Dependence isn't a dirty word: Dr. Danny Avula at TEDxRVA

Danny Avula is a husband, father and doctor, and he has spent the last 10 years of his life learning how to be a good neighbor in inner city Richmond.

Born in India, Danny was only 1 year old when his family immigrated to the United States. He is a graduate of the University of Virginia and the VCU School of Medicine and received a master's in public health from Johns Hopkins University. A board-certified pediatrician and preventive medicine physician, Danny currently serves as the Deputy Director of the Richmond City Health Department.

In 2004, Danny and his wife, Mary Kay, made a commitment with a group of college friends to move into a low-income neighborhood and simply be good neighbors to people whose lives looked very different than their own. Ten years later, they have found themselves in the midst of North Church Hill's amazing rebirth—a transformation that is full of hope, but which also presents daily complex challenges related to race, class and justice.

Recognized by Style Weekly as one of Richmond's Top 40 under 40 and by Our Health magazine as one of Richmond's Top 15 Health Care Leaders under 40 for his commitment to improving Richmond's health, Danny's work has also been featured nationally by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, MSNBC and Christianity Today.

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)