HEALTH EQUITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE ACTION GROUP (HESJ)
Co-Chair: Carol Synkewecz, Duval County Health Department (Jacksonville, FL)
Co-Chair: Zenobia Harris, Arkansas Department of Health and Human Services (Little Rock, AR)
Staff Liaison: Brenda Thompson
Mission
  1. Guide the organization through learning experiences to better understand institutional racism and how it manifests in the world around us
  2. Identify barriers within and beyond the CityMatCH organization, and create a safe environment to discuss the issue of racism openly and honestly
  3. Identify HESJ strategies and related training opportunities to benefit CityMatCH members
  4. Assure that CityMatCH weaves HESJ through all products and services
Current Areas of Focus
  1. Provide direction to the Infant Mortality and Racism Action Learning Collaborative
  2. Develop a HESJ forum for the 2010 CityMatCH Annual Conference
Member Benefits
  1. Interacting and networking with skilled national MCH professionals
  2. Increasing the understanding of HESJ, related to MCH
  3. Learning about innovative ways to promote HESJ
  4. Discussing and addressing complex topics, such as racism, in a safe environment
Member Expectations
  1. Participate in all sponsored HESJ activities, such as conference calls
  2. Make contributions to, and provide feedback on, HESJ initiatives
  3. Provide strategic direction to CityMatCH's "Undoing Racism" work

If you are interested in sharing your strengths with our Health Equity and Social Justice Action Group, please contact Brenda Thompson at brendathompson@unmc.edu