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Let’s Talk!
I’d love to hear your thoughts on my thoughts! Comment on any of my posts or contact me: [email protected]
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Corn, Community, and Public Health
Public health asserts that what affects the health of one, affects the health of all. Sometimes, a story helps illustrate a theoretical truth. There was a farmer who grew excellent quality corn. Every year he won the award for the best grown corn. One year a newspaper reporter interviewed him and learned something interesting about…
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Dancing with a bear…
Our hearts are heavy. With every report of loss and devastation from the latest climate catastrophe, my sadness—and sometimes even despair—deepens. In 1970, during my first semester at the University of Colorado, I took a course where we studied a book that forecasted the very ecological disaster we are living through today. While most people…
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An invitation to conversation
I invite you to join in conversations with me and with others. You can comment on individual posts and/or contact me .
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We Americans?
Throughout history, cultures have often defined what is considered ‘normal,’ ‘beautiful,’ and ‘valuable.’ These definitions can dictate who belongs and who does not, often unconsciously. In the United States, this definition has traditionally centered around the white, able-bodied, heterosexual male of European descent, with everyone else deemed ‘not quite as good.’ Recognizing the harm this…
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Interview about running for APHA President-Elect
Sadie: Hello. My name is Sadie Holt and today I will be interviewing Jeanie Holt. I know you are a candidate for the President of the American Public Health Association, also known as the APHA. Why do you want to be President? Jeanie: Well, you know, Sadie, I love APHA. I have worked as a…
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Solidarity…and Fanfare for the Common Man
I’ve been reading Solidarity, a book by Leah Hunt-Hendrix and Astra Taylor. The authors “understand solidarity as the recognition of our inherent interconnectedness, an attempt to build bonds of commonality across our differences.” They analyze past and present solidarity movements to understand what distinguishes solidarity from other kinds of “movements”. Again and again across history…
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Is public health a turtle?
I had a conversation recently with my granddaughter who is 10. She asked about what I do and in the process of explaining public health to her I mentioned that we are non-partisan. She asked, “What does that mean?” I explained that it means we do not support a specific political party but, rather, policies…
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If life is not an adventure…
“If life is not an adventure it is hardly worth living.” Elizabeth Boyle This quote got me thinking about some of my recent adventures I love adventure! This summer we took our son and two granddaughters camping on a beautiful lake. The girls and I rented a pedal boat and decided we would pedal all…
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Consensus–How to do it well
I have used consensus decision-making for years and find that most people do not really have a good understanding of what this process is and how to make it work. I have to stop myself from groaning and rolling my eyes when someone says, “We should take a vote to see if we have consensus.”…
