2017 Annual Report

Dear Friend and Partner

Dear Friend and Partner,

MPHA’s many victories are the direct result of our hard work forging partnerships and building coalitions with leaders in communities around the Commonwealth and on Beacon Hill to advance policy and legislation that sustain healthy communities and tackle racial inequities.

We champion policies with peculiar names such as the Massachusetts Food Trust and the Prevention and Wellness Trust Fund. But, at the end of the day, MPHA’s work is not about policy or legislation — it’s about people and how our work directly and positively improves the health of communities across the Commonwealth. With this in mind, MPHA presents its 2017 campaigns and Annual Report through the words and stories of our partners on the ground who are accelerators of, and allies to, our shared work bridging the health equity divide.

Looking to 2018, our collective efforts toward racial justice and health equity won’t be deterred ! Working with our partners to bring an authentic, strong community voice to health care transformation, through our newly launched Alliance for Community Health Integration, MPHA will harness the power of public health to address the root cause of inequity, the social determinants of health such as housing, transportation, economic stability and so much more.

MPHA counts on your collaboration to move this important work forward. Thank you for never wavering in 2017.

We hope you enjoy these personal testimonials…let us know!

Warmly,

Jodie Silverman
Interim Executive Director

Jessica Collins
President

Your stories, our campaigns

Accessing healthy and affordable food

Big chains do not come to Lawrence because they don’t see the value. There are over 90 corner stores in the city of Lawrence that are always full because people can’t get to the supermarkets. Public transportation is not reliable or accessible, and when you do get on the bus, you can only get on with the stuff you can carry. The Massachusetts Food Trust will help the local bodegas, where many residents buy the majority of groceries and meals for their families, expand their healthy food options. It will also motivate supermarkets to come to Lawrence.

Lesly Melendez,
Groundwork Lawrence

Championed by MPHA, the Massachusetts Food Trust will use capital funds to seed new and expanded healthy food retailers and local food enterprises in low- and moderate- income communities throughout the Commonwealth. Moving forward, MPHA and its partners will work vigorously to make sure that the Food Trust is implemented, spurring significant private investment, driving economic growth, and creating strong local job opportunities.

Leveraging community-clinical partnerships

Each individual that has participated in a Prevention and Wellness Trust Fund (PWTF) program has worked to prevent developing a chronic health condition by taking matters into his or her own hands. Enabling people to take charge of their health is what the Prevention and Wellness Trust Fund is all about, and why it is so important to the South Shore YMCA.

Katelyn Szafir,
South Shore YMCA

Through the Prevention Trust, I have the opportunity to change people’s lives in truly sustainable ways. You can’t send people back to the environment that caused their health problems in the first place and expect to see a change. PWTF enables me and other community health workers to expand upon the clinical provider’s work to help patients better understand their health and the resources available to them. CHWs working through PWTF support people to address the underlying causes of their poor health.

Oscar De La Rosa,
Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Center

The nation’s first ever program focused on community interventions to keep residents healthy and safe where they live and work, the Prevention and Wellness Trust Fund sunset in July 2017. Leading a strong and faithful coalition into 2018, MPHA won’t stop fighting to ensure the continued success of PWTF.

Enhancing transportation equity

In the Berkshires, people who don’t own cars struggle to get to work, to health services, and just to get groceries, not to mention after-school activities that support the success of our students. This means that many older adults, teens and low-income community members don’t have access to the resources needed to stay or get healthy. Transportation justice in the Berkshires requires additional revenue for evening and late-night bus service—that’s why Berkshire Interfaith Organizing is supporting the Fair Share Constitutional Amendment.

Wendy Krom,
Berkshire Interfaith Organizing

Accessible, affordable, and safe transportation is essential to reducing racial and economic health disparities in Massachusetts. Working in partnership with Transportation for Mass (T4MA), MPHA provided critical organizing and educational support to advance transportation equity through the Fair Share Constitutional Amendment.

Closing the gap on food insecurity

SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) is the first line of defense for people experiencing hunger. In Worcester, over 40% of the population makes less than $15 an hour. They can’t make ends meet with low wages and high rent. SNAP prevents these struggling families from going hungry. SNAP is also critically important to ensuring access for the food insecure in rural areas, where we struggle to reach individuals and families in need.

Martha Assefa,
Worcester County Food Bank

Nearly 700,000 Massachusetts residents are not receiving SNAP benefits that they qualify for due to an antiquated, cumbersome application process. In 2017, MPHA and our coalition partners advocated for a simplified, one stop application process to close the SNAP Gap and increase access for food insecure individuals and families. This effort resulted in a mandatory study, due by January 2018, by state agencies to determine the feasibility of closing the SNAP Gap. Stay tuned for next steps.

Senator Jason Lewis, Massachusetts Senate

Irene Hernandez, Community Health Connections Fitchburg

I view MPHA as the gold standard in how to mobilize advocacy efforts to get legislation passed or to pursue funding through budget or policy initiatives here on Beacon Hill.

Senator Jason Lewis,
Massachusetts Senate

MPHA, while it’s in Boston, is able to bring the voice of Fitchburg and other communities to the table. This gives people here hope. When I talk to them about MPHA they get excited because of the bigger possibilities policy change creates.

Irene Hernandez,
Community Health Connections Fitchburg

Board and Staff List

2017 MPHA Officers

President

Jessica Collins, MS
MA Partners for a Healthier Community

President Elect

Jodie Silverman, MPA
Anne McHugh, MS
Boston Public Health Commission

Treasurer

Janet Lehman, MS, MBA
KPMG

MPHA Board Members

Cristina Booker, MPH
Abt Associates

Steven Bradley, MA
The Bradley Group

Ray Considine, MSW
Independent Consultant

Soloe Dennis, MS, MEP
Springfield Department of Health and Human Services

Deborah Dickerson

Claude Jacob, MPH
Cambridge Public Health Department

Keith Mahoney, JD
The Boston Foundation

Neil Maniar, PhD
Northeastern University

Heather McMann, MBA
Groundwork Lawrence

Roeshana Moore-Evans, CRA
The Broad Institute at MIT

Xanthi Scrimgeour, MHEd, MCHES
CommunicateHealth, Inc.

Stephen Shestakofsky, Esq.

Aswita Tan-McGrory, MBA
Disparities Solution Center, MGH

MPHA Staff

Rebekah Gewirtz, MPA
Executive Director

Jodie Silverman, MPA
Interim Executive Director

Akosua Ampofo Siever, MASID
Director of Development

Andrea Freeman, MS
Field Director

Diane Jette,
Finance and Operations Manager

Melanie O’Malley,
Communications & Policy Manager

Alexa Piacenza,
Events and Membership Manager

Maddie Ribble, MPH
Director of Public Policy & Campaign Strategy

Kristina St. Cyr Kimani,
Coalition and Advocacy Manager

Nopalzin Torres,
Director of Finance and Operations

Mission

Woman holding a blackboard that says: Public health is important because: the existence of my life depends on it.

The Massachusetts Public Health Association (MPHA) is a private, non-profit 501c3 statewide membership organization that promotes a healthy Massachusetts through advocacy, education, community organizing, and coalition-building.

We are the catalyst for change, eliminating health inequities and creating healthy communities for all.

Donate today

Your generous gift makes all of the difference in our work for health equity and racial justice.

Financial Snapshot

$820,818
73% of total revenue

$658,522
71% of total expenses

Donor List

Donors

Andrew Balder

Rebecca Balder

Noah Berger

Robert Blendon

Cristina Booker

Rachel Busby

Daniel Castrillon Reyes

Stacey Chacker

Jennifer Childs-Roshak

Richard Clapp

Joseph Coletti

Joseph and Suzanne Collins

Jessica Collins

Lisa Conley

Ray Considine

Harold Cox

David Coyne and Margot Barnett

Sallie Craig Huber

Stephen Crosby and Helen Strieder

Alfred DeMaria, Jr.

Soloe Dennis

Deborah Dickerson

Shani Dowd

Shannon Erwin

Emily Feinberg and Robert Restuccia

Katherine Flaherty

Lise Fried

Ralph Fuccillo

Thomas Garvey

Henry Gewirtz

Rebekah Gewirtz and Andrew Kuller

Mary Ann Hart

Michael Hirsch

Claude Jacob

Dorinda Jaquith and Ed Marakovitz

Michael and Michelle Keenan

Deborah Klein Walker

Gary Kleinman and Betsy Rosenfeld

Jamie Klufts

Adriane Kuller

Stewart Landers

Donna Lazorik

Janet Lehman

Robin Lipson and Matt Fishman

Lynne Man

Kathleen McCabe

Michael McCormack

Anne McHugh and Howard Shrobe

Roeshana Moore-Evans

Aviva Must

Sarah Nolan

Lea Susan Ojamaa

Debra Paraboschi

Carlene Pavlos

Andrew Pond

Loel and Arthur Poor

Brendan Sandel

Carl Sciortino

Xanthi Scrimgeour

Kaitlin Sheedy

Jodie Silverman

Susan Sommer

Laurie Stillman and Robert Rosofsky

Laura Streichert

Aswita Tan-McGory

John Tarvin

Marcia Testa

Karen Van Unen

Geoff Wilkinson and Sally Johnson

Nicholas Wright

Institutional Supporters

Abt Associates

Alexander Aronson Finning CPAs

Alosa Health

Association for Behavioral Healthcare

Baystate Health

Beacon Strategies Group

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts

Boston Children’s Hospital

Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program

Boston Medical Center

Boston Medical Center Healthnet Plan

Boston University School of Public Health

Boston University School of Social Work

Brandeis University Heller School for Social Policy and Management

Brigham and Women’s Hospital

Brookline Public Health Department

Cambridge Health Alliance

CommunicateHealth

Conservation Law Foundation

DentaQuest Foundation

Denterlein Worldwide

Donoghue Barrett & Singal

EOS Foundation

Foley Hoag & Eliot

Forest Foundation

G&L Labs

Greater Lowell Health Alliance

Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Foundation

Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Health New England

Health Resources in Action

KPMG

Lasell College

Legal Sea Foods, Inc.

M+R Strategic Services

Massachusetts Association of Councils on Aging

Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Community Health Improvement

Massachusetts Medical Society

Massachusetts Nurses Association

MCPHS University

Merrimack College

Northeastern University Bouvé College of Health Sciences

Quinsigamond Community College

Springfield Department of Health and Human Services

The New England AIDS Education and Training Center

University of Massachusetts Lowell

University of Massachusetts Medical School

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Voices for Healthy Kids/American Heart Association

William James College

Worcester State University

Major Funders

American Heart Association and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

Baystate Foundation

Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation of Massachusetts

Citizens Housing and Planning Association

Massachusetts Department of Public Health

Massachusetts Smart Growth Alliance

Partners HealthCare

The Boston Foundation

Transportation for Massachusetts

Tufts Health Plan Foundation

Western Massachuestts Health Equity Network/Cooley Dickinson Health Care

Organizational Membership

AIDS Action Committee

Alliance of Massachusetts YMCAs

Alosa Health

American Heart/American Stroke Association

Association for Behavioral Healthcare

AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals

Bolton Human Services and Safety Committee

Boston Public Health Commission

Citizens for Juvenile Justice

Citizens Housing and Planning Association

City of Lowell Health & Human Services

Conference of Boston Teaching Hospitals

Cooley Dickinson Hospital

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Fenway Health

Groundwork Lawrence

Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Foundation

Harvard Street Health Center

Haywood Hospital

John Snow, Inc.

Justice Resource Institute, Inc

March of Dimes

Massachusetts Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics

Massachusetts Association of Health Boards

Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers

Metrowest Health Foundation, Inc.

Partners for a Healthier Community, Inc.

Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts

The Health Foundation of Central Massachusetts

Tufts University School of Medicine

University of Massachusetts Amherst School of Public Health and Health Science

Worcester Division of Public Health