Zhonnet “Z” Harper is a Patient Care Navigator for breast cancer patients at Alameda Health System where she has spent the past eight years navigating the twin ravages of cancer and poverty and their devastating impact(s) on individual and community health. Often times, this means contending with the intersection of race, class and place based inequities, within healthcare and social safety net systems. Engaged, but not empowered, to the make systemic policy changes needed to improve the poor health and quality of life, for many of her patients, Zhonnet began advocating for her patients with county and state officials, giving voice to the population she serves and the community in which she lives.

Her advocacy led her to Public Health, where she is now Chairwoman and District 4 Commissioner, of the Alameda County Public Health Commission. She also serves as a Community Board Member for the Wisdom Study, led by the esteemed Dr. Laura J. Esserman, Director of the UCSF Carol Frank Buck Breast Care Center at UC San Francisco.

Having experienced and witnessed explicit and implicit bias, and their destructive effects on underserved and undervalued communities, especially the Black community, Zhonnet is committed to ensuring that equity is the core, not the appendage, of public health policy and access to patient centered care and treatment.