MPHA’s virtual Annual Conference & Meeting: Creating Health Equity by Building Community Power will be held on November 16 from 10 AM to 1 PM! We hope you will be able to join us for this educational and inspiring event. Working together, we can create a healthier and more equitable Massachusetts where everyone can thrive. Reserve your spot today!

Keynote Speaker

MPHA is thrilled to announce that Xavier Morales, Executive Director of the Praxis Project, will be the keynote speaker at our Annual Conference & Meeting. He will be discussing the new Social Determinants of Public Health framework recently developed by the Praxis Project, as well as their focus on community power building as a strategy for achieving health equity.

While many traditional SDOH frameworks lack the explicit naming of systems of oppression that cause disparities in health determinants. Praxis’ framework aims to incorporate systems of oppression and to highlight the root causes of these determinants from a justice and community power perspective.

Xavier is a longtime advocate for community-driven initiatives to achieve health equity and environmental justice. Taking an expansive view of what constitutes good health and community wellness, he works in partnership to enable opportunities across the social determinants of health.

Panel: Power Building on the Ground

Inequity is rooted in the imbalance of power – who has power and who is able to use that power. Knowing that, how can we build community power, in order to address these imbalances and create a more equitable society? How can that work translate into achieving greater health equity? This will be the focus of our panel, Power Building on the Ground, which will follow the keynote presentation. Panelists will include Project Director Megan Gaydos of Human Impact Partners (HIP) and Executive Director Dwaign Tyndal of Alternatives for Community & Environment (ACE), two organizations that are leading in this area. They will share insights and lessons learned from HIP’s Power-Building Partnerships for Health project and ACE’s work organizing residents of Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood around environmental justice issues, including air quality and transportation.

Workshop: The Power of Student Activism 

How can students become more active as participants in the movement for greater health equity? How can colleges and universities facilitate this work? Find out at our workshop on The Power of Student Activism, cohosted by Neil Maniar, President and Associate Chair, Department of Health Sciences at Northeastern University; and Craig Andrade, Associate Dean of Public Health at Boston University. Additional panelists will include students/alumni of both universities, who will share their own experiences as activists.

This workshop will begin after the main speakers are done presenting, starting at 1:30 pm and ending at 2:45 pm. It will feature an interactive format where attendees will be able to ask questions in real time. To sign up, click the student workshop box during the registration process.

Sponsors

Mobilizers

• Massachusetts Nurses Association

Benefactors

• Boston University School of Public Health
• Greater Lowell Health Alliance
• Quinsigamond Community College

Educators

• Regis College, School of Health Sciences, Undergraduate Public Health Program
• Suffolk University Master of Healthcare Administration (MHA) Program
• UMass Amherst School of Public Health & Health Sciences
• UMass Lowell Department of Public Health

Past Events

Click here to view past MPHA events