This Community Conversation will focus on the Students/New Professionals Community of Practice.

Advocacy is a catalyst for social change and plays a vital role in advancing public health by influencing policy and addressing health disparities. By empowering communities with intentional education, skills-building, and collaborative engagement regarding public health issues at local, state, and national levels, we can foster sustainable, equity-driven change.

This session will demonstrate how accessible, interactive advocacy training can equip individuals and organizations with the tools to take informed action, demystify advocacy processes, and mobilize communities to become impactful advocates for public health. Participants will explore core advocacy competencies and practical, real-world strategies, including: legislative outreach at the national, state, and local levels, collaborating with professional and non-profit organizations, strategic health communication, virtual advocacy techniques, and leveraging available resources.

By the end of the session, participants will gain foundational advocacy skills, the ability to effectively communicate with representatives and organizations, and a clearer understanding of how to influence health policy and systems. The outcomes will include increased capacity to collaborate with advocacy groups, develop impactful and persuasive messages with digital advocacy tools, greater readiness to engage with policymakers, and navigate the complexities of public health advocacy to lead change in the community.

Empowering communities through advocacy education strengthens the public health workforce and advances health equity. By integrating practice-based training into academic and professional development settings, we can foster a culture of civic engagement and leadership among emerging public health advocates. Advocacy and policy implementation are essential for advancing public health goals and preparing individuals to effectively engage, empower, and advocate for lasting change.

At the end of this webinar, participants will be able to:

• Identify key advocacy strategies and tools for influencing public health policy at the local, state, and national levels.
• Demonstrate effective communication techniques for engaging with policymakers, organizations, and community stakeholders.
• Apply practical skills to collaborate with advocacy groups, develop persuasive messages, and utilize digital tools to advance public health initiatives.

Competencies that will be covered include: 

5.2.7 Develop persuasive messages and materials (e.g., briefs, resolutions, and fact sheets) to communicate the policy, system, or environmental change.

5.3.1 Use media to conduct advocacy (e.g., social media, press releases, public service announcements, and op-ed

5.3.2 Use traditional, social, and emerging technologies and methods to mobilize support for policy, system, or environmental change

Sponsored by the Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE), a designated provider of continuing education contact hours (CECH) in health education by the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing, Inc. This program is designated for Certified Health Education Specialists (CHES®) and/or Master Certified Health Education Specialists (MCHES®) to receive up to 1.00 total Category I contact education contact hours. Provider ID #98029 and Program ID PM98029_01744DL.

SOPHE is a provider of Certified in Public Health (CPH) Renewal Credits. A total of 1.00 CPH Renewal credits are provided on behalf of the National Board of Public Health Examiners.

Across the United States, there are 68 million people who speak a language other than English. Even when we speak in English, there can be communication and misinterpretation gaps. In this session, we will get back to the basics of communicating with one another in healthcare systems, patients, and with community members, especially with regard to public health messaging. Central to the patient experience is whether we convey health information in terms and language people can understand. Recognize the importance of using medical interpreters and assistive devices. Furthermore, we will utilize the established principle of teach back. Case studies will be interwoven to demonstrate the importance of teachback. This interactive session will also delve into the COM-B model, which emphasizes the importance of Capability, Opportunity, and Motivation to influence Behavior to influence the delivery of written, verbal, and signed in one's language. 

At the end of this webinar, participants will be able to:

1. Recognize the critical role of linguistic equity in health care by identifying the benefits of using certified medical interpreters, applying culturally and linguistically appropriate approaches, and addressing health literacy needs with plain language communication.
2. Demonstrative effective communication strategies to ensure patient understanding, improve health outcomes, and promote equitable care across diverse populations.
3. Analyze real-world scenarios to compare the benefits of utilizing certified medical interpreters and the harms from failing to do so. 

Competencies that will be covered include: 

3.2.4 Deliver health education and promotion as designed. 

6.2.1 Describe the intended outcome of the communication (e.g., raise awareness, advocacy, behavioral change, and risk communication 

Sponsored by the Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE), a designated provider of continuing education contact hours (CECH) in health education by the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing, Inc. This program is designated for Certified Health Education Specialists (CHES®) and/or Master Certified Health Education Specialists (MCHES®) to receive up to 1.00 total Category I contact education contact hours. Provider ID #98029 and Program ID PM98029_01744DL.

SOPHE is a provider of Certified in Public Health (CPH) Renewal Credits. A total of 1.0 CPH Renewal credits are provided on behalf of the National Board of Public Health Examiners.

This webinar will demonstrate how women's health education materials can be improved significantly by integrating health literacy concepts. Attendees will gain actionable insights on health literacy strategies to rework current materials and how to standardize the development process for future materials. Attendees will learn practical tools and methodologies that can be implemented immediately to improve health education for the diverse populations in their community.

At the end of this webinar, participants will be able to:

1. Describe accessibility and health literacy tools.
2. Apply practical tools and methodologies that can be implemented to improve health education for diverse populations in their community.

Competencies that will be covered include: 

6.3.1 Use communications theory to develop or select communication message(s).  

6.3.2 Develop persuasive communications (e.g., storytelling and program rationale).

1.3.2 Determine the knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, skills, and behaviors that impact the health and health literacy of the priority population(s) 

Sponsored by the Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE), a designated provider of continuing education contact hours (CECH) in health education by the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing, Inc. This program is designated for Certified Health Education Specialists (CHES®) and/or Master Certified Health Education Specialists (MCHES®) to receive up to 1.0 total Category I contact education contact hours. Provider ID #98029 and Program ID PM98029_01743DL.

SOPHE is a provider of Certified in Public Health (CPH) Renewal Credits. A total of 1.0 CPH Renewal credits are provided on behalf of the National Board of Public Health Examiners.

Attendees will engage in a dynamic discussion exploring the essential lessons, common obstacles, and often-overlooked opportunities when moving from grassroots advocacy to a structured nonprofit. If you’ve ever wondered how to sustain the passion and authenticity of grassroots efforts while scaling your impact, this session is designed for you. 

Through open dialogue, you'll gain actionable insights from those who have successfully made the shift from grassroots to nonprofit. These firsthand perspectives will help you understand what works, what doesn’t, and how to anticipate challenges. Discover ways to grow your mission sustainably, even while facing the unique demands of nonprofit work. You’ll learn how to balance operational needs with mission-driven goals, ensuring your organization remains both impactful and manageable. By joining this webinar, you can learn from others' experiences to prevent missteps that can cost time, money, and even your core mission. We’ll cover practical examples of hurdles like funding restrictions, mission drift, and balancing stakeholder expectations.

At the end of this webinar, participants will be able to:

1. Identify key strategies for maintaining mission integrity and community-centered values when transitioning from grassroots efforts to a formal nonprofit structure.

2. Recognize common challenges in nonprofit development and apply practical solutions for sustainable growth and impact.

Competencies that will be covered include: 

8.4 Promote the health education profession to stakeholders, the public, and others. 

8.4.2 Explain the role of professional organizations and the benefits of participating in them. 

Sponsored by the Society for Public Health Education, a designated provider of continuing education contact hours (CECH) in health education by the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing, Inc. This program is designated for Certified Health Education Specialists (CHES®) and/or Master Certified Health Education Specialists (MCHES®) to receive up to 1.00 total Category I contact education contact hours. Provider ID #98029 and Program ID PM98029_01742DL.

SOPHE is a provider of Certified in Public Health (CPH) Renewal Credits. A total of 1.0 CPH Renewal credits are provided on behalf of the National Board of Public Health Examiners.

The HPBS MPH core course successfully trains students to become self-directed learners about HPBS topics. Faculty teaching the course can be assured that regardless of students’ demographic characteristics, discipline, or academic preparation, students will complete the course with similar self-efficacy to meet learning competencies. As part of their course evaluation, HPBS faculty in schools of public health might want to add an assessment of self-directed learning.

In addition to training MPH students to meet core CEPH competencies, schools of public health should be training their students to become self-directed learners who are motivated to increase their knowledge and skills after graduation. This analysis evaluated how much students enrolled in UTHealth Houston’s MPH core Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences (HPBS) course rated themselves on measures of self-directed learning.

A total of 228 students provided post-course data. Students agreed that how the HPBS course was taught encouraged self-directed learning. Similar increases were found regardless of age, gender, race/ethnicity, discipline, campus location (UTHealth Houston has campuses in six Texas cities), semester enrolled, or the number of previously taken social science or health promotion courses.

At the end of this webinar, participants will be able to:

1. Describe the rationale for competency-based education and the competencies that guide public health education programs. 

2. Explain the domains and factors included in the API and how the inventory can be used by public health professionals to evaluate the extent to which a curriculum is designed to encourage students to become self-directed learners.  

3. Articulate a study design for their academic or community setting to assess changes in self-efficacy to meet learning objectives and self-directed learning.  

Competencies that will be covered include: 

7.2.4 Plan training, including technical assistance and support.
7.2.5 Implement training

7.2.6 Evaluate training as appropriate throughout the process.

Sponsored by the Society for Public Health Education, a designated provider of continuing education contact hours (CECH) in health education by the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing, Inc. This program is designated for Certified Health Education Specialists (CHES®) and/or Master Certified Health Education Specialists (MCHES®) to receive up to 1.00 total Category I contact education contact hours. Maximum advanced-level continuing education contact hours available are 1.00. Provider ID #98029 and Program ID PM98029_01741DL.  

SOPHE is a provider of Certified in Public Health (CPH) Renewal Credits. A total of 1.0 CPH Renewal credits are provided on behalf of the National Board of Public Health Examiners.

Mentorship is an effective tool for professional growth, as a mentorship relationship between black women could be transformative if holistic. As mentioned in the article by Braswell et al. (2024), black women have a unique set of personal and professional challenges that would make a mentoring relationship one of a kind and highly beneficial, specifically in professions housed under the Health Education umbrella. The purpose of the presentation is to encourage the creation of safe spaces between the mentor and mentee, establish rapport in a space in which the mentee can thrive as the mentor shares lived experiences with the mentee, to not only benefit the mentee but also push Health Education professions forward in addressing the health-related issues that plague black women by using a holistic approach in discussing beauty secrets, self-care tips, and understanding one's leadership styles through assessment from the Eagle Center of Leadership. In the use of such tools towards a holistic approach comes the understanding that they may aid in the empowerment of black women in the health education profession. Sharing such tools can allow the mentee to "mirror" the mentor in success, "look fly while doing so," and become a game-changing leader in the health education profession. Such an approach will not only help to improve the health education practice in various communities, being morphed into programming opportunities, but could also create skill-building opportunities for the mentee, providing growth opportunities for professionals, and fostering the next generation of black women leaders.

At the end of this webinar, participants will be able to:

1. Describe the unique personal and professional challenges faced by Black women in the health education profession and the impact of culturally relevant, holistic mentorship.
2. Explain how the Transtheoretical Model of Change and the Social Ecological Model can be practically applied to build trust and create safe mentoring spaces for Black Women in health education.  
3. Discuss ways to translate holistic mentorship experiences into community programming and skill-building opportunities to advance equity and representation in the health education workforce.

Competencies that will be covered include: 

1.2.2 Establish collaborative relationships and agreements that facilitate access to data

1.4.1 Compare findings to norms, existing data, and other information.

Sponsored by the Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE), a designated provider of continuing education contact hours (CECH) in health education by the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing, Inc. This program is designated for Certified Health Education Specialists (CHES®) and/or Master Certified Health Education Specialists (MCHES®) to receive up to 1.0 total Category I contact education contact hours.

SOPHE is a provider of Certified in Public Health (CPH) Renewal Credits. A total of 1.0 CPH Renewal credits are provided on behalf of the National Board of Public Health Examiners.

Designing accessible health education training content has wide-ranging individual and organizational-level benefits. These include compliance with funder and legal requirements, reaching a broader learning audience, creating a better user experience, and shifting from an individual accommodation-based framework to designing for all learners. Unfortunately, accessibility planning is often an afterthought in our workforce development efforts. It is a quick final review to confirm we have video captions or transcripts. It is an item to be checked off before our training or course launches.

In contrast, accessibility should be integrated starting on the first day of training planning and design. Integration is not only the best practice, but also essential for applying principles of cultural humility, inclusion, and diversity, which are key competencies for health education specialists. Using an e-learning course example, this session will describe strategies to integrate accessibility planning from start to finish in your training project workflows. 

We will discuss needs analysis, choosing your project tools, creating accessible templates, auditing your work, and the importance of user testing. Participants will be able to state the multi-level benefits of creating accessible training. They will also be able to describe clear action steps and examples to improve the accessibility of their own training workflows and learning products.

At the end of this webinar, participants will be able to:

1. State the multi-level benefits of creating accessible training
2. Discuss how accessibility planning should be integrated into every step of training design, development, and evaluation
3. Describe clear action steps to improve accessibility within their team or organizational-level training workflows

Competencies that will be covered include: 

8.1.1 Apply professional codes of ethics and ethical principles throughout assessment, planning, implementation, evaluation and research, communication, consulting, and advocacy processes

8.1.6 Apply principles of cultural humility, inclusion, and diversity in all aspects of practice (e.g., Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) standards and culturally responsive pedagogy).

Sponsored by the Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE), a designated provider of continuing education contact hours (CECH) in health education by the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing, Inc. This program is designated for Certified Health Education Specialists (CHES®) and/or Master Certified Health Education Specialists (MCHES®) to receive up to 1.0 total Category I contact education contact hours.

SOPHE is a provider of Certified in Public Health (CPH) Renewal Credits. A total of 1.0 CPH Renewal credits are provided on behalf of the National Board of Public Health Examiners.

We’ll break down how advocacy meetings are, what the 2025 public health policy “asks” will focus on, and how SOPHE prepares you to share your message with confidence. You'll also learn what materials and coaching will be provided, what networking opportunities are built into the event, and how to show up ready to make an impact.

Participants will leave with a full understanding of their role during the Summit, the structure of Hill visits, and how to navigate the educational and advocacy components of the event with clarity and confidence

At the end of this webinar, participants will be able to:

1. Describe the day-to-day structure and logistics of the 2025 SOPHE Advocacy Summit
2. Identify the 2025 policy priorities and “asks” to be delivered during Hill visits
3. Explain the purpose and format of Hill visits, coaching opportunities, and networking sessions

Competencies that will be covered include: 

5.2.2: Develop plans and strategies for effective advocacy

6.2.1: Use appropriate communication modalities and technologies for the audience and setting

Sponsored by the Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE), a designated provider of continuing education contact hours (CECH) in health education by the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing, Inc. This program is designated for Certified Health Education Specialists (CHES®) and/or Master Certified Health Education Specialists (MCHES®) to receive up to 1.0 total Category I contact education contact hours.

SOPHE is a provider of Certified in Public Health (CPH) Renewal Credits. A total of 1.0 CPH Renewal credits are provided on behalf of the National Board of Public Health Examiners.

This session will review a unique approach to teaching public health education competencies through service-learning, including real-world grant writing; program planning, implementation, and evaluation; and community engagement skill-building to promote health equity. Participants will hear from program faculty and former students as they discuss their experiences with developing and participating in service-learning, the benefits and obstacles of securing internal and external funding, and the importance of fostering a mutually beneficial relationship with community partners that positively impacts both the workforce preparation of students and the health outcomes of the community. Course and student artifacts will be shared with attendees.

This presentation will benefit attendees in multiple ways. First, the curriculum-building process will be shared to include public health and health education competencies addressed. Second, faculty and student experiences will be discussed to provide insights into the benefits and obstacles of facilitating and participating in such a high-stakes and long-term experience. Third, community engagement strategies will be provided, including a description of the community partners who previously engaged in this experience, as well as best practices for creating lasting partnerships. Last, tips for developing a successful service-learning project will be shared to assist higher education faculty with their own efforts at creating meaningful and authentic academic experiences for students that allow for competency development and meaningful community engagement that positively impacts the health outcomes of equity-seeking populations. Course and student artifacts will be shared with attendees.

Participants should leave this webinar being able to: 

1. Describe a comprehensive health equity-focused service-learning experience that develops public health and health education competencies through real-world grant writing; program planning, implementation, and evaluation; and community engagement.

2. Apply lessons learned from faculty to create a meaningful academic experience for master's-level public health or health education students.

3. Apply lessons learned from students to create a meaningful academic experience for master's-level public health or health education students.

Competencies that will be covered include: 

7.1 Coordinate relationships with partners and stakeholders (e.g., individuals, teams, coalitions, and committees).

7.2 Prepare others to provide health education and promotion.

Sponsored by the Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE), a designated provider of continuing education contact hours (CECH) in health education by the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing, Inc. This program is designated for Certified Health Education Specialists (CHES®) and/or Master Certified Health Education Specialists (MCHES®) to receive up to 1.0 total Category I contact education contact hours.

SOPHE is a provider of Certified in Public Health (CPH) Renewal Credits. A total of 1.0 CPH Renewal credits are provided on behalf of the National Board of Public Health Examiners.