The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies Health Policy Institute will hold a Congressional Briefing on Health Inequities entitled PLACE MATTERS: Advancing Health Equity through Community Engagement on Friday, April 12, 2013, at the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, DC.

Racial and ethnic health inequalities literally span the cradle to grave, in the form of higher rates of infant mortality, chronic and infectious diseases, disability and premature mortality among many minority groups relative to national averages. To address these inequities, the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies has supported a groundbreaking initiative, PLACE MATTERS, which operates in communities around the country to build the capacity of local leaders to identify and improve social, economic, and environmental conditions that shape health.  This Congressional briefing will provide an opportunity for PLACE MATTERS leaders to discuss their work, with a focus on building multi-sector coalitions, harnessing research to raise awareness of the place-health relationship, informing policy, and building public support for action.

Speakers will include:

• The Honorable Jim McDermott (WA-7)
• The Honorable Donna Edwards (MD-4)   
• The Honorable Barbara Lee (CA-9) 
• The Honorable Robin Kelly (IL-2)
• Brian D. Smedley, Ph.D., Vice President and Director, Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies Health Policy Institute (Moderator)
• Sandra Byrd Chappelle, Senior Program Officer, Saint Luke’s Foundation, and co-lead, Cuyahoga County PLACE MATTERS team
• Anna Lee, Policy Coordinator, Alameda Public Health Department and acting Alameda County PLACE MATTERS team lead
• Gerald Montoya, Health Promotion Program Manager, New Mexico Department of Health, Region 1 & 3 and Bernalillo County PLACE MATTERS team member
• Andre Perry, Ph.D., Associate Director for Educational Initiatives for the Loyola Institute for Quality and Equity in Education and Orleans Parish PLACE MATTERS team lead

PLACE MATTERS is generously supported by a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

We thank the office of Congresswoman Donna Christensen (D-VI), Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus Health Braintrust, for supporting this briefing.

For more information and to register, please click the REGISTER button to your right.