedicated her career to the promotion of health equity in leading initiatives from AIDS prevention interventions in Zimbabwe to bans on smoking and trans fats in restaurants in New York City. As the commissioner of the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene since 2014, Bassett has tackled such challenging issues as mental illness and substance abuse, taking a courageous stance by linking social justice, race, and the health of all New Yorkers. As part of the Van Alen fall festival, U Feel OK?: Health & NYC, participants will join us for a conversation between Bassett and former Ethicist columnist for The New York Times, Randy Cohen, in a live recording of the radio show Person Place Thing. Bassett will tell us about a person, a place, and a thing that have shaped her current work on wellbeing in cities. The evening will also feature performances by lightning-fingered accordionist Samuel Reider.