History of the Ecosystem
2019
2019
In December 2019, Johnny Buck and Ali Thomas convened BIPOC professionals such as Dr. Walt Hallow, the first Native American physician graduate from UW, Frankie Manning, from the Mary Mahoney Black nurses association, Dr. Jerry Garcia, Seamar Community Health Centers VP of Educational Programs, and BIPOC student leaders from UW School of Medicine. Their vision, in words modified from Representative Deborah Entenman, was to “grow Black, Brown and Indigenous healthcare leaders” through cross-sector organizing.
2020
2020
A multi-sector network studied organizational, logistical, and systematic barriers to a healthy ecosystem of educational and mentorship programs. We observed that the community possessed the necessary knowledge, skills, and resources to support students but lacked a harmonized infrastructure to do so.
To address this issue, our members collaborated to align the available resources with the needs of students, which became even more apparent during the pandemic. As a result, we co-designed a series of virtual programs that offer group mentoring to pre-health students across the state. So far, over 300 students have benefited from the program design and connections established through the Ecosystem.
2021
2021
Identified a fiscal sponsor - Players Philanthropy Fund (PFF) - established a website, applied for grants, and built a governance and leadership structure.
Held our first leadership retreat in Spokane, WA, where we created workgroups to support Ecosystem operations, development, and strategy. In addition, our first Board of Directors, "La Mesa", was elected.
2022
2022
On behalf of the Ecosystem, Dr. Ali Thomas presented at the Sound Careers in Health Event and WSU’s 3rd Annual Health Justice and Belonging Conference.
Facilitated the collaboration between the TRIO Upward Bounds summer program (Tacoma and Clover Park Branch) and WPMG Healthcare Career Pathways (HCCP) to expand healthcare career exposure and health-related curriculum to high school students.
The Ecosystem was also able to hire its first staff, thanks to receiving the Kaiser Permanente Community Health Benefits Grant and a Career Connect WA Grant.
Our K-12 Strategy workgroup and Education Consultant, Anastasia Sanchez, convened teachers at South Seattle high schools to assess the needs and barriers to exposing students to healthcare careers.
2023
2023
In March, we initiated our first group of paid interns for our Strategy program. These interns work with us closely to create and carry out Ecosystem strategies. We are thrilled about this program and plan to continue it as we seek additional funding for 2024.
In July, we were granted the King County Racism as a Public Health Crisis - Capacity Building Grant. We are thrilled to have received this funding and are excited to contribute to ongoing work in King County.
Finally, we have reintroduced a series of gatherings for our community partners in education, healthcare, and the workforce. These gatherings are designed for us to align, advocate and partner with each other. More information regarding our three events can be found on our “Strategy” page.
2024
2024
In January, we started to expand our partnership with WPMG's Healthcare Career Pathway Program, The Breakfast Group (Project: M.I.S.T.E.R), and Franklin High School to review and expand the Racial Justice in Health pilot program. This project aims to refine the program curriculum and bring together 6-12th grade educators to develop a strategy around anti-racist and anti-colonial pedagogy. We are currently looking for candidates for two consulting positions, and you can learn more about these roles on our "Join" page.
In February, we released pre-health student resources that were co-created with our 2023 Intern Cohort. You can find the PDFs on our "Resources" page.
In 2024, we are excited to expand our work with WorkForce Central to support BIPOC Behavioral Health Provider recruitment, training, and retention in Pierce County. If you would like to learn more, please email admin@health-ecosystem.org.
If you want to know more about our active projects, you can visit our Strategy page.
