A panel featuring Felipe Tendick-Matesanz of Culture of Health Leaders  and participants from three of RWJF’s other leadership development programs took center stage at the American Public Health Association (APHA) Annual Meeting, the nation’s largest gathering of people working to advance public health, in Atlanta on Nov. 6.

The panel, moderated by RWJF’s John Lumpkin, senior vice president/program, highlighted the need and opportunity for public health to work with people from many other sectors to improve community conditions for health. Panelists also spoke—with great conviction—about the unique nature of the leadership programs to help them collaborate with people from other sectors, linking fields from transportation to labor relations to health.

Felipe Tendick-Matesanz shared his story of becoming an organizer for restaurant workers and making the strong connection between labor and health. “Wages are a major health lever but are not often talked about in health circles,” said Felipe, chapter director of Restaurant Opportunities Center of Chicago, a chapter of Restaurant Opportunities Center United. “We want to challenge the status quo. Culture of Health Leaders takes that seriously. It helps us fine-tune our leadership styles and gives us space to think about our longer-term strategy.”

Lumpkin concluded the panel by asking each speaker to share who had most influenced them during their time in their respective programs. The answer was unanimous: the other people in the programs, who inspired them with creative solutions to pressing problems, exposed them to new ways of thinking, and opened access to research and new approaches they hadn’t had access to before.

For more information about all the programs, including a tool to help determine which program might be right for you or someone you know, please visit the RWJF Program Finder.