Archives

Posted On March 5, 2020 10:37 pm
Vice President, Community Health Equity Rush University Medical Center FOCUS Darlene works on the west side of Chicago at a large academic medical center that has been in the same location for over 180 years. Residents in the surrounding neighborhoods have life expectancies far below those of wealthier communities. Some are as low as 68… View Article

Posted On March 5, 2020 10:36 pm
Project Manager International Data Systems, LLC FOCUS Laura works toward a world in which all children are in safe, nurturing relationships and environments; the well-being of all families and communities is prioritized; and all people can lead lives of dignity and meaning. When children experience overwhelming amounts of stress (also called toxic stress), this can… View Article

Posted On March 5, 2020 10:35 pm
Program Director Multicultural AIDS Coalition FOCUS Immigrant communities are overpoliced, face unprecedented levels of surveillance, and are unjustly detained or deported at increasing rates. Black, LGBTQ and Muslim communities are disproportionately vulnerable to these acts of structural violence due to racism, heterosexism, transphobia, and Islamophobia. And, at the same time, these communities stay resilient, productive,… View Article

Posted On March 5, 2020 10:32 pm
Grants & Contracts Administrator Missoula County Community Justice Department FOCUS What brings the most joy to your life? For many of us, it’s our relationships with the people we love. Having healthy and supportive relationships improves our mental and physical health, resulting in better life outcomes and making for a happier, more successful community. Conversely,… View Article

Posted On March 5, 2020 10:29 pm
Executive Director Oregon Pacific Islander Coalition FOCUS Alyshia Alohalani Macaysa is a community organizer and systems change strategist based in Portland, OR. The heart of her work is building life-affirming justice and indigenous systems of health through a decolonized public health practice. Her body of work includes government<>community partnerships that have placed the wisdom and… View Article

Posted On March 5, 2020 10:20 pm
Community Educator/Artist/Facilitator Youth Empowerment Project FOCUS Classrooms serving marginalized youth in Phoenix, Ariz., should center safety, healing, justice, critical thinking, and community wisdom. By design, in Phoenix and all over the U.S., classrooms serving predominantly Black, Indigenous, Immigrant, and Refugee youth are sites of hostility and criminalization. As levels of trauma experienced by young people… View Article

Posted On March 5, 2020 10:17 pm
Founder and Executive Director Back to the Start FOCUS Back the Start’s vision is to reshape our nation’s social contract with the most vulnerable of our society to focus on investments in upstream development and growth rather than paying an even higher price on downstream systems, such as mass incarceration, that are only treating the… View Article

Posted On March 5, 2020 10:16 pm
Architect, Vice-Chair of Manhattan Community Board 11 Hart Howerton FOCUS As a licensed architect and chair of the Environment Open Space and Parks Committee for Manhattan Community Board 11, Jessica tackles large-scale intersectional health issues that impact the growth, development, and opportunity of individuals and communities, including how our environments shape our health and well-being… View Article

Posted On March 5, 2020 10:11 pm
Assistant Vice President Heartland Family Service FOCUS Omaha, Neb., is an incredibly ethnically diverse community, with over 115 languages spoken in the public school system. However, the city sees a highly disproportionate number of Latinx immigrant and African and Asian refugee groups living in poverty, and has some of the highest poverty rates for black… View Article

Posted On March 5, 2020 10:08 pm
Owner/Principal Strategist Six Dimensions FOCUS Black women are three to four times more likely to die from birth-related complications than their white counterparts—a crisis that requires a systems approach. Dr. Nakeitra Burse is working to address this issue through building the visibility and capacity of birth workers to serve Black families and ensure that Black… View Article