
Events and Outreach
Empowering communities to improve health and well-being
As part of its mission to translate research into practice and empower communities to take action for better health and well-being, the University of Delaware Center for Health Communication (CHC) supports a range of outreach initiatives and public events. CHC helps researchers share their findings with the audiences who need them most—through strategic stakeholder engagement, tailored outreach, and effective dissemination strategies. By bridging the gap between research and real-world impact, CHC advances health equity and supports informed community action.

Summit on the Opioid Epidemic
The CHC co-hosted the Summit on the Opioid Epidemic, held on September 12, 2024, hosted in collaboration with the Delaware Behavioral Health Consortium and UD’s Department of Communication. This event brought together community agencies, policymakers, and mental health advocates for a meaningful discussion on strategies to combat Delaware’s opioid crisis.
The event featured "Silence on the Streets," a powerful documentary portraying the experiences of inner-city Black, Latino/a/x and Indigenous community members struggling with addiction. It shed light on the unique challenges they, and their loved ones, face on their path to recovery. To book a screening for your group, organization, conference or other event, please complete this access inquiry form.
Sharece Sellem-Hannah
Sharece Sellem-Hannah is a native of Hartford and New Haven, Connecticut. She is a graduate student at the University of Cincinnati pursuing a master's degree in community health & prevention science. Her lived experience and field experience in the world of human services is the foundation for — and often the inspiration behind — her artistic pursuits. She is an award-winning playwright (2019, Dr. Floyd Gaffney National Playwriting Competition on the African American Experience Award) who utilizes theatre and film as educational tools for advocacy. A cautionary play she wrote and produced at Long Wharf Theatre in 2020, “Matthew Rising,” places a spotlight on the struggles of a fictional family from inner-city New Haven, Connecticut, navigating the harsh realities of poverty and the opioid epidemic. This work inspired the documentary “Silence on the Streets,” created and produced in collaboration with the New England High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA). The film delves into the complexities of drug trafficking, social determinants of health and recovery efforts. “Silence on the Streets” premiered at Southern Connecticut State University on December 13, 2023, and had its Southern premiere at the Rx Summit in Atlanta, Georgia, on April 2, 2024.
Philip Rutherford
Philip Rutherford is the strategy lead for substance use at the National Council for Mental Wellbeing. He is also the CEO of Black Faces Black Voices. He has managed strategy and operations for several recovery-focused organizations. He is a member of committees at the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration and other federal agencies. He serves as chair on several nonprofit boards, including Serve Minnesota and the Police Treatment and Community Collaborative as well as member on the National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers board. Prior to the nonprofit world, he spent most of his career at Microsoft, Micron Electronics and the Taylor Corporation. Rutherford is an active member of the recovery community and has considerable experience in the areas of reentry and equity.
Darryl L. Chambers
Darryl L. Chambers, a proud community leader who was born and raised in the city of Wilmington, is the executive director of the Center for Structural Equity (CFSE). The CFSE is a community-driven intervention and prevention program that empowers youth and their communities to address issues of structural violence and to promote the social determinants of health. In 2017, the governor of Delaware appointed Chambers as the chair of the Council of Corrections, which provides advisory capacity to the commissioner of correction on matters related to the development and progress of the Delaware correctional system. Chambers holds a master’s degree in criminology from the University of Delaware, and a bachelor of arts in sociology from the University of California, Davis. Chambers is an assistant scientist at the University of Delaware Center for Drug and Health Studies.
Anthony Jackson
Anthony Jackson has recently joined the Mental Health Association in Delaware as a full-time mental health court peer mentor, where he is also contributing administratively to the peer education program within the Department of Corrections.

Summit on the Opioid Epidemic
The CHC co-hosted the Summit on the Opioid Epidemic, held on September 12, 2024, hosted in collaboration with the Delaware Behavioral Health Consortium and UD’s Department of Communication. This event brought together community agencies, policymakers, and mental health advocates for a meaningful discussion on strategies to combat Delaware’s opioid crisis.
The event featured "Silence on the Streets," a powerful documentary portraying the experiences of inner-city Black, Latino/a/x and Indigenous community members struggling with addiction. It shed light on the unique challenges they, and their loved ones, face on their path to recovery. To book a screening for your group, organization, conference or other event, please complete this access inquiry form.
Sharece Sellem-Hannah
Sharece Sellem-Hannah is a native of Hartford and New Haven, Connecticut. She is a graduate student at the University of Cincinnati pursuing a master's degree in community health & prevention science. Her lived experience and field experience in the world of human services is the foundation for — and often the inspiration behind — her artistic pursuits. She is an award-winning playwright (2019, Dr. Floyd Gaffney National Playwriting Competition on the African American Experience Award) who utilizes theatre and film as educational tools for advocacy. A cautionary play she wrote and produced at Long Wharf Theatre in 2020, “Matthew Rising,” places a spotlight on the struggles of a fictional family from inner-city New Haven, Connecticut, navigating the harsh realities of poverty and the opioid epidemic. This work inspired the documentary “Silence on the Streets,” created and produced in collaboration with the New England High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA). The film delves into the complexities of drug trafficking, social determinants of health and recovery efforts. “Silence on the Streets” premiered at Southern Connecticut State University on December 13, 2023, and had its Southern premiere at the Rx Summit in Atlanta, Georgia, on April 2, 2024.
Philip Rutherford
Philip Rutherford is the strategy lead for substance use at the National Council for Mental Wellbeing. He is also the CEO of Black Faces Black Voices. He has managed strategy and operations for several recovery-focused organizations. He is a member of committees at the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration and other federal agencies. He serves as chair on several nonprofit boards, including Serve Minnesota and the Police Treatment and Community Collaborative as well as member on the National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers board. Prior to the nonprofit world, he spent most of his career at Microsoft, Micron Electronics and the Taylor Corporation. Rutherford is an active member of the recovery community and has considerable experience in the areas of reentry and equity.
Darryl L. Chambers
Darryl L. Chambers, a proud community leader who was born and raised in the city of Wilmington, is the executive director of the Center for Structural Equity (CFSE). The CFSE is a community-driven intervention and prevention program that empowers youth and their communities to address issues of structural violence and to promote the social determinants of health. In 2017, the governor of Delaware appointed Chambers as the chair of the Council of Corrections, which provides advisory capacity to the commissioner of correction on matters related to the development and progress of the Delaware correctional system. Chambers holds a master’s degree in criminology from the University of Delaware, and a bachelor of arts in sociology from the University of California, Davis. Chambers is an assistant scientist at the University of Delaware Center for Drug and Health Studies.
Anthony Jackson
Anthony Jackson has recently joined the Mental Health Association in Delaware as a full-time mental health court peer mentor, where he is also contributing administratively to the peer education program within the Department of Corrections.