60: Creating Your Own Opportunities, with Yasmeen Long, Director, FasterCures, A Center of the Milken Institute

<p><i><strong>Meet Yasmeen Long:</strong></i></p><p>Yasmeen Long is the Director of FasterCures, a Center of the Milken Institute. Previously, she served as the co-director of the Health Policy Fellowships and Leadership Programs at the National Academy of Medicine and as a Program Officer at the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute. She was also a Research Program Manager at the Institute for Global Tobacco Control at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Yasmeen received a B.Sc. in Health sciences and Health Management from Howard University, and a M.A. in Sociology and Women’s Health from Suffolk University. </p><p><i><strong>Key Insights:</strong></i></p><p>Yasmeen Long has been intentional in her leadership and career. </p><ul><li><strong>Getting a Foot in the Door.</strong> Yasmeen wanted to work at Johns Hopkins. So, after graduating from Howard she moved to Baltimore, became a temp for Johns Hopkins, cultivated relationships with faculty, and ultimately was hired in a full-time position. (5:11)</li><li><strong>Finding Common Ground.</strong> Yasmeen’s international travels taught her to think differently about the world. She learned to juggle technical and interpersonal skills, finding common ground while working with diverse groups. (17:19)</li><li><strong>Believe in Yourself.</strong> If you don’t believe in yourself, no one else will. There is a self-care component to that, ensuring that you feel good so that you can focus on what matters to you. (21:31)</li></ul><p>This episode is hosted by Ceci Connolly. She is a member of the Advisory Council for <i>Her Story</i> and President and CEO of the Alliance of Community Health Plans.</p><p><i><strong>Relevant Links:</strong></i></p><ul><li><a href="https://milkeninstitute.org/centers/fastercures">Learn more about FasterCures at the Milken Institute</a></li><li><a href="https://milkeninstitute.org/report/clinical-trials-achieving-diversity">Read Yasmeen’s report about “Achieving Health Equity: A Multi-Stakeholder Action Plan to Addres