Community Leaders Forums
Since its inception in 2011, Health Equity Initiative has pioneered a community-driven and multisectoral approach to advancing health equity across all of our strategies, resources, events and partnerships. We advocate for raising the influence of community voices on health equity solutions and "walk the walk" via our activities and programs. From our innovative 2011-2013 Health Equity Exchange program that sought to provide a proof-of-concept in support of community-specific solutions, to our more recent summits and other consensus-driven events and capacity building efforts, we always feel privileged to learn from and work with communities and their leaders, and to count many community-based organizations (CBOs) in our network.
Our Community Leaders Forums series is an important initiative that aligns with our commitment to equitable community systems and provides a much needed forum to discuss and advocate for community-driven solutions to advance health equity.
Our Community Leaders Forums series is an important initiative that aligns with our commitment to equitable community systems and provides a much needed forum to discuss and advocate for community-driven solutions to advance health equity.
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Mental Health Equity: Strategies for Community Engagement and Policy ChangeJanuary 19, 2024
This forum was designed, organized, and hosted by Health Equity Initiative to capture the perspectives of community leaders promoting mental health equity within their work. The forum focuses on (1) the leaders' experience in the mental health field and what kind of changes they have seen as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, (2) promising strategies to reduce implicit and institutional bias in health and social systems, (3) policy solutions that may help advance mental health equity, (4) suggestions for community members from specific groups who are worried about their mental health or feel unwell, (5) a discussion on both key policies that have the potential of jeopardizing mental health equity, as well as policies which may help promote mental health equity, and (6) a call to action for organizations, policymakers, and leaders which would help to advance mental health equity.
Listen to the recording on Soundcloud below! |
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Moderator & Forum Participants/Panelists
Renata Schiavo, PhD, MA, CCL
Moderator Founder and President, Board of Directors, Health Equity Initiative |
Meritxell Roca-Sales
Forum Participant/Panelist Director of Programs, Gameen Promotoras |
Kiara M. Tanta-Quidgeon, Keesuk Páhôhtáw (sunrise)
Forum Participant/Panelist MPH Candidate, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health |
John Davids
Forum Participant/Panelist Research Coordinator, Black Community Resource Centre (BCRC) |
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Racial Healing and Health Equity: Promising Policies and Community-Driven Interventions (part 2)December 12, 2022
This forum was designed, organized, and hosted by Health Equity Initiative to capture the perspectives of community leaders promoting racial healing within their health equity work. The forum focuses on (1) the leaders' experience with racial healing and how this applies to health equity issues, (2) personal and professional values the leaders bring to their work and everyday life, and implications for racial healing, (3) lessons learned from community-driven interventions and strategies that aim to build or restore community trust, (4) community perspectives on the impact of racism among specific groups, and opportunities for group-specific strategies and policies for racial healing, (5) a discussion on both key policies that have the potential of jeopardizing racial healing, as well as policies which may help promote racial healing, and (6) recommendations and sample steps toward racial healing and equity to be implemented at the policy level and within community settings.
Listen to the recording on Soundcloud below! |
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Moderator & Forum Participants/Panelists
Renata Schiavo, PhD, MA, CCL
Moderator Founder and President, Board of Directors, Health Equity Initiative |
Von Gordon
Forum Participant/Panelist Executive Director, Alluvial Collective |
Denise Morrow
Forum Participant/Panelist Executive Director, BE MORE |
Jesus Ayala
Forum Participant/Panelist Director, South Providence Health Equity Zone |
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Youth Engagement and Health Equity: Lessons Learned and Community-Driven StrategiesDecember 6, 2022
This forum was designed, organized, and hosted by Health Equity Initiative to capture the perspectives of youth advocacy organizations and community and youth leaders. The forum focuses on (1) the leaders' experience with youth engagement and how this applies to health equity issues, (2) how young community leaders can contribute to policy and intervention design for health equity, (3) examples of engagement strategies utilized within their respective organizations or youth groups and schools, (4) key health equity topics of concern amongst the youth and young leaders, (5) most promising practices/policies to promote youth engagement and contribute to health equity, and (6) ideas for future policy solutions that may encourage youth engagement and help advance health equity.
Listen to the recording on SoundCloud below!
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Report and Call to Action
Download and share the Call to Action with your community, organization, and local representatives to advocate for the kinds of social and policy changes we need to see in our cities and communities to promote youth engagement and health equity.
To download the full report, please click here.
Moderator & Forum Participants/Panelists
Renata Schiavo, PhD, MA, CCL
Moderator Founder and President, Board of Directors, Health Equity Initiative |
Saahil Patel
Forum Participant/Panelist Medical Student, The College of New Jersey/New Jersey Medical School |
Becki Marcus
Forum Participant/Panelist Assistant Program Officer, Local Initiatives Support Corporation |
Armonté Butler
Forum Participant/Panelist Associate Director of LGBTQ Health & Rights, Advocates for Youth |
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Racial Healing and Health Equity: A Look at Promising Policies and Community-Driven Interventions
November 18, 2021 This forum was designed, organized and hosted by Health Equity Initiative to capture local, national and global perspectives in the words of community leaders and their organizations. The forum focuses on (1) a reflection on the current realities of local communities and the leaders' own vision on how to promote racial healing, and how racial healing can contribute to health equity; (2) key community leverage points for long-lasting change and reflecting on the people who have the power to bring such change; (3) how storytelling can contribute to racial healing, and policy and intervention design; (4) how to keep the spotlight on health and racial inequities in our communities, mass media, and policymaking settings; (5) most promising emerging practices or policies to promote racial healing; and (6) the role of community leaders and community-based organizations in shaping policies and racial healing.
Listen to the recording on SoundCloud below!
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Report and Call to Action
Download and share the Call to Action with your community, organization and local representatives to advocate for the kinds of social and policy changes we need to see in our cities and communities to promote racial healing and health equity. To download the full report, please click here. |
Moderator & Forum Participants/Panelists
Renata Schiavo, PhD, MA, CCL
Moderator Founder and President, Board of Directors, Health Equity Initiative |
Denise Morrow
Forum Participant/Panelist Executive Director, BEMORE |
Shannon Fleg
Forum Participant/Panelist Co-Partnership Director, Native Health Initiative |
Von Gordon
Forum Participant/Panelist Co-Executive Director The Winter Institute |
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The Impact of COVID-19 on Women and Girls: Implications for Health Equity
October 4, 2021 This forum was designed, organized and hosted by Health Equity Initiative to capture local, national and global perspectives in the words of community leaders and their organizations. The forum focuses on (1) how the pandemic has impacted women and girls in a variety of ways (e.g., health, employment, mental health, etc.); (2) how this is likely to further exacerbate existing health and gender inequities, including implications for health equity; and (3) ideas for policy solutions and other interventions that may address emerging and pre-existing needs of women and girls, with special emphasis on women and populations that experience marginalization or other types of disadvantage and vulnerability. |
Listen to the recording on SoundCloud below!
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Report and Call to Action
Download and share the Call to Action with your community, organization and local representatives to advocate for the kinds of social and policy changes marginalized and underserved communities needs to see in order to address COVID-19 inequities. To download the full report, please click here. |
Moderator & Forum Participants/Panelists
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Renata Schiavo, PhD, MA, CCL
Moderator Founder and President, Board of Directors, Health Equity Initiative |
Ashley Gomez, MPH
Forum Participant/Panelist PHD Candidate, Brown University; Evaluation Consultant and Former Senior Program Manager, Community Health Workers Initiatives, Grameen Primacare, United States |
Alicia Tauro
Forum Participant/Panelist Project Coordinator, Youth for Unity and Voluntary Action (YUVA), India |
Essence Carson
Forum Participant/Panelist WNBA Player, Music Industry Creative, Producer/Artist, Community Leader and Health Equity Champion, United States |
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COVID-19: Emerging Community Needs and Policy Solutions
July 8, 2020 In response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and its disproportionate impact among Black, Brown and Indigenous communities as well as other communities of color and many marginalized and underserved groups in the Unites States and globally, Health Equity Initiative designed, organized and hosted this Community Leaders Forum to highlight the experience and insights of community leaders from across the United States. The Forum focuses on (a) how the coronavirus underscores many of the challenges we already knew existed with health equity, (b) emerging community needs in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, and (c) community-driven ideas for policy solutions that may address emerging needs and priorities that contribute to COVID-19 inequities. The Forum is the first in a series of upcoming discussions and events. It's also an important component of Health Equity Initiative’s long-standing capacity building and advocacy efforts in support of raising the influence of community voices on health equity solutions. Listen to the recording on SoundCloud below! |
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Report and Call to Action
Download and share the Call to Action with your community, organization and local representatives to advocate for the kinds of social and policy changes marginalized and underserved communities needs to see in order to address COVID-19 inequities. To download the full report, please click here. |
Moderators
Renata Schiavo, PhD, MA, CCL
Founder and President, Board of Directors, Health Equity Initiative Vertical Divider
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Forum Participants/Panelists
Paulette Spencer, MPH, MA
Community Engagement and Policy Analyst, Bronx Community Health Network, Bronx, NY Vertical Divider
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Teneasha Washington, PhD
Community Engagement Lead, National Center on Health, Physical Activity and Disability, Birmingham, AL Vertical Divider
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Annette Roque-Lewis
Executive Director, La Nueva Esperanza, Brooklyn, NY Vertical Divider
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Amy Vu, RD, MPH
Head of Programs, FEAST, Los Angeles, CA |
