By Amber D. Smith, M.Ed, PMP on June 24, 2022
Project Manager
KC Health Collaborative
This past weekend we celebrated Juneteenth. A new holiday to many Americans, considering it’s the second year of it being a national holiday. However, growing up as a little Black Baptist girl in Kansas City — my family and my Sunday/Vacation Bible School teachers anchored us in knowing why Juneteenth was our day of liberation. […]
By Sen. John Rizzo on June 9, 2022
Missouri State Senator
Missouri Senate (Independence)
Medicaid expansion hangs by a thread and the Missouri Senate is the last line of defense in protecting health care for working families. Two years ago, Missouri voters went to the polls and overwhelming passed a constitutional amendment to expand Medicaid coverage to people who were earning a paycheck but unable to afford private health […]
By Nathan Madden on June 8, 2022
Policy Impact Strategist
Health Forward Foundation
One thing that can’t be debated:Power never changed on its own, you got to make it.That’s why community is so sacredThat’s the symbol that we make when we raise fists ~Brother Ali, Letter to My Countrymen These lyrics are from a song that moves and centers me, personally and professionally. Brother Ali, one of my […]
By Nathan Madden on June 2, 2022
Policy Impact Strategist
Health Forward Foundation
The regular 2022 legislative sessions in Kansas and Missouri have concluded. At Health Forward, our work is centered on supporting and building inclusive, powerful, and healthy communities by prioritizing people who experience the greatest injustices in health outcomes. Throughout the legislative session, we worked to remove or address these injustices through our leadership, advocacy, and […]
By Anne Foley Rauth, MBA on May 26, 2022
Marketing and Development Director
Mercy and Truth Medical Missions
Rubiselda was late. Twenty-two minutes late. I was nervous. The local news station with camera crew and news anchor were waiting for Rubiselda Velazquez, a patient of Mercy and Truth Medical Missions. They had just finished their interview with the executive director of Pharmacy of Grace, the first freestanding nonprofit pharmacy in the Kansas City […]
By Gina Chiala on May 19, 2022
Executive Director,
Heartland Center for Jobs and Freedom
It is 2016 and Kenya Banks is standing in front of Division 27 at the Jackson County Courthouse. She doesn’t have an attorney; she doesn’t have a plan. She only knows that her landlord is suing her for eviction and she is hoping the court will exercise some mercy. Kenya, a lifelong fast-food worker, fell […]
By Sharla Smith, Ph.D., M.P.H on May 5, 2022
Assistant Professor
University of Kansas School of Medicine
Growing up in rural Arkansas, I started my career as a babysitter because I loved children and dreamed of becoming an OB-GYN and delivering babies. But after earning a biology degree from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and having a son to care for, I discovered a new path — public health — […]
By Nathan Madden on May 5, 2022
Policy Impact Strategist
Health Forward Foundation
Health Forward is supporting and building inclusive, powerful, and healthy communities by prioritizing people who experience the greatest injustices in health outcomes. We are working to remove those injustices through our leadership, advocacy, and resources. Our current Kansas and Missouri policy agendas outline the unique challenges that each state faces and seeks to address state-centric […]
By Christie Briscoe Zarkovich on April 29, 2022
Chief Administrative, Financial, and Investment Officer
Health Forward Foundation
I began my career at the New York Mercantile Exchange when futures and options were still traded in open outcry ‘pits’ (like in the movie Trading Spaces). This experience taught me not only about the power of investment markets but also about the ever-changing nature of these complex markets. My move to invest primarily on […]
By Shalese Clay on April 14, 2022
Program Manager
Cradle KC
Cradle Kansas City is a collective impact initiative created to address infant mortality in the Kansas City region. This collective gathers partners who work in the family support sector, including maternal child health organizations, medical systems, education, housing, and transportation services. These organizations and individuals work to uplift the voice of the community and provide […]
