In this insightful, rich, and layered conversation, Gabriela Alcalde—author, public health leader, and values-driven changemaker—invites us to rethink what leadership really means. Drawing from her experience as an immigrant woman of color in philanthropy and public health, Gabriela speaks with bold clarity about the discomfort, responsibility, and power of leading with integrity.
She shares the origin story of her courage—a six-year-old girl in Peru who broke through a glass door in the name of fairness—and how that moment has shaped her commitment to justice ever since. From confronting hospital mergers that threatened community health, to being repeatedly silenced for speaking inconvenient truths, Gabriela unpacks what it means to claim space in systems never designed to hold your voice.
Grounded in her “Four Cs” of leadership—courage, curiosity, creativity, and care—this episode challenges us to move beyond models of supremacy and reimagine leadership as a collective, values-based practice. Gabriela reminds us that courage isn’t about certainty—it’s about showing up, speaking up, and creating the world we know is possible.
Meet Dr. Gabriela Alcalde
Born in Lima, Peru, Dr. Alcalde is a creative, anti-supremacist leader with experience in the philanthropic, academic, governmental, nonprofit, and grassroots sectors. She writes and speaks locally, nationally, and internationally about shifting the philanthropic and nonprofit sectors, culture change, racial justice, and leadership of women of color. She earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Louisville, a master’s in public health from Boston University, and a doctorate in global public health from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. What Your Comfort Costs Us is her first book.
Listen To This Episode of The Courageous Public Health Podcast
Conversation Highlights
- The Origin of Courage – Dr. Alcalde shares a powerful childhood story from Peru, when she broke through a glass door at age six to stand up for fairness—a defining moment that shaped her lifelong commitment to justice.
- Courage in the Workplace – She reflects on the courage it takes to simply show up as an immigrant woman of color in leadership roles, navigating systems not designed to hold her full voice—and why she continues to do it anyway.
- Leading with the Four Cs – Dr. Alcalde introduces her “Four Cs” of courageous leadership: courage, curiosity, creativity, and care—and explains how they serve as values-based anchors for transformational leadership.
- Power Reimagined – She unpacks the difference between “power over,” “power with,” and “power within,” and invites listeners to move away from supremacy-based models toward collective, values-driven leadership.
- Advocacy in Action – Dr. Alcalde shares a compelling example of professional courage: speaking out publicly against a hospital merger that threatened reproductive health and LGBTQ+ protections—despite political and professional backlash.
- Public Health as a Values-Driven Practice – She reminds us that public health at its core is about preventing harm and alleviating suffering—and that we must align our systems and institutions with the values we claim to hold.
- Imagining New Systems – Rather than returning to broken norms, Dr. Alcalde calls for a radical reimagining of our institutions—centering equity, care, and shared humanity at the heart of leadership and policy.
“Power without values is abuse. But power, rooted in community values—that can transform everything.” – Dr. Gabriela Alcalde
Stay In Touch:
Dr. Gabriela Alcalde on LinkedIn
Dr. Kristi McClamroch on LinkedIn
www.CourageousPublicHealth.com
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