September 25, 2024
Washington, D.C. — The O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, a leading health policy think tank in the world, is pleased to announce the new Center for Community Health Innovation (CCHI). Building on prior work under the Harrison Institute for Public Law’s Policy Clinic at Georgetown Law, CCHI will focus on social determinants of health, with an emphasis on addressing systemic factors that cause disproportionate health outcomes for long-underserved racial and socioeconomic groups in the United States.
“The establishment of the Center for Community Health Innovation is groundbreaking. It marks an important step in the O’Neill Institute’s continued journey to promote effective and inclusive public health policies at the local, state, and national levels through individual and community involvement.” – Professor Michele Bratcher Goodwin
“The establishment of the Center for Community Health Innovation is groundbreaking. It marks an important step in the O’Neill Institute’s continued journey to promote effective and inclusive public health policies at the local, state, and national levels through individual and community involvement,” said Professor Michele Bratcher Goodwin, Georgetown University O’Neill Professor of Constitutional Law and Global Health Policy and co-faculty director of the O’Neill Institute. “We are proud to support CCHI in its work to ensure that vulnerable communities that have been systemically and historically excluded are part of the decision-making process.”
Alongside grassroots and community partners, CCHI will develop innovative legal and policy solutions through an interdisciplinary approach to tackle critical community priorities. CCHI’s community partners lead the way in developing innovative and equitable solutions to advance access to health, climate change adaptation, equitable economic development in changing neighborhoods, and workers’ rights.
“The Center for Community Health Innovation will also harness the deep expertise of powerhouse faculty members who are passionate about working with community stakeholders to shape policy at all levels.” – Lawrence O. Gostin.
“The Center for Community Health Innovation will also harness the deep expertise of powerhouse faculty members who are passionate about working with community stakeholders to shape policy at all levels,” noted Lawrence O. Gostin, Georgetown University Distinguished University Professor and faculty director of the O’Neill Institute.
The O’Neill Institute welcomes Jennifer Li and Sara Hoverter, the founding directors of CCHI. Li and Hoverter previously worked as staff attorneys and adjunct professors at the Harrison Institute at Georgetown Law, where they trained law students to work with communities as the next generation of public interest lawyers.
“We believe that our work to improve social determinants of health through community-driven policy perfectly complements the research and policy being advanced by experts at the O’Neill Institute.” – Sara Hoverter
“Jennifer and I are thrilled to join the important work already being done by our truly impressive long-standing partners at the O’Neill Institute,” noted Hoverter. “We believe that our work to improve social determinants of health through community-driven policy perfectly complements the research and policy being advanced by experts at the O’Neill Institute.”
“At the O’Neill Institute, we look forward to continuing our advocacy with an even more specialized emphasis on the linkages between public health and the important issues that our clients and collaborators care so much about.” – Jennifer Li
“We are so excited for the opportunity to build on the legacy of our work that began with Professor Bob Stumberg at the Harrison Institute and Georgetown Law Center’s Policy Clinic,” added Li. “At the O’Neill Institute, we look forward to continuing our advocacy with an even more specialized emphasis on the linkages between public health and the important issues that our clients and collaborators care so much about.”
By fostering interdisciplinary collaboration across issue areas and stakeholders, the new CCHI seeks to build power in frontline communities and workforces — centering their voices to improve social determinants of health for all.
“We look forward to continuing to work with CCHI in this innovative partnership. Without CCHI’s guidance, RHCC’s mission and operations would not be possible” – Dennis Chestnut
“We look forward to continuing to work with CCHI in this innovative partnership,” said Dennis Chestnut, a long-time collaborator and Board Chair of the Resilience Hub Community Coalition (RHCC), an environmental justice organization based in Washington, D.C., that has been co-building the city’s first resilience hub. “Without CCHI’s guidance, RHCC’s mission and operations would not be possible.”
For more information about the Center for Community Health Innovation, please visit this page.