25: Godfrey Coker | An African Refugee's Mission To Improve Access + Reflections On The Adopted American Experience

Care More Be Better: A Podcast For Sustainable Social Impact and Regeneration

Corinna Bellizzi

Personal Journals, Earth Sciences, Society & Culture, Documentary, Science

5 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 14 July 2021

⏱️ 53 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

For many refugees integrating into American society is a challenge. Simply exposing themselves to life in a new country is just one of the many challenges that refugees face. Language barriers, helping them succeed in school, finding work and housing and accessing basic services like transportation to name just a few. Many refugees come from underprivileged backgrounds and are oftentimes lacking the tools necessary for an equal playing field with their American counterparts.

Embracing code-switching, also known as “language accommodation” is one way Godfrey Coker, as a refugee from Sierra Leone, transitioned into American society. Depending on your audience, "code-switching" can be an effective communication strategy. But is it good? Join us as we tackle this subject and what it means to live as an underrepresented group member (AKA minority) in America. You’ll gain perspective from Godfrey’s personal experience and learn what he’s doing to provide improved access to resources and representation in both the technological field of gaming and in clinical research.

About Our Guest: Godfrey Coker is a clinical researcher and social entrepreneur with over 10 years of experience in data analysis, with an emphasis on increasing minority participation in clinical trials. In previous jobs, he used corporate rules to give hands-on training for at least 500 illegal immigrants to better grasp case documentation and health records administration.

Godfrey has spearheaded numerous efforts as a refugee who came to the United States, including co-founding Hughes Who Technologies, Gye Nyame Biodiesel and developing Shikapa Mobile with his brother. Godfrey graduated from Purdue University with a dual Bachelor of Science in Engineering Technology and an MBA, as well as two master's degrees (MPH and MS) from the University of Southern California.

Guest Website: https://www.hugheswhotechstudio.org/ Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/godfrey-coker-mba-mph-ms-92936750/

Time Stamps:

00:00 Introduction

2:47 What was it like growing up in a predominantly white community in the late eighties?

5:50 How is Hughes Who impacting African American communities?

9:38 What games have Hughes Who worked on?

10:48 How does code-switching affect people?

23:35 How do you use code-switching to your advantage?

25:16 As a clinical trial manager how are you enhancing minority recruitment in patient trials?

30:13 Is medication less effective for African American communities due to lack of patient trials?

37:24 What are the solutions to code-switching?

45:02 What is the Shikapa App?

47:33 What's Next for Godfrey?

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Care More Be Better, a podcast for people like you who care about the social impact of conscious companies and everyday heroes.
0:09.6	Hear inspiring stories from those who put people in planet before profit and personal gain.
0:15.2	You'll learn how you can make a difference, vote with your dollars, and get involved today.
0:20.1	Here's your host, Karina Belizzi.
0:24.2	Hello, fellow dogoaters and friends. I'm your host, Karina Belizzi, an activist and cause
0:29.3	marketer who's passionate about social impact and sustainability. If you haven't already done so,
0:35.2	be sure to visit our website, care more be better.com.
0:38.6	You can sign up for our newsletter to be the first to gain access to new episodes
0:42.4	and easily browse past shows on topics that matter to you. You'll find full transcripts,
0:48.5	suggestions for actions you can take to make a difference and make a donation to support the show.
0:56.3	Today, I'm joined by Godfrey Coker. He has an extensive background in clinical research, coordinating trials, and serving as a
1:02.3	guest lecturer at reputable institutions, including University of Southern California and Mount
1:08.5	St. Mary's University. But today, we're not focused on his experience as a clinician.
1:14.1	We're going to focus on his history, his experience,
1:17.9	and the work he's doing through Hughes Who Productions to put more good into the world,
1:23.5	specifically for African-American youths.
1:26.6	Godfrey, welcome to the show. Thank you for having me.
1:30.6	Pleasure to be here. Let's dig right into it because this is fun. I'm enjoying myself already.
1:36.3	I'd love for you to share a bit about your personal story. Who is Godfrey Coker?
1:41.9	So I'm actually from a small country on the west coast of Africa.
1:46.2	It's called Sierra Leone.
1:47.6	And I was born there to two beautiful black parents.
	...

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