Barry Lathan, Executive Director, Black Barbershop Health Outreach Program
Barry R. Lathan is the former President and CEO of Xerox ColorGrafX Systems, Inc. (wholly owned subsidiary of Xerox Corporation) and Encad, Inc. (wholly owned subsidiary of Eastman Kodak, Inc.). Both companies participated in the digital imaging and printing marketplace, developing unique technologies and distributing products world wide. Barry also served as Vice President and General Manager for Xerox’s Western Region, responsible for revenue in excess of $5 Billion and a team of several hundred professionals. Barry has consistently been a visionary leader, focusing on growth in profits and market share achieved through innovative commercialization strategies, balanced financial leadership and development of high performing work teams. Barry possesses a strong history of recognizing and developing market opportunities, global partnerships, major account customers and growing businesses profitably. Barry is passionate about achieving desired business results exhibited by his experiences in technology acquisition, strategic and tactical alliances, contract negotiations, hands-on style and general management expertise. Most recently Barry has been providing Executive Coaching and Organizational Development support to CEO's interested in positioning their companies for growth by maximizing their human capital and marketplace opportunities. Barry had also served on the board of Xerox Canada, a $1Billion Business Unit of Xerox Corp and The Urban League of Orange County, California.Dr. Didra Brown Taylor, Executive Director, Black Beauty Shop Health Outreach Program
Dr. Didra Brown Taylor, Ph.D., MPH has a BA and BS in Black Studies and Biology from the University of the Pacific. She received her Masters in Public Health in Urban Health from Charles Drew University. Dr. BrownTaylor completed her Post-doctoral Fellowship at UCLA’s Neuropsychiatric Institute. She received graduate training in multicultural community-clinical psychology and specializes in culturally appropriate community-based research methodology. She is a National Institutes of Health- Health Disparities Research Scholar. For more than 18 years, Dr. BrownTaylor has been a trailblazer in researching issues in barbershops and beautyshops, such as the consequences of malt liquor drinking among African American men and the nexus between haircare and exercise practices among African American women. The focus of her current community-involved research is the Hairitage Project, a Black Beauty Shop Health Promotion Project which conducts health screenings, offers access to healthcare for the uninsured, tests for environmental contaminants and provides healthy hair and nail education programs for African American women. Ultimately, Dr. BrownTaylor wants African American women to “look just as good on the inside as they do on the outside”. She is the recipient of numerous awards including a Public Policy Award for Los Angeles County. She is currently an Assistant Professor, mentor and Principal Investigator of the Black Beauty Shop Health Promotion Project at Charles Drew University of Medicine & Science. Additional information about Dr. BrownTaylor can be found at drdidrabrowntaylor@yahoo.com and www.blackbeautyshops.org.