Dropping Gems: How New Amsterdam Used Masterful Storytelling to Inform its Audience

Jocko Sims recently starred in NBC’s hit medical drama, “New Amsterdam,” where he played Dr. Floyd Reynolds, the head of the cardiac surgical department. And he recently wrapped filming the first season of the Hulu series, “How To Die Alone,” a comedy from Natasha Rothwell, which airs this fall.

Sims has also recently stepped behind the camera, having written, directed and produced his TV pilot, “Grown,” which won several awards, including the jury prize at SXSW (2023). Sims recently partnered up with 50 Cent his company (G-Unit) to turn “Grown” into a series, which is currently in development.

David Schulner started his television career on Ed Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz’s “Once and Again.” Other credits include “Desperate Housewives”, creator/showrunner of “Do No Harm”, and showrunner of “Emerald City”. His 2008 spec script, “The Oaks” started a bidding war between CBS, ABC and FOX, ultimately being picked up straight-to-series by FOX starring Jeremy Renner. Then the writers strike happened. David just wrapped five seasons as creator/showrunner of NBC’s “New Amsterdam” (WGA nom, Normal Lear Sentinel Award, Hollywood Critic’s Assoc. Award, Media Access Award) and is developing new projects under his fifth overall deal with Universal Television.

Nia Schwann Mitchell, MD, MPH obtained her medical degree from Washington University in St. Louis. She completed her internal medicine residency and primary care research fellowship at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. Dr. Mitchell’s initial faculty appointment was at the University of Colorado, and she is currently an associate professor of General Internal Medicine at Duke University. Her research involves weight loss interventions for underserved populations, where she works to eliminate health disparities around excess weight.

Dr. Mitchell is also the Chief Development Officer of the Mile High Medical Society, the Colorado chapter of the National Medical Association.

Jandel Allen-Davis, MD is the President and CEO of Craig Hospital in Denver, Colorado, a world-renowned rehabilitation hospital that exclusively specializes in the neurorehabilitation and research for patients with spinal cord injury and brain injury.
Dr. Allen-Davis is board certified in obstetrics and gynecology and was in active practice for 25 years.

Dr. Albert is the Walter A. Haas-Lucie Stern Endowed Chair in Cardiology and Professor in Medicine at UCSF, Admissions Dean @ UCSF Medical School and Director of the Center for the Study of Adversity and Cardiovascular Disease (NURTURE Center).
She has had a longstanding commitment to health equity and is engaged in cutting-edge research that innovatively seeks to incorporate “biology” with social determinants of health. A central component of her current work focuses on developing implementation strategies to curb adversity related CVD risk, particularly in women and diverse racial and ethnic populations with a focus on cumulative toxic stress.

Van Lathan is an established, award winning media personality from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He hosts the Higher Learning podcast on the Ringer podcast network, and Hip Hop Homicides on WETV