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Episode #149 From Experience to Impact, With Neshé Conley, MPH
- 17 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Overview
When Neshé Conley lost her first child and faced dismissal and racism through subsequent pregnancies, she knew the standard approach to maternal health data wasn't capturing the full story. In this episode of Public Health Entrepreneurs, Dr. Charlotte Huntley sits down with the founder and CEO of Ebony Women Health Corp to explore how narrative data collection through her Echo Her app is revolutionizing maternal health research and support for women and birthing individuals of color.
Neshé shares her four-year journey from reluctant storyteller to funded entrepreneur, including how hosting free virtual community events led to an unexpected investment from UnitedHealthcare. She opens up about the discomfort of sharing her story, the power of leading with vulnerability in business, and why traditional data collection methods often miss critical insights from communities of color.
This conversation bridges the gap between lived experience and public health research, demonstrating how business strategy and authentic community connection create sustainable impact. Whether you're building a health-focused venture or seeking to understand how narrative data can drive systemic change, this episode delivers practical insights on partnership building, product development that serves real community needs, and staying true to your calling even when it makes you uncomfortable.
Meet Our Guest
Neshe Conley, MPH
Neshé Conley is the Founder and CEO of Ebony Women Health Corp., a care and equity firm transforming how institutions serve women of color through culturally grounded consulting, evidence-based training, and data-driven innovation. With a background in public health, maternal wellness, and community research, she leads initiatives that bridge digital technology and lived experience to improve outcomes for Black women and birthing people. Neshé is the visionary behind a groundbreaking AI-powered storytelling and data platform amplifying community voices to drive systems change. Her work sits at the intersection of advocacy, analytics, and healing—centering Black women’s stories as data that informs policy, practice, and care delivery.
Takeaways
Narrative data collection preserves the emotion and language of lived experiences, capturing gaps that traditional quantitative methods miss in maternal health research.
People invest in people, not just products. Building authentic relationships and showing vulnerability creates opportunities for meaningful partnerships and funding.
Product development must serve a genuine community need identified through direct conversation with your target audience, not just follow market trends.
Cross-sector partnerships amplify impact. Hosting community events and demonstrating your expertise creates visibility that attracts strategic investment partners.
Your personal story, even when uncomfortable to share, may be the exact resource someone else needs. Withholding it can interfere with the impact you're meant to create.
Sustainability in health ventures comes from combining service delivery with community programming, creating multiple touchpoints that serve your mission.
Traditional public health data collection methods can feel sterile or threatening to marginalized communities, creating opportunities for innovative approaches that build trust.
Connect With Our Guest
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Whether you’re just getting started or you’ve been in public health consulting or other type of business for a while, we provide support for public health entrepreneurs through our podcast and mastermind group program. We serve public health entrepreneurs in South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and California as well as other parts of the United States and worldwide.
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