African American Health State Advisory Council
The African American Health State Advisory Council was established during the 2023 Legislative session through Minnesota Statute 144.0755 to advise the Commissioner of Health on policies and practices to address health inequities and disparities in African American communities, particularly multigenerational U.S. born African Americans.
The council is convened by the Office of African American Health and is charged with the following:
- Identify health disparities found in African American communities and their contributing factors affecting African American Minnesotans.
- Recommend to the commissioner for review any statutes, rules, or administrative policies or practices that would address African American health disparities.
- Recommend policies and strategies to the commissioner of health to address disparities specifically affecting African American health.
- Form work groups of council members who as individuals provide or receive services and represent advocacy groups, and provide the work groups with clear guidelines, standardized parameters, and tasks to accomplish.
- Submit an annual report to the commissioner that summarizes council activities, identifies disparities specially affecting the health of African American Minnesotans, and make recommendations to address identified disparities.
Members
- Abdou Manjang
- Carol Houston
- Christopher Smith
- Cindy Devonish
- Demitrea Kelley, MBA, MHA
- Dr. Inih Essien
- Dr. Joel Boyd, MD
- Gage Urvina
- Iman Ibrahim
- Jamie Hackett
- Kiora Kamara
- Lola Muhammad
- Matthew Arries
- Susan McPherson
Minutes
AAHSAC Meeting Minutes: Dec. 11, 2025 (PDF)
AAHSAC Meeting Minutes: Nov. 13, 2025 (PDF)
AAHSAC Meeting Minutes: Oct. 9, 2025 (PDF)
AAHSAC Meeting Minutes: Sept. 10, 2025 (PDF)
AAHSAC Meeting Minutes: July 10, 2025 (PDF)
AAHSAC Meeting Minutes: June 12, 2025 (PDF)
AAHSAC Meeting Minutes: May 8, 2025 (PDF)
AAHSAC Meeting Minutes: April 10, 2025 (PDF)
AAHSAC Meeting Minutes: March 13, 2025 (PDF)