Arletha Donnyale Lizana

Dr. Arletha D. Lizana, PhD, MPH, MBA, is a population health scientist, professor, and author whose work reframes ancestral healing as evidence-based public health. As Associate Vice President for Health Innovation and Strategy at Morehouse School of Medicine, she directs the Innovation Learning Laboratory for Population Health, where she leads research translating cultural and ancestral wellness practices into validated, accessible tools for Black youth and communities. She is the creator of Roots-to-Resilience, a Hopelab-supported initiative building a culturally grounded wellness framework for Black young adults, and the author of Ancestral Roots: Awakening the Ceiba Woman for Health, Healing and Wholeness. Her approach treats cultural connection, lineage, and community as health assets; protective forces that support mental and emotional wellbeing. Dr. Lizana's guided practices draw on ancestral traditions of breath, grounding, reflection, and storytelling to help listeners reconnect with themselves and the wisdom of those who came before them.

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