Greetings! 

We are excited to have you all participate in our 50th Anniversary Celebration of the founding of the Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center at Children’s Hospital Oakland, now the UCSF Sickle Cell Center of Excellence. I would like to apprise you of the agenda for the evening and what we are looking for from you as our featured speakers. 

The celebration will begin at 4:00 p.m. with mingling, food, mellow music, and the opportunity to learn more about the history of the Sickle Cell Center of Excellence via a range of displays in the BCH Oakland Outpatient Center. 

At 4:15 p.m. please gather at the front of the stage for your final instructions from me, your host. Our theme for the evening is “Journey of the UCSF Sickle Cell Center of Excellence.” You will have 2 – 3 minutes to say a few words aligned with this theme. The celebration itself is only two hours and we want our guests to have the opportunity to speak with all of you informally when the official program is completed, so please plan to stay within your allotted speaking time. The lineup is as follows: 

1. Wanda Williams (Adult with sickle cell disease) – Patients with sickle cell disease: the Heart of the Center of Excellence 

2. Dr. Saturu Ned, Prof Steve McCutcheon, Dr. Tolbert Small (Black Panther Party Alumni Legacy Network) – History of community activism to improve the health and lives of people with sickle cell disease 

3. Vanessa Roshell-Stacks (Vice President, Ancillary & Support Services at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals) – Our community legacy continues with our Anchor Institution Initiative 

4. George Weiss (Vice President of Operations for UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals) – Commitment of the Benioff Children's Hospitals to Health Equity – UCSF Sickle Cell Center of Excellence as an exemplar 

5. Dr. Mark Walters (UCSF Department of Pediatrics/Division of Hematology, Chief) – Our future: Commitment to research 

6. Dr. Elliott Vichinsky (UCSF Sickle Cell Center of Excellence Medical Director) – Reflections on where we began and where we are headed

7. Breeanna Decker (Field Representative for Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson) - Commendation 

8. Congresswoman Barbara Lee (U.S. House of Representatives) - Commendation

After this program of brief remarks, we will return to music, mingling, dancing and we will have a toast to the next 50 years of the UCSF Sickle Cell Center of Excellence providing culturally responsive, comprehensive medical care, and conducting innovative research across the lifespan.