The Gaza Genocide, the West Bank, & Freedom of Speech

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The conversation will explore how federal gridlock impacts healthcare access, the importance of local coalition-building, and the opportunity to advance St. John’s upcoming ballot measure to protect healthcare at the county level.

Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove, with Saint John’s Community Health President Jim Mangia, moderated by Darryn Harris

Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove is a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, where she serves as the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on South and Central Asia, and the House Committee on the Judiciary. She is the Whip of the Congressional Black Caucus, Co-Chair of the Congressional Brazil Caucus, and Policy Co-Chair of the Democratic Women’s Caucus.  fierce advocate for justice and families, Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove proudly represents California’s vibrant, diverse 37th Congressional District in Los Angeles County.  

In Congress, Congresswoman Kamlager-Dove aspires to L.E.A.D. by prioritizing Land, Economic Justice, Art, and Democracy. Through her work on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Congresswoman Kamlager-Dove was able to help secure the release of her constituent Eyvin Hernandez, a Los Angeles County Public Defender who was wrongfully detained in Venezuela for nearly two years. Additionally, she passed the GRATEFUL Act to ensure that locally-employed U.S. embassy staff—especially those from countries in the developing world—can immigrate to the U.S. as promised after an honorable career of service. Congresswoman Kamlager-Dove is also a fierce advocate for the African diaspora both in California’s 37th District and around the world.

Jim Mangia is the President/CEO of St. John’s Community Health, a network of 28 community health centers and five mobile clinics providing healthcare services to more than 144,000 individual patients who access over 540,000 patient encounters in South Los Angeles and the Inland Empire, areas with some of the highest poverty rates in the United States. St. John’s provides medical, dental, pharmaceutical, and behavioral health services to the large African American and Latino populations of Los Angeles. Over 95% of St. John’s patients live below the federal poverty level. 

Mangia has built St. John’s as an organization that not only provides health care services, but engages social determinants of health, impacts social policy, builds direct patient advocacy organizations in the communities it serves, provides direct access to health for immigrants and homeless individuals and families, fights for social justice and battles poverty. St. John’s has a broad array of successful and targeted services and programs including: South LA’s largest street medicine project serving people experiencing homelessness; a Black infant and maternal health program which is significantly increasing birth and health outcomes for Black women and babies; school-based health centers which operate throughout Los Angeles, Compton and San Bernardino; transgender health services that include wrap around support; food distribution programs and more. 

Moderator: Darryn Harris is a lifelong advocate for equity and opportunity, dedicated to advancing health access, educational attainment, and economic justice for all communities. As Chief Government Affairs & Community Relations Officer at St. John’s Community Health, he leads initiatives that expand healthcare access, strengthen public coverage programs like Medicaid, and uplift historically underserved populations. His leadership reflects St. John’s mission to go beyond treating illness—investing in people and building healthier, more resilient communities through meaningful partnerships with schools, faith organizations, grassroots groups, and civic leaders.

With nearly two decades of experience at the intersection of policy, government, and advocacy, Darryn brings a deep understanding of how systems operate—and how to make them work better for everyone. As a former Chief of Staff in the U.S. House of Representatives, he advised on major policy efforts and led delegations addressing issues such as homelessness, reproductive justice, and infrastructure equity. Earlier, at UCLA, he directed statewide campaigns to protect higher education funding, uniting leaders across UC, CSU, and California’s Community Colleges to strengthen pathways for student success.