Groundings

“I cannot do all the good the world needs but the world needs all the good I can do.” Jana Stanfield

Personal Strategic Map

There is so much to be done that one can get overwhelmed into inaction. A personal strategic plan helps me concentrate on the “good I can do”. My strategic plan focuses in three areas, my strategic portfolios. Underlying and supporting my life and work are the things I do for self-care, for tending the soul fires that keep me whole.

Deepen Community Capacity: In this portfolio, I focus on leadership models and practices that contribute to healthy, engaged communities. I study leadership, intentionally practice what I learn, and teach others from a foundation of knowledge and experience. The APHA policy statement, Reimagining Public Health Leadership for Equity, summarizes several of the models I have found most significant. I also draw on my years of experience facilitating meetings, especially using the consensus process.

Build Trust and Belonging: Trust and belonging begin with human interactions that communicate warmth, joy, and acceptance. Sometimes this is a fleeting but genuine smile when passing someone on the street. Trust and belonging grows with deepening relationships. In this portfolio I intentionally communicate acceptance in everyday interactions and I nurture many relationships to deeper trust and belonging.

Transform Systems: Much of my specific work is related to this portfolio. I facilitate strategic planning and equity planning with small nonprofit organizations. I am able to offer my time pro bono and believe that strengthening community organizations will lead to more engaged and healthy communities. I am increasingly aware that, as a privileged, white, able-bodied, heterosexual woman, I have a responsibility to work in solidarity with those most impacted by the inequities created and sustained by the dominate culture’s beliefs, values, and practices.

I also volunteer as a site visitor for the Public Health Accreditation Board which seeks “to advance and transform public health practice by championing performance improvement, strong infrastructure, and innovation.”

Tending My Soul Fires: I support the work of the portfolios by doing things I enjoy; doing things that both relax and energize me.

BioSketch

I am a skilled leader who focuses on consensus-building. As a leader, I facilitate collaborative planning and action. I listen attentively and communicate respect to everyone. I strive to be organized and knowledgeable. I love connecting with people and linking people with each other.

I have been a leader in a wide variety of settings for my entire life. From Girl Scouts and Youth Group, to League of Women Voters and the Religious Society of Friends, to directing a CDC grant and organizing community-based immunization campaigns, I have learned leadership skills and developed my own style. My leadership is based in the deep understanding that everyone has important perspectives to contribute. I facilitate sharing and respecting these perspectives and I guide groups to build consensus for moving forward.

I have been a life-long learner with bachelor degrees in cultural anthropology and nursing and master degrees in nursing and public health. In addition to these formal degrees, I have pursued in-depth learning in a variety of topics and settings. I speak Spanish, working consistently to improve my comprehension and fluency. I graduated from the Leadership New Hampshire program. Recently, I have studied emerging leadership models as an active member of a group which taught a Learning Institute workshop, Reimagining Public Health Leadership for Equity, at the APHA Annual Meeting in 2023.

I have worked in health care and public health for more than 30 years. For 10 years I worked as a clinical nurse in acute and long-term care settings. After moving into community health nursing, I directed a CDC grant to test diabetes prevention interventions in Latino communities and later directed programs to provide immunizations in schools and low-income neighborhoods.

I “retired from a paycheck” ten years ago and have continued to work actively to build healthy communities. For the past seven years, I have been consulting with nonprofit organizations on governance, strategic planning, and equity work. I have helped many organizations to find and articulate their strategic direction and to craft operating plans to pursue their strategic goals. Most of my efforts have focused on the APHA state affiliates and I have facilitated strategic planning with 23 affiliates to date. As a member of the APHA Executive Board, I served on the APHA Strategic Planning Committee for four years including one year as Chair of the Committee.

My commitment to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI) has been central to my public health career. My most recent work includes co-authoring the APHA Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Toolkit, serving on the on-going APHA Council of Affiliates JEDI workgroup, and facilitating JEDI assessment and action planning with small nonprofit organizations. The Toolkit assessment and the planning based on its results is central to every strategic planning effort I lead. I have consulted with organizations such as the Public Health Foundation and the National Board of Public Health Examiners to enhance their equity work.

I am also a site visitor for the Public Health Accreditation Board. I have participated in site visits to six local health departments, acting as the Chair for five of these teams. Reviewing documents and visiting health departments has given me broader perspectives on public health “on the ground.”

I live in a retirement community in Concord, New Hampshire, with my spouse of 52 years. I enjoy time with our five sons and their families including eight grandchildren. I also enjoy making music, gardening, and sewing.