The National Academies for Science, Engineering and Medicine (NAS, formerly the Institute of Medicine) continues its important work of reviewing best practices for health equity and community-based solutions with a panel discussion in Irvine, California, this week. PI’s Manal Aboelata will join several experts to discuss place-based strategies for improving health and equity and the important role of community engagement in policy change efforts.
As part of its mission to build a Culture of Health, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is partnering with the NAS to explore community-based solutions to promote health equity in the United States. The Committee is tasked with reviewing the evidence base and developing recommendations that will bolster our ability to produce equitable health and safety outcomes. This will inform the nation’s health practitioners and guide federal investments.
Manal will overview place-based factors that support health equity; outline the role of community engagement and leadership in shaping planning, design and land-use decisions; and review the evidence pertaining to policy solutions designed to produce equitable outcomes. She joins distinguished co-panelists David Erickson of Center for Community Development Investments at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, Doran Schrantz of ISAIAH, Beatriz Solis of The California Endowment, and Nina Wallerstein of the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of New Mexico, for the discussion. We look forward to supporting this important work as it moves forward.
Registration for this event is free and open to members of the public. You can also sign up to join the live webcast.
Community Based Solutions to Promote Health Equity in the United States
Wednesday, April 27, 2016 from 9:30am – 2:00pm
Arnold and Mabel Beckman Center
National Academies for Sciences, Engineering and Medicine
100 Academy
Irvine, CA 92617
The panel of experts for the discussion are:
• Manal J. Aboelata, MPH, is managing director at Prevention Institute, where she works on community-based approaches to improve access to healthy foods, prevent injuries, and increase access to physical activity opportunities. She coordinates the Strategic Alliance for Healthy Food and Activity Environments, a statewide advocacy network involved in bringing healthy food and physical activity opportunities to all Californians, and currently serves as board chair for the Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust, a nonprofit organization dedicated to connecting every Los Angeles area resident to a park or garden within walking distance of his or her home, and the Joint Use Statewide Taskforce.
• David J. Erickson, Ph.D., is director of the Center for Community Development Investments at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco and edits the Federal Reserve journal Community Development Investment Review. His research areas in the Community Development department of the Federal Reserve include community development finance, affordable housing, economic development, and institutional changes that benefit low-income communities.
• Doran Schrantz is the executive director of ISAIAH, a faith-based community organization of 100 member congregations in the Twin Cities metropolitan region, St. Cloud, and Rochester in Minnesota.
• Beatriz Maria Solís, Ph.D., MPH, is the director of Healthy Communities, South Region, at The California Endowment. Dr. Solís is responsible for advancing the vision and strategic direction of the foundation’s Building Healthy Communities: California Living 2.0 initiative, as well as helping achieve established goals and outcomes through The Endowment’s philanthropic efforts in Southern California.
• Nina Wallerstein, Dr.P.H., MPH, is a professor in the Public Health Program in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of New Mexico, director of the Center for Participatory Research, director of the developing community engagement and research component of the Clinical Translational Science Center, and a Senior Fellow with the Robert Wood Johnson Center for Health Policy at the University of New Mexico.
To learn more about RWJF’s Culture of Health program, please visit the National Academy of Medicine's webpage.
