Recent Work
- Overview
Overview
Chicago Forum for Justice in Health Policy
As Health & Medicine’s signature forum series, Chicago Forum health policy discussions regularly convene health advocates, researchers, providers, academics, and students to discuss complex heath policy and practice issues. The Chicago Forum for Justice in Health Policy helps advance health reform, safety net, and public health policy and practice to focus on health and healthcare as human rights. Frequently, the series involves discussions that cut across Health & Medicine project areas, such as health reform and public health, or workforce and long-term care. An archive of past forums can be found here and includes links to resources and speaker slides.
Culture of Health Leaders
Health & Medicine’s Director of Health Equity was selected to participate in the inaugural group of the Culture of Health Leaders, a national leadership program supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to support leaders—from all sectors that have an influence on people’s health—to create collaborative solutions that address health inequities and move their communities and organizations toward a Culture of Health.
The Chicago Culture of Health Leaders team includes:
Maxx Boykin, Community Organizer, AIDS Foundation of Chicago and Black Youth Project 100
Lilian Jimenez, Director of Policy, Cook County Commissioner of the 7th District, Jesus “Chuy” Garcia
Felipe Tendick-Matesanz, Co-Director, Chicago Restaurant Organizing Centers, United
Wesley Epplin, Director of Health Equity, Health & Medicine Policy Research Group
Other Recent Efforts:
- Testimony about Deny the Permit
- Testimony for IDPH SHA/SHIP
- Informed Cook County Department of Public Health’s CHA/CHIP
- Testimony on the Chicago Department of Public Health’s Health in All Policies Ordinance
- Serve as community co-chair of the Root Causes section of Healthy Chicago 2.0, in collaboration with the Chicago Department of Public Health and other partners. This entails seeking efforts focused on equity in economics, housing, transportation and other issues, using an intersectional analysis of how racism, genderism, class inequity, and other injustices cause health inequities—and what actions can be taken to redress these.
- Serve on Steering Committee and Co-Chair of the Policy Committee for the Collaborative for Health Equity Cook County, which is spearheading the Cook County Department of Public Health’s work on health equity and combatting structural racism.
- As a member of the Chicagoland Equity Network helped to organize a 300+ member Chicagoland Equity Summit Delegation to attend the PolicyLink Equity Summit 2018: Our Power. Our Future. Our Nation. which was held in Chicago from April 11-13, 2018, helping to catalyze advances in social justice locally.
- Health and Education Equity Forum
- Radical History Tours at APHA 2015
- Expanding the Bounds of Public Health: A Learning List for Chicago and Illinois
- Testimony on the City Budget to the Chicago City Council Progressive Caucus
