For 15 years I have been teaching and advocating for health justice at the Center for Patient Partnerships, and am thrilled to be co-director with Jill Jacklitz. I love to teach about system-level advocacy at the policy and organizational levels, and systems thinking. Like many health advocates, my advocacy started at an early age – I now laugh fondly at my eager 17-year-old self trying to change smoking policies at our high school, and cherish my access to reproductive health work in college.
When I started at CPP in 2005, I joined Meg, our founding director, and 2 volunteers. We have grown to 13 staffers faithful to our interdisciplinary ideals, adding a National Initiatives arm, a robust community presence through our Resource Navigator Program, and innovative programs like LIFT Dane, with the goal of tackling health justice broadly through civil legal justice reform. My academic bio is available on the Law School website.
We have seen sea changes in health care in my time at CPP, and no doubt will experience continued transformation. Take basic access to care as just one example – we continue to witness a rollercoaster of changing levels of access and inequalities across communities.
When not working, I love to play strategic board games with friends (my favorite keeps changing), I aspire to get out on a kayak or experience nature in any way I can, and cherish laughing with my 11 year old.