Boards of health play a vital role in protecting and improving community health. This October, we're excited to join board of health members, public health professionals, and partners from across the country at the National Association of Local Boards of Health (NALBOH) 2026 Conference in San Antonio, Texas.
ChangeLab Solutions managing director Sara Bartel, senior attorney Jessica Breslin, and attorney Prashasti Bhatnagar will be presenting at the following sessions. We hope you'll join us!
Financing Equity: Leveraging Funding Strategies to Advance Anti-Racist Public Health Governance (Breakout 2.2)
Tuesday, October 13, 11:45am–12:45pm CT
As governmental public health bodies work to align funding and financing decisions with equity-centered governance, there is growing interest in approaches that strengthen community partnerships and support long-term systems change.
This session highlights practice-informed approaches to public health funding and financing drawn from three complementary initiatives. Presenters will share how jurisdictions can (1) strengthen health department capacity through law and policy; (2) expand access to public funding for community-based organizations; and (3) design sustainable and compliant strategies to compensate community members for their expertise and participation in public health decision-making. Attendees will leave with concrete law and policy strategies and implementation guidance.
Policymaking to Advance Health and Racial Equity (Breakout 5.1)
Wednesday, October 14, 10:00am–11:00am CT
Laws and policies have long perpetuated and reinforced social systems that devalue, disempower, and differentially allocate resources to individuals and groups because of their race, ethnicity, and other dimensions of identity. At the same time, laws and policies can be used to address and redress structural discrimination, but they must do so in ways that comport with the US Constitution's Equal Protection Clause and other antidiscrimination laws.
In the wake of the Supreme Court striking down the use of affirmative action in university admissions, racial equity-related policies across a range of sectors, including health care and public health, are navigating new complexities around the concepts of antidiscrimination and health disparities. Against this backdrop, it is critical to understand how to apply legal frameworks to support the use of policy to advance racial equity. This presentation will equip participants with an understanding of legal concepts underlying civil rights laws and the application of those concepts at each stage of the policymaking process.
9/30/2026