About Voices

Selena Webster-Bass, M.P.H., is a Jacksonville native with more than 20 years of experience in health equity, community health, and cultural and linguistic competence. A nationally-recognized health advocate and author of Rainbows, a sickle cell disease awareness book dedicated to her son, Richard, who succumbed to the disease. Webster-Bass has held leadership roles with several Jacksonville-based institutions including the University of Florida (UF) Health Jacksonville, where she was Community Medicine Director for the pediatrics and family medicine residency programs, Shands Jacksonville/Nemours Children’s Clinic where she served as Manager of the Pediatric Sickle Cell Clinic, and the Jacksonville System of Care Initiative, where she led mental health literacy, multicultural engagement, and cultural competence educational efforts.

In 2016, Webster-Bass launched Voices Institute, a training, consulting, and research group focused on advancing and promoting health equity efforts that address physical, mental, and emotional well-being needs in families, communities, organizations, and systems. She has been contracted to develop national disease education multicultural campaigns and facilitate discussions on a variety of topics including health equity, system of care values, racial stress and trauma, social justice, sickle cell disease/trait education, faith-based community engagement, and mental health literacy. She served as a core partner with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Technical Assistance-Cultural and Linguistic Competence Team and consults with the Institute for Innovation and Implementation National Partners, UF CARES, The Partnership for Child Health, Kids Hope Alliance, American Heart Association, sickle cell disease non-profits, and other community-based organizations.  

Webster-Bass holds a B.S. degree in Biology from the University of North Florida and a Master of Public Health from the University of South Florida. She is currently a doctoral student pursuing a Doctor of Ministry with a concentration in Social Justice and Community Organizing. She and her husband Lester, have four children Richard, Spencer, Trinity, and Micah, and live in Jacksonville.