Our political and business leaders may be failing to center humanity right now, Reader, but that doesn’t mean we should too - in fact, I think that means we should be even more intentional about centering humanity. Our work is in community, where we are striving to advance health and well-being. To do this, we have to intentionally, explicitly center humanity in a world where political and technological headwinds are working against us. How do we do this? Here are some ideas: 🤝🏽In your...
28 days ago • 2 min read
Reader, growing up, were you, like me, always told to work hard? It’s advice I’ve come to question over the years. Don’t get me wrong, I still have deep respect for a strong work ethic. I just wonder if we’ve gotten overly obsessed with the idea of working hard instead of working strategically, smartly, efficiently. Which sometimes means the work is actually…easier. Faster. More fun. Let me give you an example, courtesy of our school PTA. Last week, as I was running into my daughter’s school...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
Are you a math person, Reader? This Pi day, the giving circle I’m a part of hosted a screening of the documentary Counted Out, which explores how, “in the 21st century, fueled by technology, data, and algorithms, math determines who has the power to shape our world.” In the small group discussions following the screening, the facilitators began by asking everyone to share whether they consider themselves a math person or not, and let me tell you, it turned into something akin to a therapy...
3 months ago • 3 min read
How are you hanging in, Reader? As agencies, nonprofits, families, and individuals make contingency plans upon contingency plans in face of all the uncertainty of this moment, I wanted to share some words - courtesy of Jane Fonda - of both hope and action (which were PoP Health’s wish + invitation for 2025…which, two months in, feels like it has already lasted about two years). I’m not really up on pop culture or Hollywood, but I’ve been deeply impressed with Jane Fonda ever since I heard a...
4 months ago • 3 min read
Hi Reader, Unfortunately, everything is still on fire, and the public’s health (and SO much else) remains under threat. I talked earlier this month about how taking action requires a) actually planning and committing to take action and b) organizing. But what even is organizing? Today, I want to share a little primer on what organizing IS and what it IS NOT. Most of the content here is from a National Academies panel with Jamila Michener and Jonathan Heller during a workshop earlier this...
4 months ago • 3 min read
Whew, it's been a couple weeks, hasn't it, Reader? Public health is being further threatened than it already was in every direction - halting of foreign aid work; an attempted coup in the form of a spending freeze; an anti-vaccine skeptic nominated to lead the nation's health agency; the list - sadly - goes on. And the opposition to these threats? It's been weak, slow, and completely insufficient. I don't mean opposition as in people ranting about and posting about and discussing these...
5 months ago • 3 min read
Hi Reader, I opened the new year inviting you to join PoP Health at the intersection of hope and action to transform health in our communities. Earlier this month, we dove into the idea of hope. Today, we’re focused on ACTION. I’m all about capturing data to understand community needs - but does it sometimes feel like all we’re doing is defining (and redefining) the problem, listing challenges and barriers, and adding proof points that the problem exists? I think sometimes we get paralyzed...
5 months ago • 2 min read
How is the start of your year, Reader? I hope it is off to a great start, but I know too that many across the country are experiencing hard times just weeks into the new year. Regardless of where on the spectrum your year so far falls, I stand by what I shared last week: I believe wholeheartedly that it is at the intersection of hope and action that we can work together to transform health in our communities. So in this issue and the next, I’d like to break down each of those concepts. Today,...
5 months ago • 2 min read
Dear Reader, Thank you for being a part of our Community Threads family! Having this space to share with you all and reading your emails about what you’ve gleaned from these newsletters have meant the world to me this past year. So as we close the chapter on 2024 and enter 2025, I wanted to share with you a new year’s wish + invitation: We recognize 2025 is a new year with significant challenges - some old, some new. And we believe wholeheartedly that it is at the intersection of hope and...
5 months ago • 1 min read
