Category Archives: Intentional Communities

Why its important to anyone who cares about student success

Ive heard the word diversity quite a few times, began U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, and I dont have a clue what it means. It seems to mean everything for everyone.

That is how the justice responded to an opening statement made last fall by legal counsel defending affirmative action in college and university admissions.

Seemingly casting doubt on the underlying premise of race-conscious policies i.e., that a diverse student population performs better academically Thomas incredulousness runs counter to a robust consensus around the meaning of diversity and the value it has in education and society more broadly. I confirmed this consensus through my work producing a literature review looking into the meaning and value of diversity in public education.

In that review, which the NH Center for Justice and Equity made available at the end of May, I identify three cases in which diversity has been conceptualized.

The legal case is grounded in the origins and intent of the 14th Amendment, which establishes rights to due process and equal protection, and which serves as the bedrock foundation of the courts own decades-old line of precedent.

The business case reflects empirical findings that a diverse workforce is more creative and productive, which is pure gold in a context where efficiency burnishes the bottom line.

The belonging case, as I have termed it, turns the focus of diversity efforts toward the individual, to their needs and rights.

What became clearer to me is that the idea of diversity, like dignity, accommodates many definitions depending on whom you ask, but in a way that reinforces the concept rather than rendering it meaningless. The idea has been discussed and conceptualized widely enough that even a studied skeptic should be able to make an educated guess and hit the bulls eye.

Diversity is important to folks who careabout student success and who believe that measures of educational excellence should consider students holistically and not just as test-takers.

Instead of simply pointing to rises or falls in aggregate test scores as proof of success or failure at the level of the public school or district, educators, parents, students and policymakers should look to the ways schools promote a culture of respect and inclusivity; provide relevant training and education to staff and the wider community; address discrimination and bias; advocate for marginalized students; and more generally create a sense of community that extends beyond the schoolhouse gate.

Reporting test scores doesnt move the needle on DEIJ concerns. Those other activities are, by contrast, time-consuming and can be costly to plan and execute, requiring intentional collaboration, cross-disciplinary expertise, and the understanding that change requires long-term commitment and buy-in from the ground up.

That means bringing in all the relevant stakeholders in each school district and its constituent communities and figuring out what needs exist there and what will work to meet them. As noted by others, this is a question of adequate budgeting and commitment and cannot be answered by one solitary DEIJ hire per district.

Theres been a lot of ink spilledrecently by detractors of diversity, equity, inclusion and justice (DEIJ) efforts who claim that the salaries paid and the money spent on programming and development are wasteful and divisive, serving only to segregate students and sow division.

These claims fly in the face of studies showing that matching students with teachers from the same race or ethnicity can positively impact academic performance, test scores and behavioral outcomes, and others showing the significant educational and social-emotional benefits to students who learn from at least one teacher who shares their race or ethnicity.

Of course, in New Hampshire the overall population is 89 percent white with an educator workforce that is 97 percent white, so it is likely that many students of color never encounter a single teacher of the same racial or ethnic background. Even in states with more diverse populations, educator workforces are, on average, whiter than the student populations they teach.

Demography is destiny, and shifts in New Hampshire show that minority populations, especially among children under the age of 18, have grown considerably as of the last census. This fact underscores the importance of public school systems meeting the needs of a changing population.

To meet the challenge and the opportunity of this change, greater attention must be given to increasing recruitment of teachers of color and providing adequate support and development to them after hire, so as to avoid burnout, demoralization and resignation. Rather than stand back and rest contented with the addition of a few DEIJ officers to the ranks of New Hampshires educator workforce, we should consider their roles mere starting points.

Dr. Jacob A. Bennett is affiliate assistant professor of education at the University of New Hampshire. His research now focuses on issues of agency, autonomy and belonging, in and out of the workplace.

Read more:

(Opinion) Nurturing diversity is good for kids, schools and NH - New Hampshire Business Review

In the technology-driven, hustle-glorifying era we live in, it can feel like life is whizzing past us faster than a rocket-powered cheetah on espresso. A world where speed limits are optional and tranquility reigns supreme, then, feels like a distant dream. Enter: slow living, a valiant endeavor to save the day and restore our sanity, one leisurely step at a time. Referring to a more chilled-out, intentional existence as the antidote to our fast-paced, instant-gratification-obsessed world slow living preaches a lifestyle where stop and smell the roses is not just a clich, but a way of life.

The origin of this lifestyle can be traced back to Italys slow food movement reportedly kicked off by political activist Carlo Petrini in the 1980s, in a bid to protest the growing popularity of fast food chains like McDonalds, and shine the spotlight on traditional food production techniques. Slow living expands upon this idea, encompassing various aspects of life, including work, leisure, and personal wellbeing. And with time, the idea gathered momentum, and its appeal drew in more followers in particular, because of its perception as a lifestyle opposed to capitalism, consumerism, and mindless destruction of the environment. Some sources suggest that the term slow is, in fact, an acronym: S stands for sustainable; L for local; O refers to organic; W to whole, or non-processed.

I think of slow [living] as more of a mindset than anything else. Its quality over quantity. Its doing things with presence, being in the moment. Ultimately, its about doing everything as well as possible instead of as fast as possible, says Carl Honor, author of In Praise of Slowness: How A Worldwide Movement Is Challenging the Cult of Speed. [I]ts actually a profoundly revolutionary [idea] in a roadrunner culture where every moment [in] a day is a race against the clock. In a sense, then, the slow living movement attempts to deliver from the clutches of perpetual rush-a-holism that has us running like a juiced-up squirrel on a hamster wheel.

While the movement advocates for slowing down, it doesnt preach sloth especially not in situations where doing so would border on ludicrous, like running into the arms of ones lover for a passionate embrace, but in slow motion, la Bollywoods romantic comedies. I think in our fast-forward culture, where the taboo against slowness runs so deep, we just assume that the only way to slow down is for everything to become incredibly slow motion, which would be absurd Slow living [is] about doing things at the right speed. So, understanding that, sure, there are times to go fast and be busy but there are other times when it pays to put the brakes on and slow down, explains Honor.

With more than 5.5 million posts tagged under #slowliving on Instagram, and over 8 million views for #slowliving on TikTok, the popularity of the movement appears to be on an upswing.

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In fact, Google Trends observed a stunning 4X increase in views of videos with slow living in the title in 2020 compared to 2019, noting: One of the cultural side effects of the Covid19 pandemic has been the marked slowdown in the pace of our lives. Were in a new era of slow living and many consumers are embracing it. Indeed, by forcing people across the globe to confront the fragility of life and reevaluate their priorities, the pandemic made the lifestyle appear more tempting.

The sudden halt in daily routines and the need to adapt to new circumstances offered people an opportunity for reflection coinciding with a moment where they were simultaneously grappling with uncertainty about the lives of their loved ones, as traditional markers of success, such as wealth and professional achievements, suddenly began to matter a lot lesser than before. Everything I do seems so futile right now Im starting to wonder whats even the point of working so hard that we dont even get to spend time with our family and friends, especially when we dont know what the future is going to hold? Prakrati, then 25, had told The Swaddle during the second wave of the pandemic in India. This pushed many to focus on their mental health and the quality of their relationships with their friends and family, over career ambitions.

Not only that, but as research has shown, living through the pandemic also ushered a marked increase in environmental awareness inspiring many to begin consuming mindfully, reducing waste, and appreciating nature, in their bid to embrace a more eco-conscious lifestyle. This shift in their perspectives drew them towards the slow-living lifestyle whose core values emphasizing balance, self-care, and a strong sense of community, while challenging the prevailing notion of productivity and advocating for a healthier work-life balance resonated deeply with the transformation that their outlooks were undergoing. The slow living attitude is, after all, about setting boundaries an approach that has a lot of takers among the millennial and Gen-Z cohorts.

A cornerstone of being slow is saying no relearning the lost art of saying no, of prioritizing, of taking the time to pause, reflect, and look at your life and say, What is really important? Then focus your time and attention on those things and let everything else go, explains Honor.

In a sense, then, the trend of slow living is driven by our frustration with a capitalist society. However, like most other wellness trends with similar motivations like self-care, digital detoxes, and plant-based diets not everyone may have the privilege to pursue slow living. While the allure paints a picturesque scene of tranquility and mindfulness, its also pertinent to acknowledge slow living often requires time, financial stability, and resources that may not be readily available to individuals from rungs of the socio-economic strata that force them to make their peace with the daily grind for survival, leaving little room for luxuries like leisurely strolls or extended periods of self-reflection. Moreover, marginalized communities often face systemic barriers that limit their access to green spaces, quality healthcare, and mental health support all vital components of the slow living experience.

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At the end of the day, the fact that we live in a capitalist world, makes wellness trends like slow living, capitalist trends. Why? Well, it requires a lot of capital to actually be able to live slowly especially without making those less privileged on us pick up our slack. First, being able to pass the burden is a privilege; second, by doing so, were simply following the capitalist mindset, not battling it.

Having said that, Slow living isnt at odds with being successful or productive. Rather, its about living up to your own idea of success and prioritizing whats most important to you, explains an article, addressing a prominent misconception about slow living. But in a world where we are pushing ourselves till we burnout simply to afford shelter and sustenance, the option to choose our idea of success and set our own ambitions, is a privilege.

The philosophy is shrouded in other myths, too like the belief that it espouses a tech-free lifestyle. It doesnt. As Honor notes, [S]low living is [about] forging a more balanced, healthier, happier, and more humane relationship with our technology knowing when to go on and use that incredible thrilling speed of technology and then knowing when enough is enough and to stop scrolling through Instagram or stop surfing the net while watching Netflix or just simply stop being in front of a screen.

Slow living, then, is like the pause button for our hectic existence offering a chance to embrace the art of unhurried living and savor lifes little pleasures. So, for those longing to rid themselves of frazzled nerves, and leisurely stroll into a life, where they have the time to actually taste their food, find their socks, and maybe, even remember their own names, slow living is probably the way to go only if one can afford to live slowly, that is.

The takeaway: yes, slow living sounds great in theory; in practice, however, trends like slow living individualize our struggle against capitalism, and in doing so, end up bowing down to the status quo and perpetuating it selfishly, instead of registering any systemic change.

Read the rest here:

'Slow Living' Is an Antidote to Exhaustion Under Capitalism -- But ... - The Swaddle

OLATHE Gov. Laura Kelly and U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids said Friday that 120,000 Kansans allowed to remain in Medicaid due to a three-year suspension of eligibility reviews during the pandemic were in jeopardy of automatically losing coverage by not applying for renewal.

The hiatus in annual eligibility assessments adopted during the national public health emergency was lifted in April by the federal government. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment has started a 12-month process of determining whether about one-fourth of 530,000 Kansans who were in the program amid COVID-19 still qualified under the law.

KDHE has been challenged to accurately direct renewal notices because contact information for many participants werent updated since 2020. KDHE officials extended the application window by 30 days for cases scheduled for examination in April and May, in part, due to delays in delivery of mail by the U.S. Postal Service.

Individuals who failed to meet the deadline for submitting required information to the Medicaid clearinghouse even if unaware it was requested would lose coverage.

Health insurance is foundational to healthy communities, which is why Im glad to join forces with Representative Davids to make sure qualifying Kansans know what they need to do to keep their coverage, Kelly said.

Davids said it was essential to make more people aware of alterations to Medicaid, which is known as KanCare in Kansas.

Were going to need to be really intentional and focused on getting the word out to make sure that every Kansan that can possibly stay covered actually gets to do that, she said.

The Democratic governor and congresswoman took the opportunity of a news conference at Health Partnership Clinic, to renew their call for Kansas to follow 40 other states and the District of Columbia that expanded eligibility for Medicaid. The clinic provides health care to children and adults primarily in Johnson, Franklin and Miami counties regardless of clients ability to pay.

While Im glad we could help ensure qualifying Kansans dont lose their health care during the KanCare reviewal process, its far past time for Kansas to expand Medicaid coverage, Davids said. Ive worked for years to ensure all Kansans can receive the affordable, quality health care they deserve, but certain actors at the state level have forgone already-paid-for federal dollars as part of a political agenda.

Kelly said complications of the so-called unraveling process to update Medicaid rolls made the need to expand in Kansas that much clearer.

It will boost our economy, bring hard-earned tax dollars back to our state, and most importantly, save lives, she said.

States have been allowed to amplify eligibility for Medicaid coverage since 2014. In 2017, Republican Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback vetoed an expansion bill passed by the GOP-led House and Senate. He said the cost to the state would be irresponsible and unsustainable.

In 2019, the Kansas House passed another Medicaid expansion bill but it wasnt passed by the Kansas Senate. More recent efforts at the Capitol were derailed despite bipartisan support for action.

House Speaker Dan Hawkins, R-Wichita, has denounced Medicaid expansion as a budget busting bloating of government, while Senate President Ty Masterson, R-Andover, complained it would cater to able-bodied adults while diminishing the states opportunity to serve people with disabilities.

Kelly, who as governor has proposed five expansion plans to the Legislature, pointed to a poll indicating 80% of Kansans supported expansion. Kansas has forgone more than $6 billion in federal funding by prohibiting Medicaid expansion, and the governor said those resources would have been useful to Kansas hospitals struggling to care for the uninsured.

The governor said her Medicaid expansion recommendations were shaped to deal with objections from Republican legislators, but her ideas didnt move the needle because GOP lawmakers controlling the debate calendar were ideologically opposed to reform.

During the news conference, Kelly said persistent rejection of health and financial arguments for expansion was stupid and foolish.

Every year, I tailor the proposal to address concerns expressed by legislative leadership, Kelly said. Every year, they would move the goalposts. As a result, Kansas is now a Medicaid desert.

She vowed to introduce a new Medicaid expansion proposal in her budget recommendations to the 2024 Legislature. She also urged Kansans to pressure senators and representatives to demand Senate and House GOP leaders allow votes on Medicaid expansion. All states surrounding Kansas have adopted Medicaid expansion.

Amy Falk, chief executive officer of the Health Partnership Clinic in Olathe, said the decision by Missouri voters to expand Medicaid a year ago prompted some Kansans without health insurance to move across the state line.

Absolutely, all the time, she said. Especially where we see patients who have needs beyond walls of the partnership, that have critical illnesses, need surgeries. They bring it up and, yes, that is an issue.

Davids, who serves the 3rd District covering the Kansas side of metropolitan Kansas City, said Kansas was in a shrinking pool of states unwilling to address health care needs of their residents through Medicaid expansion.

Im that much more committed to continuing to push back against any partisan politics or gamesmanship that might stop us from doing what we need to do to save lives, she said. Because thats what were talking about, is keeping people healthy and saving lives.

The congresswoman said she supported alternative federal legislation that would enable individuals to apply for Medicaid directly through the federal government. The measure would offer residents in non-expansion states the chance to take part in a program mirroring Medicaid. Congress would provide additional funding to states to serve that population, Davids said.

If we continue to see partisan actors at state levels blocking expansion of Medicaid, then I think that federal option is a good direction, she said.

Read this article:

Kelly, Davids urge 120,000 Kansans to take part in post-coronavirus ... - Kansas Reflector

The day before Commencement, five graduating masters students in the School of Public and International Affairs and 11 graduating bachelors degree students were honored with awards and prizes at respective gatherings of their classmates.

At the Hooding and Awards Ceremony, held Monday morning, May 29, in McCarter Theater, SPIA recognized its MPP and MPA graduates. Five honors were presented:

The Bradford Prize, awarded to the Science, Technology, and Environmental Policy student who has achieved both a distinguished academic record and a record of service to the STEP program, was awarded to Jessie Press-Williams. The award is named for SPIA's late associate dean David Bradford, who played a key role in the creation and administration of this program.

Press-Williams, of Charlottesville, Virginia, graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering from MIT, where she also focused on international development. After graduating, she worked in Zambia on a major sanitation rehabilitation project. Immediately before coming to Princeton, Press-Williams lived in Ghana working as a program officer at an NGO dedicated to improving water and sanitation outcomes for poor and vulnerable populations.

At SPIA, she concentrated in Field II, International Development, and she served as the STEP representative to the Princeton University Policy Student Government (PUPSG). Press-Williams interned last summer at the Department of State, in the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs.

Press-Williams co-founded the Climate Club to provide a space for students interested in environmental policy issues to connect and learn about opportunities at Princeton, and she was one of the student leaders behind the Center for Policy Research on Energy and the Environments Environmental Policy Associates program. She played a crucial role in some of the most important STEP-related activities over the past year, including the Climate 101 Workshop, sending students to attend COP27, and the environmental policy career trek to Washington, D.C.

Jessie was always collaborative in her leadership approach, said Keely Swan, C-PREEs assistant director. Her contributions to C-PREE and the SPIA community have been truly exceptional. Her efforts beyond the classroom have had a tremendous impact on STEP and C-PREE.

The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Leadership and Service Award, recognizing exemplary student leadership, initiative, and advocacy for issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion, was presented to Rougiuatou Diallo. The award is fully student-nominated, and submissions were evaluated based on excellence in leadership, and a deep sense of service.

Before coming to SPIA, Diallo was chief of staff at Resilient Coders, a workforce development organization that trains people of color from Bostons low-income communities for high-growth careers as software engineers and connects them with jobs. she earned a bachelors in political science and government from McGill University.

Last summer, Diallo served as a Community Organizing Fellow at the Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing (WIEGO), a worldwide network focused on empowering the working poor, especially women, in the informal economy to secure their livelihoods. She spent time in Dakar, Senegal, where she engaged with the challenges of informal workers and the formalization of policy space.

At SPIA, Diallo served as a co-chair of the Students and Alumni of Color student organization.

Our DEI team has had the privilege to work closely with her on two signature SAOC events, and her incredible work ethic, professionalism, and passionate dedication to this work made her an incredible partner, said Rayna Truelove, associate dean of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Among many glowing comments from nominators, Diallos peers described her as clearly committed to this community and to ensuring there is a space for everyone here at SPIA. Her radical love for this community was infectious.

The MPP Prize, awarded to the Master in Public Policy student who has achieved an outstanding academic record and demonstrated a commitment to public service, was given to Emily Conron.

Conron was praised as a passionate advocate for global health, science, and innovation, with a decade of experience in policy and resource mobilization. She developed her interest in global health and development as an undergraduate at the University of Notre Dame, where she first discovered and pursued her passionate interest in Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs). Before coming to SPIA, Conron worked with the Sabin Vaccine Institutes Global Network for NTDs; for World Vision United States; and with the Global Health Technologies Coalition, where she drove the launch of the Bipartisan Global Health Research and Development Congressional Working Group.

At SPIA, Conron concentrated in Field II, International Development. She took a very challenging set of courses at the intersection of international relations, international development, ethics, health, and philanthropy, and she achieved an outstanding academic record. Conron contributed to the SPIA community with her extraordinary attendance at the weekly MPP Forums, where her own presentation was one of the most intentional and effective in integrating her professional experience with new insights and intellectual challenges from her coursework.

Emily is an exceptional student who demonstrated leadership, engagement and a deep commitment to public service through her participation in this seminar, said one SPIA faculty member. Her contributions were invaluable; her energy and enthusiasm, infectious and inspiring.

The Somers Prize, established by the late Anne Somers to honor the memory of her husband, the late Herman M. Red Somers, a former SPIA faculty member, was awarded to Haley Lemieux. The prize is awarded to a student with domestic policy interests who has a distinguished academic and public service record.

Originally from Maryland, Lemieux attended the University of Oxford and graduated in 2017 with a degree in philosophy, politics, and economics. She started her career working in San Antonio, helping to build the capacity for the Eastside Promise Zone to evaluate and monitor its community impact. She went on to work for the City of San Antonio, most recently as a senior economic development specialist helping to revise their tax incentive guidelines from an equity perspective.

At SPIA, Lemieux concentrated in Field III, Domestic Policy, with outstanding academic performance. She earned rare A+ grades in both of her statistics courses. Kathryn Edin, the William Church Osborn Professor of Sociology and Public Affairs, and co-director of the Center for Research on Child Wellbeing, praised her performance in her Poverty and Social Policy course.

Haleys final paper was rich, detailed, carefully researched, and extraordinarily insightful, Edin said. It is rare that I read a paper I cant see a way to improve upon. This was one of those papers.

Lemieux co-chaired PUPSG in 2022, advocating forcefully and effectively on behalf of her classmates, most notably for greater access to tutoring for quantitative courses for all those students who expressed interest. She herself was a popular statistics tutor for MPA1s this year.

Last summer, Lemieux interned with the New Jersey Office of the Governor to work on policy issues. She plans to pursue a career focused on reducing urban inequality and advancing economic opportunity.

The Stokes Prize,recognizing both academic achievement and public service leadership, went to Tracy Pierce. The prize is awarded to the graduating MPA student whose achievements best exemplify the life and work of the late Donald E. Stokes, who was dean of the School from 1974 until 1992. During his long years of service, Stokes came to symbolize everything that is superb about the School.

Originally from Emmett, a village in rural Michigan, Pierce studied economics and English at Michigan State University, then joined Teach for America and taught high school math. After teaching for three years in Detroit, she moved to Chicago, where she served on the staff of Teach for America and volunteered as a college access mentor. Last summer she returned to Detroit for her required summer internship, working with the Diploma Equity Project.

Pierce compiled a perfect academic record at SPIA, and added to this extraordinary feat by earning distinction on the first year Qualifying Exam (QE1), in May 2022, and then earlier this month, earning high distinction on the second year Qualifying Exam (QE2). Earning both honors is rare, and it occurs only about three times a decade.

As part of SPIAs student government, Pierce served as one of two curriculum co-chairs in 2022, advocating passionately and persistently on behalf of the interests of her classmates. Her policy workshop instructor praised her strong project management skills and her highly collaborative leadership style, which supported the overall team success.

Pierce intends to build a career in educational policy and is passionate about efforts to equalize school funding, to invest in post-secondary readiness programs, and to extend opportunity to children in under-resourced urban and rural communities. After graduation, she will join the HKS Government Performance Lab Fellowship in Michigan.

That afternoon, at SPIAs Class Day ceremony, graduating seniors gathered in Richardson Auditorium for the awarding of thesis and departmental prizes. Paul Lipton, SPIAs senior associate dean for academic administration, noted the depth and breadth of the winners work.

The senior thesis, as our graduates know all too well, is a demanding rite of passage, Lipton said in his introductory remarks. Here at SPIA, the variety of thesis topics is as broad as our graduating class is large. One look at the Class Day booklet and, if you had a chance to see the slides that were playing as you walked into this auditorium, the 115 thesis titles tells the story of the richness of the SPIA curriculum and the range of interests of our students and faculty.

Beth N. Rom-Rymer, Class of 1973, Senior Thesis Prize in Global Health and Health Policy Awarded by the Global Health Program to the student who has written the best senior thesis on the topic of Global Health and Health Policy Winner: Nannette Beckley, Community Violence and Postpartum Depression: Associations and Potential Intervention Strategies (Alyssa Sharkey, advisor)

Montgomery Raiser '92 Senior Thesis Prize Awarded by the Program in Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies for best thesis in Russian and Eurasian Studies Winner: Margaret Commander, Up in Arms: The Consequences of Globalization on the Russian Defense Industry (Mark Beissinger, advisor)

Isabelle Clark-Decs Memorial South Asian Studies Thesis Awarded by the Program in South Asian Studies for the best thesis related to South Asia Winner: Kanishkh Kanodia, Beyond Norm-Takers or Norm-Breakers: India and Chinas rhetorical engagement with the norm of sovereignty at the United Nations Security Council between 1971-1992 (John Ikenberry, advisor)

Willard Thorp Thesis Prize Awarded by the Effron Center for the Study of America for the most outstanding thesis of a clearly interdisciplinary nature Winner: Susan Baek (pictured on the right), What It Means to Be Asian American in New York City: An Interview-Based Study of an Evolving Political Category (Tanushree Goyal, advisor)

Environmental Studies Senior Thesis Prize Awarded by the High Meadows Environmental Institute recognizes a senior in the Certificate Program in Environmental Studies who has written an outstanding thesis in the broad area of environmental studies Winner: Calif Chen, Building Equitable Outcomes, BRIC by BRIC: Investigating Barriers to Coastal Resilience Funding Faced by Disadvantaged Communities (Michael Oppenheimer, advisor)

Richard H. Ullman Prize Awarded to the senior who writes the best senior thesis on a subject with foreign policy implications for the United States Winner: Annabelle Mauri, Violence Entrepreneurs in a Phantom State: The Drivers of Gang Evolution in Haiti since Aristide (Jennifer Widner, advisor)

Lieutenant John A. Larkin Memorial Prize Awarded to the senior who writes the best thesis in the field of political economy or on a broadly interdisciplinary subject in which economics plays the most important part Winner: Bianca Chan, Does Money Buy Discretion? Chinese Media Investment in Belt and Road Countries (Martin Flaherty, advisor)

School of Public and International Affairs Thesis Prize Awarded to a senior who writes the best thesis on social or racial justice Winner: MacKenzie Caputo, The Surviving Sentiment: An Exploratory Analysis of Qualitative Data on Sexual Assault Survivors (Shamus Khan, advisor)

Myron T. Herrick Prize Awarded to the writer of the best senior thesis in the School of Public and International Affairs Winner: Ella Gantman, Detaining Democracy: An Investigation of Jail-Based Disenfranchisement in New Jersey Jails (Udi Ofer, advisor)

Gale F. Johnston Prize in Public Affairs Awarded to the senior who has shown progressive excellence, scholarly growth, and leadership Winner: Axidi Iglesias

Class of 1924 Award Awarded to a senior who has made an outstanding contribution to a Junior Policy Task Force as a senior commissioner Winner: Mayu Takeuchi

Donald E. Stokes Deans Prize Awarded to the senior who has displayed extraordinary leadership and made the most significant contribution to the Undergraduate Program and to the School Winners: Kanishkh Kanodia and Jen Lee

See more here:

SPIA Honors 16 Graduating Students at Hooding and Class Day ... - Princeton School of Public and International Affairs

While the hype for the movie Killers of the Flower Moon is high five months before its worldwide premiere, we want to lift up one of its lesser known actors.

When Tulsa World Scene writer Jimmie Tramel turned in a story based on his interview with Yancey Red Corn, we quickly discovered something about this film we didnt know.

We have a chance to learn from it. And the way Red Corn told us this was emotional.

Martin Scorseses shot-in-Oklahoma film is based on David Granns best-selling book by the same name. Its the true story of the serial murders of the oil-rich Osage in 1920s Oklahoma.

Red Corn, who lives in Norman and acted in theater years ago, plays the part of a former Osage chief. He got a chance to see the finished film during the Cannes Film Festival, where it received a nine-minute standing ovation.

He had to wipe away tears as he watched some scenes, because it was a family story. Red Corns great-grandfather was fatally poisoned during the era captured in the movie.

Being that close to the story, Red Corn praised director Martin Scorsese for creating an intentional and culturally accurate film.

But then Red Corn said this, which is when Tramels story went from an interview with an actor to something much deeper that we want you to think about:

I hope when people watch it, they will recognize other Indigenous people other people all over the world are getting killed and (are victims of) genocide by other governments. The movie is about white supremacy. Its about colonialism and how they justify why theyre killing the Osages and why they deserve the land and the money. It is about white supremacy, which is making a strong resurgence right now. I hope it lets people look at themselves and know that we need to love one another. I hope it helps a little bit with that in Oklahoma. I hope people can say: We can learn from history. We dont have to do that again. But, you know, we always repeat ourselves. I hope we can love one another and treat each other equally and respectfully.

White supremacists targeted Oklahoma communities 169 times in 2022. The Anti-Defamation Leagues annual assessment of propaganda activity said thats an increase of 164% from the previous year.

Twenty-nine of those incidents of white supremacist propaganda distribution and events happened in Tulsa. Oklahoma City saw 21.

Add up the incidents across the country, and its an all-time high: 6,751 incidents in 2022, a 38% increase over the previous year.

Only one state Hawaii didnt record any incidents. The leader was our neighbor to the south. Texas had 526, thanks to the rise of the Patriot Front, a white supremacist group responsible for 80% of propaganda distributions nationwide in 2022.

While we all want a great movie to spring from all the filming in our state, let us also take an opportunity to learn from the words of Grann and the direction of Scorsese. Allow Killers of the Flower Moon to spark a movement to evolve past a deadly history.

The truth is Oklahomas ground is soaked in blood. You had the Trails of Tears there wasnt just one. And then all the violence that killed countless Native Americans once they settled here. Then the Tulsa Race Massacre, which happened in the same decade as the Osage murders. And then the Oklahoma City bombing.

Allow this movie this work of art to do what incredible art can do: move people on an emotional level to change them. Make them resolute to play a vital part in a better future. Maybe then we can do what Red Corn hopes and stop repeating our history.

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Editorial: 'Killers of the Flower Moon' is our chance to learn from ... - Tulsa World

The research team has collaborated with Yuganter a Bihar based organization that works on disaster relief and preparedness to recruit local volunteers from their networks with the goal of helping communities undertake timely preventive measures. These grassroots volunteers are trained to understand advanced alerts from Googles FloodHub tool and amplify their reach and salience using community outreach activities that employ a hybrid of digital and traditional communication channels.

The researchers have taken a gender-intentional lens in the design of the intervention to further facilitate a user-friendly dissemination approach. Women and men also have different responsibilities during floods, and abilities in how they respond, noted Rohini Pande, Henry J. Heinz II Professor of Economics and Director of the Economic Growth Center at Yale University, one of the Principal Investigators on the study. Focus group discussions with community members indicated that while men tend to take the livestock and leave the region in boats, women tend to stay back with the children and move to the roofs of the house or to the highways. "There are also huge gender gaps in smartphone usage and accessin this area, like most other areas in India, Pande added.

To address gender-specific barriers in accessing information, the team worked to recruit and include women volunteers a prospect that also entailed grappling with challenges related to norms around womens mobility and participation with the aim of reaching groups who might otherwise be left out.

This was one component of a wider effort. During the 2022 monsoon season (June-October), when over 27,000 flood alerts were sent to volunteers operating in 160 panchayats in Bihar, local volunteers acted on 81% of these alerts to help disseminate the warnings widely in their local communities. An accompanying midline survey conducted by the researchers indicated that households in treatment communities had better access to alerts, in terms of receipt, timeliness, and perceptions of accuracy.

To further build trust in these alerts, the researchers plan to test the effects of leveraging and including local leaders in the alert outreach model during the 2023 flood season. Results from the 2019 pilot which involved sending flood alerts to local leaders suggest that women local leaders had higher recall of receiving and disseminating them to villagers. It seemed like the women leaders paid more attention to floods than men leaders, said Maulik Jagnani, Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Colorado, one of the other Principal Investigators of the study. Exploring the gender-specific impacts of such components in the alert delivery model can help identify ways to make these systems truly integrated and inclusive.

Anjana Kumari herself joined the effort during the 2022 monsoon season while she was pregnant to alert people in her community to imminent floods.

Her experience in the program suggests that building trust among community members requires time. She had the support of her husband, family, and other women in the community, yet her participation in the project wasnt without some resistance. The villagers used to taunt me and my family initially, she said. It took some time for them to trust and pay heed to what I was saying in the village. Ultimately, though, Kumari feels that it has been gratifying for her to be of service to her community.

The assessment of researchers backs Kumari up. We really needed women to reach women, Pande said.

The authors wish to thank Sathia Chakrapani, Advait Moharir, Surya Ravindran, Rajesh Sarma, and project Field-Managers for conducting interviews in Bihar

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Insights on the cross-sections of gender and climate vulnerability - Yale University

Plans to discontinue the Iowa Youth Risk Behavior Survey and a new barrier for surveying Iowa students pose a threat to data collected on youth behaviors, advocates say, specifically young transgender Iowans.

The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has no plans to administer the Youth Risk Behavior Survey this academic year, the first time since the survey started in 1991.

In a letter sent to Youth Risk Behavior Survey advisory committee members, Robert Kruse, the state medical director for the Iowa Department of HHS, announced Iowa will not participate in the 2023 Center for Disease Control and Preventions (CDC) youth risk behavior survey.

The Iowa Department of HHS will not be participating in the CDCs Youth Risk Behavior Survey in 2023 in order to focus our efforts on maximizing the state administered Iowa Youth Survey (IYS) and improving survey participation, Kruses Jan. 27 letter to YRBS advisory committee members said.

The nationwide survey overseen by the CDC is administered every two years and asks students about their behaviors and relationships with authority figures, drugs, alcohol, sexual activity and gambling, to name a few.

Although students in Iowa will still be offered the IYS, they can not take it unless a parent has seen the survey in advance and given permission for their student to take it.

Senate File 496, signed into law by Gov. Kim Reynolds on May 26,requires that students must receive permission from their parents before taking a survey at school. The law prevents students from taking surveys designed to assess the students mental, emotional or physical health that is not required by state or federal law without first acquiring the written consent of the students parent or guardian.

Parents must receive at least seven days notice of the survey, as well as a copy of the survey.

The law also bans school library books containing written or visual sex acts, prohibits schools from teaching about gender identity or sexual orientation before sixth grade, prohibits a student from using a name or pronoun than they were given at birth and prevents teachers from knowingly providing false or misleading information on a childs gender identity to their parents.

Jenn Turner, chapter chair for the Polk County Moms For Liberty, sees student surveys as a way for young people to get ideas about things they may not have thought about before.

We have found that many parents are not aware of what questions are being asked, Turner said. It ranges from what vegetables you eat to how many sexual partners to if you have considered suicide for children as young as 11. Some parents may determine that these questions are too mature, or cover topics their children are not ready for or do not understand.

Turner and Moms For Liberty support the recent law change, saying that it gives control to parents and allows for more transparency about what is going on in school.

Parents are the number one advocates for their children, Turner said. They should ultimately be making these decisions for their children. This law provides another tool to help parents understand what is presented to their children in school.

Advocates of the IYS say this law will limit participation and usable data. The extra step of taking home a permission slip and having it signed and returned to a classroom will keep some students from taking the survey, in addition to parents who do not permit their children to take the survey.

Anne Discher, executive director of Common Good Iowa and member of the Iowa YRBS advisory committee,acknowledges permission from parents during school registration as reasonable but believes useful data could be harder to collect with permission required for individual surveys throughout the year.

Parental permission could skew results in another way, according to Discher.

Certainly one might assume that the types of parents who would opt out might have things in common, Discher said. It could skew the survey and I think generally speaking the concern would be that participation would be so low you might not get useful data anyway.

In a Feb. 23 committee meeting for Senate File 496, State Sen. Herman Quirmbach raised a potential unintended consequence he sees with parental permission.

The unintended consequence of that may be to protect child molesters, Quirmbach, D-Ames, said. If a survey to a student asking about that students mental state or their social state, if the parent can deny their student the ability to participate in that survey, then an abusive parent can use that denial to help shield them from any consequence of their child abuse.

The surveys are anonymous, but survey data could skew if Quirmbachs speculation is correct, ultimately affecting future legislation and policy decisions.

Surveys like the risk behavior survey and the IYS are used by health departments, educators, lawmakers, doctors and community organizations to make policy decisions, direct campaigns and give direction to research.

The most recent risk behavior survey asked students about their gender identity; the IYS did not.

According to Discher, one of the goals of the Department of HHS in the past was to increase participation in student surveys to allow for the disaggregation of data.

It was a strong goal to be able to disaggregate it by race and ethnicity, for example, or by LGBTQ+ status, Discher said. The conversations we had always had were how can we get more schools to participate so we can have better data for subgroups.

Eventually, there was a sense of pushback contrary to the former beliefs and goals of the department, Discher says.

I find that this pushback which came from somewhere in the department or maybe not in the department, Discher said. I dont know where the push for all of this came from, but it is very much counter to all of the work that we had seen the department do up to this point, which was try to get more data, better data, to disaggregate the data so they could really understand what was happening with youth in Iowa.

According to Kruses letter to the committee, the Iowa Youth Survey will be revised, but the revisions are not currently public, if finished. It is unclear if the IYS will enable disaggregation of data for students who identify as transgender.

In advance of IYS in the fall of 2023, HHS will conduct a comprehensive review of survey administration, Kruse said. Most importantly, we are reviewing the analysis-to-action strategy and how HHS can tailor the data collection to inform how we meet the needs of Iowa youth, families, schools and communities.

Without the Iowa youth risk behavior survey, and if the IYS is not revised to include a question about gender identity, disaggregating data for trans youth will not be possible.

I find it sad that thats a piece of data that we are going to lose, Discher said. I find it kind of cynical that the state Legislature took all of these moves to make life worse, in particular for trans kids. To deny them gender-affirming care, to make them feel less like theyre an important member of their community and now we arent going to collect data on mental health for that group.

Although the letter sent to YRBS committee members stated Iowa would not participate in the risk behavior survey to focus efforts on maximizing the IYS participation, the survey switch-up feels more intentional than maximizing efforts, according to Discher.

It is very hard for me to look at it and not understand it as part of a larger anti-trans push in our state, Discher said. In the Legislature, we passed a lot of very punitive, harmful bills and now were going to stop collecting data on the well-being of the kids that theyre harming. Did anyone sit and think of it in that exact way? I dont know, but its very hard to not interpret it that way.

The 2021, IYS did include a question asking students their sexual orientation, with answer options of straight, gay or lesbian, bisexual, another identity or not sure.

The survey was first administered in 1991, with 26 states participating. Survey participation peaked at 47 four times; 2009, 2011, 2013 and 2015.

Iowa will be one of seven states not participating in the survey in 2023, joining Colorado, Idaho, Florida, Minnesota, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming.

The reasoning for participation varies from state to state and many states have their own survey as a replacement or in addition to the CDCs survey.

According to CDC.gov, the youth risk behavior data helps health departments, educators, lawmakers, doctors and community organizations to inform school and community programs, communications campaigns and other efforts. The survey measures health-related behaviors and experiences that may lead to death and disability among youth and adults.

Although the IYS asks similar questions as the risk behavior survey, IYS is only taken statewide, so results cannot be easily compared among other states. Data from the IYS, though, can be broken up into smaller regions of Iowa, compared to the risk behavior survey, which gives data for youth in the state as a whole.

The national survey only reports state-level data which makes it impossible to identify areas of the state with the greatest needs, Alex Carfrae, public information officer for the Iowa Department of HHS said in an email response to the Iowa Capital Dispatch.

IYS data is reported and analyzed at multiple jurisdiction levels, allowing more specific, targeted decisions to be made for specific areas such as counties, judicial districts and Area Education Agencies.

The two surveys have a history in Iowa, with the youth risk behavior survey taken every other year since 1991 and the Iowa youth survey taken every other year since 1999.

The IYS is answered by students in grades 6, 8 and 11, where the youth risk behavior survey has only been offered to students in grades 9-12. The CDC does offer a middle school version of the youth risk behavior survey, but Iowa has never participated.

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Parental permission, survey opt out will affect data on young Iowans ... - Iowa Capital Dispatch

Make peace with solitude. Eckhart Tolle

Fifteen years.

Thats how long it had been since I was single when my marriage ended. No wonder I had to ask myself the question.

Who the hell am I now that Im on my own?.

Being single again after a long-term relationship or marriage ends is an extremely disorientating feeling. At times, its almost as if you dont recognize yourself.

When my marriage ended, I had to sit with the broken pieces of myself, wondering where to from here. Sometimes, the silence was deafening.

Our custody schedule was 50/50, week on and week off. So every second week, I had to come home from work and do the slow walk around the house. Peering into my kids bedrooms and feeling like a complete failure.

All my negative self-talk would rain down on my head.

Guilt.

Loneliness.

Uncertainty.

Self-doubt.

In the early days, it wasnt unusual for me to spend some time in the hallway crying and trying not to fall apart entirely.

I didnt know how to be single. I didnt know how to be alone.

Before my marriage, Id had long periods of being single, which wasnt a big deal. I had many friends I could catch up with, or I lived with roommates who provided company.

Divorce is so different because you go from years of having a house full of noise and kids to absolute nothingness. Most of your friends are still married or in new relationships.

Initally, youre emotionally raw, so trying to socialize with the people you used to see as a couple can trigger feelings of shame that you were not able to hold your family together while they were.

Often, this is when people start to think about meeting someone else. It feels like the cure for feelings of loneliness and despair. Many of us believe that being in a new relationship is the natural next step after one ends.

But theres a risk you take when you try to date too soon after a significant relationship ends; beware the rebound!

Rebound relationships are built on a foundation of neediness rather than genuine connection. When youre going through a divorce, you are still reeling from the emotional upheaval, and the need for companionship can be overwhelming.

Rebound relationships are a way of masking pain. They relieve the overwhelming loneliness that blindsides us after being in a partnership for so long.

These feelings can drive you into a relationship for the wrong reasons rather than an honest desire to begin building a solid and healthy relationship based on mutual love and respect.

The problem with rebounds is that they are only temporary relief. Imagine if you broke your leg and someone offered you morphine but didnt set the broken bone back in place.

Youd feel good while youre on the morphine, but once it wears off, the pain of your broken leg is still there, only its worse because you havent correctly set it.

Its similar when you try to mask loneliness and a fear of being alone by entering a relationship without truly knowing what you want or, more importantly, what youre realistically able to offer to someone.

This doesnt mean that you cant entertain the idea of dating again. But to keep yourself and others safe from more emotional chaos, you should be clear about what youre prepared to give someone.

Dont jump in without being honest with yourself and the person (people?) you are dating about what you want.

If you only want a physical relationship, being upfront is ok. When I was first divorced, it was music to my ears when I dated someone who told me he wasnt looking for anything serious because I knew that I wasnt in a position to make a serious commitment either.

We both agreed that it was only casual and when we parted ways a few months later, we maintained a friendship.

You may hold back from being honest with someone because you think that theyll reject you, or because you dont want to hurt their feelings by admitting that you only see them being in your life for the short-term.

But by being upfront, you get the opportunity to see if they want the same as you. If they dont, trust me, its much better than trying to extricate yourself from an awkward situation further down the track.

Not only that but if you are not upfront and that person is triggered emotionally by feelings of rejection, it can turn bad quickly.

This happened to a good friend of mine a few years ago. He was dating a woman who he considered casual, although theyd never had a conversation about what they both were to each other. In the meantime, he was still talking to other women on a dating app.

One evening she saw a message come up on his phone from another woman and she accused him of cheating. She took his phone and bit it so hard that the screen cracked. He eventually had to call the police because she refused to leave his house.

Granted, this is an extreme case. But it highlights how indecision and miscommunication can put you in an emotionally charged situation. By being clear with the people you are dating, you are avoiding putting yourself in a position that you may not be ready to deal with.

Suppose your relationship has ended within the last two years. In that case, the chances are high that you are still carrying a lot of unresolved feelings and thoughts about your experience, which could impact the quality of the relationship youre trying to create now.

Two years is obviously not a timeline that is set in stone. Some people will take less time to fully heal and some will take more.

Ive unintentionally used someone as a rebound and been someone elses rebound. Both feel bad.

I felt guilty when I had to end the first one and completely heartbroken when I realized the second one had used me. That one took a very long time to get over and put my recovery back by years.

In an ideal world, we would all be equipped to face our solitude and loneliness without reaching for others to try and take away our pain and discomfort.

The reality is that most of us will want to connect with someone else and date again before we feel truly sure about the type of commitment that we are wanting.

You can avoid the pitfalls of ending up in an unhealthy relationship by being intentional and mindful about what you are looking for. Take some time to reflect on what you hope to gain by entering into another relationship.

Write down in detail what you want before you put yourself out there. Casual? Committed? Purely physical? Friends only?

Get clear before you go out there, and you can protect yourself from the trap of a painful rebound.

This post was previously published on Carol Madden Coaching.

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Is it a Rebound? Get Clear Before You Date Again After Divorce. - The Good Men Project

The gathering this afternoon just before the blessing and dedication of the new, 30,000-square-foot AdventHealth medical office building on Palm Coast Parkway, next to the new hospital. The hospital will be dedicated on Aug. 2. ( FlaglerLive)

It was not quite the grand opening of the new hospital on Palm Coast Parkway just yet. Thatll happen in early August. But AdventHealth Palm Coast hosted a prelude-like opening this afternoon as the medical office building next to the hospital was blessed and dedicated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by physicians, hospital executives and others.

The 30,000-square-foot medical office building opens to patients in two weeks, its specialists including surgeons, orthopedics, gastroenterology, urology, GYN, and many other specialties that were still working through, Wally De Aquino, CEO of the Palm Coast Parkway hospital, said.

De Aquino recalled how not so long ago, in September 2021, hospital personnel had gathered on the freshly leveled construction grounds to record what would be a virtual groundbreaking ceremony: the Covid pandemic was still raging, making large gatherings unwise. But we are blessed today to be in person here celebrating the opening of this beautiful building, which will be the cornerstone for this campus, De Aquino said.

Together with the new hospital the new campus will employ from 300 to 500 people, in addition to the 1,100 at the original campus on State Road 100. The new hospital will add 24 emergency-room beds to the 30 on State Road 100, where the emergency department tends to be overworked. The new hospitals 99 beds will double the number of hospital beds in Palm Coast.

This medical office building is just the beginning of a journey and we are dedicated to expanding our services and reaching even greater heights in the future, Denyse Bales-Chubb, president and CEO of AdentHealth Palm Coast, said.

Ney Ramirez, staff chaplain at AdventHealth Palm Coast, blessed the new building before the ribbon-cutting, praying that it may be used as a healing place for all people in this community, and that its staffers are kept safe and serve as an instrument of healing.

How does an organization hire 300 to 500 people in an era of historically low unemployment? De Aquino said the hospital has been recruiting since last August, through fall and winter. We feel that weve been blessed and I think it has to do with the reputation of AdventHealth on top of Flagler County is a great place, right? he said. So our recruitment was very intentional. Every time there was a snowstorm during the winter up north we were intentional in putting pictures and showing the beach and bragging about that.

Positions that were harder to fill were posted almost a year ago. In terms of leadership, 90 percent has been recruited, 85 percent of the clinical staff hasmost of those already workingand over 70 percent of the non-clinical staff has been recruited. But the hospital did not have data indicating how many of those new hires were the product of local schools. We did hire a few students from high school because they want to be a tech or they just want a lower level clinical position so they can learn more, De Aquino said. But I dont have numbers.

One of the new surgeons at the Palm Coast Parkway campus is Dr. Jessica Marshall, the countys only female surgeon. She could have chosen to practice anywhere in the country, but chose Palm Coast. The reason: she grew up in Ormond Beach, went to Father Lopez High School in Volusia County, the University of South Florida and the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine in Bradenton.

I really wanted to be back closer to family and friends, especially because I had a baby last year, Marshall said. So now that I have a family, I wanted to be able to raise her around her grandma, grandpa, cousins. Marshall will be based at the new hospital but will, like other physicians, likely toggle between the two Palm Coast facilities as needed.

The recruiting process also provided a window into what recruits were looking for. Many were just interested in good employment, good pay with benefits. Others were looking for opportunities for themselves and their spouse. The vast majority, De Aquino said, were interested in good schools, good security, and good outdoor activitiesbiking, golfing, trails, the beach.

Technologically, the new building will be on the Epic system, a data-sharing network that enables patients from any health care network participating in EPIC to have their records available to local medical personnel, thus overcoming the previously unforgiving obstacles of accessing records from different locations. (Epic says it has the records of 305 million patients globally, including about 37 to 38 percent of patients in the United States.)

AdventHealth officials said the focus right now is to get the medical office building and the new hospital opened, but the company has historically had its eyes set on the next project, the next expansion, the next horizon. There were no disclosures to that effect today, but a few hints.

We will be looking to expand into our northern markets, thats one reason why we picked this hospital here, Bales-Chubb said, because as the patients continue to grow up north in the Palm Coast area, we need to have facilities that are available to them to access that care in a timely manner. We know that the county keeps expanding north, and well be looking more as we continue to serve our community.

In 2018 AdventHealth, then known as Flagler Hospital, was planning to open a stand-alone emergency room at Matanzas Woods Parkway and I-95. Those plans were quietly shelved as the company opted to go bigger, with the new hospitala move that in essence preempted Flagler Health+, the parent company of Flagler Hospital in St. Augustine, from following through with building its own hospital at U.S. 1 and Palm Coast Parkway.

Flagler Health + had bought that acreage at the end of 2021. A year later, those plans were dead, and Flagler Health was merging with UF Shands. That fervid activity reflects the competitive nature of the health care industry as various companies seek to protect and expand their markets. Flagler Health+ has made inroads in Flagler, but the county remains AdventHealth territory.

AdventHealth still has its eyes on the north end. We will be evaluating what the communities surrounding those areas that we identify as possibilities and seeing what their needs would be, Bales-Chubb said, whether that be an offsite ED [emergency department], perhaps an ambulatory surgery center, perhaps a medical office building thats going to house more physicians for them to access. The aim is to limit traveling hauls for patients by providing services as near to them as possible.

It will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Individual health care companies like AdventHealth have no authority to simply build a trauma center. That has to go through the states Certificate of Need, a regulatory process that determines where trauma centers may be located, based on population density. Because those are heavily subsidized by the state for the care that they provide, you know, they tend to have those in more urban areas, Bales-Chubb said. So Flagler County does not yet qualify for its own center. We have partnerships with those hospitals, so that if there is a trauma, it gets transferred to that hospital immediately.

Maternity wards are a different story. We continue to do market analysis in our community on a yearly basis to determine what the needs are, Bales-Chubb said. While we are one of the fastest growing counties in the state of Florida right now, our fastest growing demographic is the 65-plus age group. So theres just not the need at this point in time for adding those services because they would be a totally different line of service.

Bales-Chubb oversees AdventHealths operations in Palm Coast, Flagler County and St. Johns. De Aquino will be reporting to her, in what will be his first role as CEO.

Its mixed feelings, right? Its excitement, we want to make sure that were doing the right thing for our community, and also I need to be open-minded, to always continue to learn, the always modest De Aquino said. He recalled when he first started with AdventHealth locally in 2009, back when David Ottati was the CEO of the hospital and the landscape looked very different.

De Aquino worked locally for about five years, then took an assignment in the network in Orlandobut always commuted, with his home and family still in Flagler: his attachment to the community hasnt waned. Its a great feeling to be able to grow with a wonderful company where you live. This is where my kids were born. This is where my kids are going to school.

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AdventHealth Dedicates New Medical Office Building on Palm Coast ... - FlaglerLive.com

When Danielle McCamey, DNP, CRNP, founded DNPs of Color in 2020, she wanted to create an organization that could move the needle in terms of diversity, equity and inclusion in healthcare not just offer more lip service to reiterate the challenges affecting patients in marginalized communities.

Dr. McCamey, assistant dean of clinical practice and relationships at Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, and CEO and president of DOC, which has 2,000 members around the world, said the group's vision of "a beautiful, diverse community doctoral nursing practice" is rooted in networking, mentorship and advocacy.

"Networking is important because of the way our society works; it's about who you know, who can help you get to certain places," Dr. McCamey told Becker's. "Additionally, we know the value of mentorship is gold. Mentorship is the answer to the million dollar question about how to be successful. Having someone that you aspire to be like by your side, and knowing they can help you along the way, is key in all aspects in all phases of your life and career."

The voices of nurses of color have been "silenced" or have been "underrepresented" in healthcare, she said, noting she wants DOC to help change that. She added that, with the DNP being a newer degree, "a lot of healthcare organizations don't understand the value of the degree as a whole."

DOC's third pillar, advocacy, is where the organization can really highlight the value DNPs bring to healthcare. "We believe that while we are advocating to encourage nurses to get their DNP, we can also be resources to support those nurses who are already working toward the degree," Dr. McCamey said.

Becker's spoke with Dr. McCamey about what DOC is doing to lift the voices of DNPs of color into conversations where decisions are being made. It starts with building a more diverse nursing workforce and continues directly into hospitals, where they can be patients' "cultural ambassadors" who truly epitomize DEI in real time.

Editor's note: Responses have been edited for clarity and brevity.

Question: From the DNP's perspective, why does DEI "representation" matter?

Danielle McCamey: You can't be what you don't see. If there aren't individuals of diverse backgrounds in particular spaces where we need diversity, there's no inspiration for nurses or people who want to enter the field to pursue doctoral studies. There's no belief that you could also be in my role. As a dean, I get countless emails from students who are so inspired just by my presence of being a Black woman in a leadership role.

Q: How is DOC encouraging nurses of color to pursue their DNP?

DM: Currently, our organization is centered around nurses who have already earned their DNP. However, we just recently started being more intentional with our programming to highlight the value of being DNP-prepared. We are providing space, particularly at our conferences, for those who have the degree to share their scholarly knowledge.

We also want to demonstrate the depth and breadth of DNPs and what we can do from academia to clinical practice to leadership. We are focusing on incorporating opportunities for scholarships. We are building mentorship opportunities for those who have an interest in doctoral studies to make sure they have the support they need to decide if they will become a DNP or a PhD.

Q: For patients of color, does the concept of "mirroring" provide a benefit?

DM: There's a lot of literature that supports the idea that when healthcare professionals look like their patients in diverse communities, it actually saves lives. It decreases rates of mortality and morbidity.

Also, there is a connection that comes from meeting patients where they are. There's some unspoken language and understanding that you can't have if you don't see patients through that lens or see them from that perspective. It comes from having it as part of your own lived experience.

I can think of countless stories, from my career as a nurse, where we had an all-white medical staff, who didn't reflect what the patient population looks like, coming in explaining things to Black patients. Once they leave, the patients would look at me as the Black nurse practitioner and ask me to explain exactly what was said.

Many patients of color are labeled as "difficult" for refusing care. That's a defense mechanism. The patients just haven't quite understood what was said because we haven't met them where they are in terms of their cultural language, understandings and considerations. I've had to act as a cultural ambassador to explain to patients what was being said to explain the recommendations being made.

They are better able to feel trust when they know someone really understands them. I have the demeanor that they can relate to maybe I'm not as aloof as the medical professionals who came in but didn't take the time to connect.

Q: DEI is a hot topic right now. Do you think the needle can be moved in terms of diversity, or is it lip service?

DM: The fact that the social and political events that have underscored the importance of having DEI initiatives has made it more comfortable for us. It allows us to amplify some of the issues and the experiences of being a person of color.

Everyone has a DEI statement, to some degree. Some organizations are trying to make deliberate, transformative changes and for others it's lip service. For me, something is better than nothing. When an organization has the concept of DEI attached to their mission, it offers a good foundation for us to start building and really holding people accountable to their words.

Q: How do you see DOC helping to advance health equity?

DM: Just by our very existence, we're able to create a space for this growing body of nursing professionals who are highly educated and occupy many high-power positions. We are able to have our voices at the table from policy legislation to the boardroom in healthcare.

Many of us are still active in clinical practice. So we're able to focus on issues and put in evidence-based practices to improve them.

Newly graduated DNPs of color focused their projects on closing the gap and health inequities. Many focused on historically racialized and marginalized communities. For example, one initiative was around going to barber shops and talking about the importance of colon cancer screenings. Another one involved creating a farmer's market in the local laundromat because there was a food desert. One was talking about managing racism in the workplace. There are tons of ideas and innovations coming out of this budding group of professionals that are specifically targeting health inequities.

We also found out that 60 percent of our members had not published their work, so we are really encouraging our community to get published. We're creating mentorship programs so that they can get their DNP projects to manuscript and ready for submission. These projects are grounded in translational science and really meet the needs of the current climate of healthcare and how we manage the patients and communities.

Q: What is your goal for DOC in the longer term?

DM: Having a doctoral degree elevates you to different places and spaces and tables and communities and networks that typically have a lot of power and influence. And for me, that's important because if we're in the room, at the table, where the decisions are being made, we can be representing diverse communities with diverse voices. We will be able to have an impact and help to shape the policies and procedures about how we practice and how we care for patients.

My hope is that, as we grow as an organization, we continue to foster the next group of diverse leaders, including academic administrators people who will be in positions of influence to help amplify this voice that either has not been present in these spaces, has been silenced or has been invisible.

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'You can't be what you don't see': How DNPs of Color is amplifying ... - Becker's Hospital Review