32 new Ambassadors are leading by example to build a healthier Louisville
Ambassadors for Health in All Policies show how to make decisions through the lens of health
Media Contacts: Veronica Combs, 812-987-6076; Kelsie Smithson, 502-2437497
For Immediate Release: April 17, 2017
The Institute for Healthy Air Water and Soil is proud to announce the founding class of Ambassadors for Health in All Policies. These 32 community leaders represent businesses, schools and philanthropic organizations around the city. There are students, doctors, entrepreneurs, artists and poets in this class. The Ambassadors include Sadia Abdirahman, PACT In Action; Joe Franzen, Fern Creek High School; Lindsay Gargotto, Athena’s Sisters; Kent Oyler, Greater Louisville Inc; Yonbretta Stewart, Humana; Paul Varga, Brown-Forman, and Eddie Woods, LIFE Hope Center for a Safe Louisville. (Full list at the end of the release.)
There are three types of Ambassadors: students, business leaders and community leaders. These individuals understand the interconnections and interdependence among the many factors that influence human health. Each Ambassador is working in at least one of the eight areas of health represented the Circle of Health and Harmony:
- Cultural
- Environmental
- Financial
- Intellectual
- Nutritional
- Physical
- Psychological
- Spiritual
The Institute launched the Ambassadors for Health in All Policies to start a health in all policies movement and to build a well-grounded, long-term culture of health in Louisville said Christina Lee Brown, founder of the Institute for Healthy Air Water and Soil.
“We have selected thoughtful caring health leaders who are helping all of the individuals and institutions they work with to understand that all decisions must always be made through the lens of health,” said Christina. “Louisville’s founding Health in All Policy Ambassadors represent our city’s circle of harmony and health in all eight dimensions of health. It is our hope that Louisville’s newly designated health in All Policies ambassadors will work together in new kinds
of innovative partnerships so as to have Louisville recognized nationally as a model Health in All Policies Urban laboratory.”
The Institute’s work is inspired by Aruni Bhatnagar’s work in understanding the connections between human health and the health of the environment. Aruni states that while many factors contribute to the poor health of Kentuckians, there is little doubt that living in clean, health conducive environments will help in significantly addressing the problem.
“To understand the extent of the problem in greater depth, we must assess how urban environments affect human health,” he said. “Based on this understanding, we have to empower citizen scientists to exert greater control of their environment and to develop new paradigms for urban living in which clean, healthy, and harmonious environments foster human health and promote human flourishing.”
The Public Health Institute defines health in all policies as a collaborative approach to improving the health of all people by incorporating health considerations into decision-making across all sectors, such as; government, corporate, and non-profits.
The Institute will host a reception for the new Ambassadors for Health in All Policies at 5:00pm on Tuesday, April 18 at the Frazier History Museum, 829 West Main Street, Louisville. The public is welcome to join us to learn more about the program, the Ambassadors and their work. Nominations for a second class of Ambassadors will be accepted through the summer on the Institute’s website. The second class of Ambassadors will be announced in the fall to coincide with a Health in All Policies Summit.
2017 Ambassadors for Health in All Policies
- Sadia Abdirahman, PACT In Action
- Susan Buchino, PhD, Commonwealth Institute
- Ebonique Burns, Russell Walks
- Ben Chandler, Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky
- Linda Danna, WHAS-TV
- Pam Darnall, Family & Children’s Place
- Keisha Dorsey, Humana
- Hannah Drake, IDEAS xLab
- Theo Edmonds, IDEAS xLab
- George Fischer, Family Community Clinic
- Jackie Floyd, Center for Neighborhoods
- Michael Fraade, Jewish Community Center of Louisville
- Joe Franzen, Fern Creek High School
- Lindsay Gargotto, Athena’s Sisters
- Chanda Glover, National Black MBA Association – Kentucky Chapter
- Ali Haider, MD, World Sight Inc.
- Rev. William D. Hammer, St. Margaret Mary Church and School
- Nasra Hussein, PACT In Action Chris Lavenson, Chef Space
- CorettaMcAllister, Office of Mayor Greg Fischer
- Nora Miodrag, Louisville Girls Leadership
- Michael Robert Olsen, The Mike Olsen Project
- Kent Oyler, Greater Louisville Inc
- Lyndon Pryor, Louisville Urban League
- Brittney Ridge, Metro United Way
- Julia Robinson, Russell Walks
- Stacie Steinbock, University of Louisville
- Yonbretta Stewart, Humana
- Charlotte Gay Stites, MD, Smoketown Family Wellness Center
- Pat Sturtzel, Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts
- Paul Varga, Brown-Forman
- Eddie Woods, LIFE Hope Center for a Safe Louisville
