How can community engagement efforts ensure that American Rescue Plan Act funds contribute to a healthier and more equitable future?
Our chief strategy officer, Shauneequa Owusu, was recently featured on the Unsung Stewards podcast from ReThink Health.
In the episode, Owusu shares how her background and upbringing have influenced her path in becoming the public health leader that she is today. She also describes the public deliberation process used by Roanoke, Virginia, to obtain community input when deciding how to invest in community neighborhoods.
"Public policy is about the nuance and the subtleties and the wrestling. . . . Public policy is not a spectator sport."
Owusu explains the importance of building the capacity of communities to engage in the decisions that affect them: "The reason that we want to demystify law and policy is that we need people to have the knowledge base to operate in spaces where they may not have the power [and] to have the language of that particular space." Owusu's insights can be applied to ensure that community investment decisions are equitable as we rebuild our economy after the pandemic.
10/6/2021