Ady Barkan

Be A Hero was formed after Ady Barkan—already an activist for social, economic, and racial justice— was diagnosed with A.L.S. in 2016. Ady co-founded the organization with campaign strategist Liz Jaff to promote health justice in America and the idea that health care should be a human right guaranteed to all, not a privilege reserved for the wealthy few. Together they built a multifaceted family of organizations, with the capacity to do hard hitting political work, strategic advocacy, and grassroots movement building.

Now Ady and Be A Hero’s new co-executive director, Jamila Headley, hope to catalyze even more action at a critical moment. The pandemic has laid bare the brokenness of our healthcare system, and the time is now ripe to build a powerful health justice movement and win transformational change. In the middle of the worst public health crisis in a century, millions lost their jobs and, along with it, their health insurance. And even before the pandemic, too many people were forced to forgo critical care, ration medicine, or go bankrupt to cover medical bills. Be A Hero’s vision is for a health care system that puts people over profit and guarantees care to all. We are building a powerful grassroots movement that centers sick people, poor people, disabled people, Black, Indigenous and other people of color, to make this vision a reality.