Testimonials

Annual Statewide Kinsman Bioethics Conference on April 15 – 16, 2021 Your presentation titled, “Ethical Implications of Health Disparity Reduction”, was well-received by attendees, and provided tangible objectives that health care professionals can use to provide more equitable care across disciplines. Evaluation comments regarding how attendees will apply your presentation to their practice:

“I will think in terms of equity, not just equality, and will talk to patients with positive intention.”

“Surround yourself with smart people who are different than you, ask questions, make mistakes, own them and move on to the next mistake. Love & Grace.”

“I loved his emphasis on having us get outside our comfort zone and engaging with persons we may not feel comfortable with and not worrying about making mistakes – go forward anyway, apologize, and move on!”

Thank you again for your time and insight to make this year’s conference extremely impactful. We look forward to our continued partnership in the years to come!

Susan Tolle, MD, Cornelia Hayes Stevens Chair, Director, OHSU Center for Ethics in Health Care, Professor of Medicine, Co-chair of Conference

Oregon Academy of Family Physicians – OAFP 2021 Annual Conference. Thank you so much for sharing your insights and information with our members during our conference this year.  Your talk was very informational and inspiring.  I especially liked the part where you spoke about using your privilege to help others.  Fight for those who do not have that same privilege. 

Evaluation comments:

  • Observing Dr. Mason speak to people at various points of their journey in anti-racism was INSPIRING. I will take this lesson with me.
  • Practical approach to becoming a thoughtful participant in improving DEI in our clinical settings and among our community.
  • One of the best down to earth speakers on the DEI topic!
  • Thank you. Your way of approaching a fraught topic with love and compassion is inspiring. You modeled human greatness.
  • Dr. Mason has a lot of wisdom he has accumulated over the years.  He shares that readily.  My favorite part was the question and answer at the end.
  • Excellent talk. It’s a difficult topic for only an hour and I thought your session was really effective. Thank you!
  • The discussion at the end of OAFP members stating their interest in doing anti-racist work and their struggles; The humor and real life examples that Dr. Mason always incorporates in his teachings, to make it relevant and enjoyable. The topic was very timely and important to discuss.
  • Practical and thoughtful considerations on inequity and concise steps to bridge the gap. Dr. Mason is engaging, honest, funny and inspiring. We are blessed to have him in Oregon and we all need to take the necessary steps to “make him proud”.

Louise Merrigan (she/her/hers), Program Director and OAFP/Foundation Coordinator, Oregon Academy of Family Physicians

Providence Hood River Family Medicine Residency Rural Training Program: We are a small rural family medicine residency in Oregon. Our practice serves a large Spanish-speaking farm working population although we have not had success at attracting or keeping BIPOC clinical providers in our medical community. Dr. Mason was consulted to help our residency look more critically at our organization and it’s recruiting efforts, challenged our thinking but also offered some practical advice. In his 90-minute session with us last year, he thoughtfully listened and then offered his thoughts on the best and effective strategies to expand our provider and resident group. These included strategies to ensure clinicians will be successful and thrive in our community. Since his initial presentation, we have matched BIPOC candidates to our program each year and anticipate retaining them as practicing family physicians for our residency and health center. We are excited that Dr. Mason will be a keynote speaker at the Oregon Academy of Family Physicians Annual meeting this Spring 2021 and plan on having him back in 2022 in Hood River.

Robert Gobbo M.D., Providence Hood River Family Medicine Residency Rural Training Program

Stages Cycling: Working with Dr. Mason was a great experience all around.  He developed connections with everyone he interacted with, from Executive Leadership to new employees just starting with the company, and provided our team with tools to have conversations around sensitive topics in a manner that was both candid and kind.  Our time with Dr. Mason has laid the groundwork for our team to continue to grow and build our culture for years to come. 

Anne Liggett. Director of HR, Stages Cycling, LLC

The Oregon Clinic: We’d like to express our appreciation for the inspiring meetings Dr. James Mason facilitated for The Oregon Clinic’s Executive team. His years of research on Cultural Competencies and his unique instructional delivery methods had a significant impact on our organization. His enthusiasm is contagious, and we are using his suggestions to take us forward in our DE&I journey.  

Anastasiya Fielden, Training and Development Manager, The Oregon Clinic

2020 Child, Adolescent and School Health Conference (CASH)Becoming Assets for Diversity: Addressing Implicit Bias webinar

Selected Evaluation Comments

  • Kudos to the organizers of this webinar for a relevant and important topic and for choosing a wise and humble presenter on this important topic.
  • Dr. Mason was an excellent, engaging speaker. He went with the flow with technology challenges. I also appreciated his positive outlook and message.
  • This was so awesome.  The facilitator (Dr. Mason) was knowledgeable, positive & wise.  His interactions with participants who shared were totally strength based. I’m so sorry that I was unable to have all of my staff participating.  Had I known ahead of time, the quality of this opportunity, I totally would have made it a mandatory training for all of my staff.

Kara Anderson, MA (she/her/hers), Teen Pregnancy Prevention Coordinator, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services

Diane Drago, Diversified Management Services

Spiritual Care Summit Thank you so very much for your presentation at our Spiritual Care Summit this week.  People LOVED your presentation and the conversation that was created after was provocative and stimulating, to say the very least.  We really appreciated your presence with us. Your presentation was amazing. (Diversity Leadership: Implications for Spiritual Care)

Mary Heintzkill, MTS, BCC, Director of Spiritual Care and Mission Integration, Ascension Health

Participants are saying:

“Always great to hear James speak – Vast expertise in diversity.”
(Debunking the Culture of Poverty)

“James Mason is such a great speaker. Intelligent and funny.”
(Assessing One’s Cultural Values)

“This was a great experience and was taught very well.” “Very valuable event.  I learned a lot of different cases.” “Valuable information, applicable to work and life.” “Enjoyed the structure of seminar to discuss in small groups.” “As always, inspired by Dr. Mason’s words.” “Great topic. Important to understand how important it is to our patients as well as fellow caregivers, to create and maintain environments of inclusion, warmth, healing.
(Creating Welcoming Environments)

“Very informative and engaging.”  “ I found the lecture very helpful for my work. Very good info.” “What an engaging/inspiring speaker! I learned new tips/techniques despite 20 years as a nurse.  Thank you!”  
(Health Literacy)

“Fantastic and relevant, thanks!”
(Population and Community Health)

“Great use of humor when teaching and discussing stereotypes/unconscious bias.”  “As always, good learning, inspiring, and done with humor.” “Really appreciated the talk. Great perspective, informative, and down to earth.”  “Very insightful and practical.” (Unconscious Bias and Stereotyping)

“Thank you.  This was great.  Good reminders of how we need to include everyone.”  “I truly enjoy listening to Dr. Mason at every encounter.  He’s an amazing speaker and presenter.”  “Great engaging presentation in a concise, easy to digest manner!” “These programs are encouraging me to look for more ways to improve my knowledge base.”  “Loved his sense of human!” “Great lecture, very eye-opening.” (Generational Differences)

“Fabulously helpful.”  “Appreciate format of lecture and discussion. Dr. Mason always does a great job of giving theory and sharing how we can apply it to our work.”  “James was wonderful!  I heard you speak before in Seaside. You are a wonderful human being and very well informed.” “Great job Dr. Mason. Loved the stories.” “I appreciated the personalized sharing of information in providing examples.”   “Excellent, thank you. I came away with new insights.” “Good group interaction opportunities.”  “James did a great job engaging the group and helping make concrete examples to connect what he is saying to people’s lives. Thank You!”  “Very thought-provoking.” (Cultural Implications of Health and Illness)