Earlier this month, MPHA resident leader Shirley Brown and MPHA Assistant Director of Policy and Strategic Initiatives, Rachel Almburg, were selected alongside two other Highrise Health Alliance (HHA) members to join the Public Health Regenerative Leadership Synergy (PHEARLESS) initiative. The nine-month leadership development program integrates regenerative leadership education and experiential learning with innovative collaboration tools to help public health and community leaders build the skills they need to co-create sustainable solutions that advance health equity and well-being for all. The four HHA representatives are joining a cohort of community and public health leaders representing 15 communities across the country.
“My leadership purpose is to support and empower residents in the high-rise community—empower them to advocate for themselves and improve their health and well-being,” said Shirley Brown, MPHA resident. “I’m hoping some of the funding we got from the PHEARLESS initiative will be used to get more community health services into the high-rise buildings and behavioral health crisis training for staff and residents.”
“I’m excited for this opportunity to serve as a community leader in our PHEARLESS cohort to design public health initiatives that allow all to thrive. MPHA residents have noted a gap in the services that reach their building, and we have a chance to champion their voices to fill them,” said Rachel Almburg, MPHA Assistant Director of Policy and Strategic Initiatives.
Highrise Health Alliance is a cross-sector partnership between MPHA and the City of Minneapolis Health Department working to improve the health outcomes of MPHA’s high-rise residents. Most notably, HHA created a system for on-site vaccination clinics in all 42 high-rise buildings. The PHEARLESS program and its accompanying $100,000 grant will allow the HHA to further their efforts of making health services more accessible to MPHA’s high-rise residents. The regenerative course work has already helped the group focus on sustainability and better ways to engage the HHA’s diverse members to better identify priorities that will be most impactful in increasing quality of life for MPHA residents.
The nine-month Public Health Regenerative Leadership Synergy (PHEARLESS) program is comprised of four learning modules and a culminating capstone activity, participants develop the mindset and skills to transform systems, structures and policies, in partnership with community, toward a just and equitable future. As a holistic, strengths-based and adaptive approach to leadership, regenerative leadership focuses on creating positive change in complex living systems. By creating positive relationships and nurturing the interconnected elements within a system, regenerative leaders aim to generate outcomes that benefit everyone.
