Leadership for Healthy Communities grantees engage in a variety of innovative, exciting education and outreach activities in their efforts to support policy-makers.

ASSOCIATION OF STATE AND TERRITORIAL HEALTH OFFICIALS

Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) is the national non-profit organization representing the public health agencies of the United States, the U.S. Territories and the District of Columbia, as well as the 120,000 public health professionals these agencies employ. ASTHO members, the chief health officials of these jurisdictions, are dedicated to formulating and influencing sound public health policy and to assuring excellence in state-based public health practice.

ASTHO will address childhood obesity by providing leadership and support to state and local governments in the areas of land use and open space policies, quality of food, opportunities for physical activity, food advertising and health education in schools. As a part of this effort, ASTHO will implement a competitive mini-grant program to build the capacity of target states to implement health impact assessments (HIAs), use tools that assist policy-makers in strengthening local partnerships, reduce health disparities and encourage public participation in the community design process. ASTHO’s regional approach will allow states in high-risk geographic locations to share resources and draw on regional expertise. ASTHO’s national approach will ensure that all state and territorial health officials draw from each other's expertise and are kept informed of emerging leadership opportunities to adopt and implement childhood obesity policies.
www.astho.org

Contact:
Sharon Moffatt
Chief, Health Promotion and Disease Prevention
Phone: (571) 527-2306
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National Association of County and City Health Officials

The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) is the national organization representing local health departments. NACCHO supports efforts that protect and improve the health of all people and all communities by promoting national policy, developing resources and programs, seeking health equity, and supporting effective local public health practice and systems.

NACCHO will mobilize local health department (LHD) teams across 11 Southeastern states to support local level policy change and develop a learning community of public health practitioners to promote healthy eating and active living policies throughout the region. The 11 targeted states include Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, South Carolina and West Virginia. NACCHO will provide technical and other support, via a policy academy, to five local health departments (LHDs) from the 11 targeted states.  NACCHO will select LHDs among those who currently are showing policy leadership by implementing Safe Routes to School programs or farm-fresh food access programs, such as the WIC Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program.   The selected LHDs will receive funding and technical assistance to create and implement action plans intended to spur the rapid adoption of successful policy strategies across the South. Funds will support project staff; resources for the five LHDs; and networking tools that the learning community members will tap for resources, peer support and information exchange. 
www.naccho.org

Contact:
Kenneth Smith, Ph.D.
Senior Analyst
Phone: (202) 756-0162
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National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Educational Fund

The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund is the leading non-partisan organization that facilitates full Latino participation in the American political process, from citizenship to public service. NALEO’s constituency includes the nearly 6,000 Latino elected and appointed officials nationwide.

The NALEO Educational Fund Healthy Communities Initiative (NHCI) is a leadership development program designed to increase Latino elected and appointed officials’ ability to advance successful health policy, related investments and reform in their communities.  During this grant period, the NALEO Educational Fund will expand its capacity to provide intensive technical assistance to Latino policy-makers in the target states of Arizona, Florida, New Mexico and Texas. Each of these target states are integral to the success of NHCI, as the states are home to more than 15.3 million Latinos combined. Throughout this training program, the NALEO Educational Fund will work closely with participants to enhance their capabilities around five core governance competences essential for effective health policy-making: 1) recognizing decision-making capacity; 2) utilizing data; 3) navigating the politics of change; 4) building a base of support/coalition building; and, 5) developing a message. After receiving training, participants will take their skills back to their communities to implement childhood obesity prevention policies and strategies.
www.naleo.org   

Contact:
Stephanie Ramirez
Deputy Director, Constituency Services
Phone: (213) 747-7606
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National Association of State Boards of Education

The National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE) is the only national organization giving voice and adding value to the nation's state boards of education. A non-profit organization founded in 1958, NASBE works to strengthen state leadership in educational policy-making, promote excellence in the education of all students, advocate equality of access to educational opportunity and assure continued citizen support for public education.

NASBE’s mission is to help state boards develop the most effective policies to support high quality education and healthy school environments for all children with a special emphasis on children in lower-income communities. NASBE's State Innovation in Education Policy and Implementation to Address Childhood Obesity project seeks to build the internal capacity of state boards of education to enact policies for obesity prevention while collaborating with the departments of public health and other key stakeholders including the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, Action for Healthy Kids, National Conference of State Legislatures, National School Boards Association, Common Sense Media, Center for Media Literacy, and Council of State Governments.  NASBE’s policy targets include addressing the quality of food served throughout the school, increasing opportunities for all children and youth to obtain at least 30 minutes per day of quality physical activity, restricting food marketing and advertising, and strengthening health education requirements for all students to address behaviors supporting lifelong healthy habits that prevent obesity. NASBE will support this work by providing grant funding to four states through a competitive application process focused on the Leadership for Healthy Communities priority states. NASBE’s objective is to provide a tiered technical assistance model to intensively support the grant-funded states to adopt, strengthen or implement policies while providing ongoing support to all state boards of education and policy-makers. NASBE will also raise awareness among federal policy-makers of state obesity policies and initiatives.
www.nasbe.org

Contact:
Elizabeth M. Walker, M.S.
Project Director
Phone: (703) 740-4829
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National Conference of State Legislatures

The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) is a bipartisan organization that serves the legislators and staffs of the nation's 50 states, its commonwealths and territories. NCSL provides research, technical assistance and opportunities for policy-makers to exchange ideas on the most pressing state issues. NCSL is an effective and respected advocate for the interests of state governments before Congress and federal agencies.

The NCSL Legislative Leadership in Healthy Communities Program will provide state legislators in the Leadership for Healthy Communities target states with the necessary resources to make better informed decisions on healthy eating and active living policy options that promote healthy communities and reduce childhood obesity. NCSL will accomplish this objective through education, communications, technical assistance, collaboration and convenings that include publications, meetings, policy forums and technical assistance to states considering healthy eating and active living legislation. NCSL’s program emphasizes providing technical assistance to small groups of legislators that share similar policy interests and community characteristics to develop healthy eating and active living policy options that legislators can advance. NCSL will focus on polices in the following areas:  healthy eating – quality nutrition in schools, supermarkets and healthy food vendors, and farm fresh local foods; active living – active transportation, land use for active living, and quality physical activity in and near schools.  NCSL will target policy assistance to eight states: Arizona, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas.
www.ncsl.org

Contact:
Larry Morandi
Director, State Policy Research
Phone: (303) 364-7700
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National Congress of American Indians

The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) serves to secure for ourselves and our descendants the rights and benefits to which we are entitled; to enlighten the public toward the better understanding of the Indian people; to preserve rights under Indian treaties or agreements with the United States and to promote the common welfare of the American Indians and Alaska Natives.

NCAI will undertake a planning initiative to work with tribes in Arizona and Montana to pilot strategies to mobilize tribal leaders to enact policies that promote healthy lifestyles for Native youth. NCAI will partner with regional intertribal organizations in Arizona and Montana, the Indian Health Service; the Boys and Girls Club of America,  Nike, Inc., the Notah Begay III Foundation and other national Native health and education organizations to convene a joint state coalition convening to support the following policies to promote physical activity and healthy eating: creating safe routes for children to walk and bike to school; including physical education as a core requirement in the school curriculum; implementing strong wellness policies that ensure children have easy access to low-cost, healthy meals in cafeterias and vending machines; and supporting farmers' markets, traditional community gardens and the procurement of locally-grown traditional foods. NCAI will conduct a needs assessment and provide technical assistance to at least two tribes in each of the targeted states of Arizona and Montana.  NCAI will also work closely with elected and appointed leaders to adopt and implement healthy eating and active living policies by providing customized advocacy tools and sharing examples of effective strategies and outcomes from other jurisdictions.
www.ncai.org

Contact:
Sarah Hicks, Ph.D.
Director of Policy and Programs/ Director of Policy Research Center
Phone: (202) 466-7767
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National League of Cities Institute

The National League of Cities Institute (NLCI) is the oldest and largest national organization representing municipal governments throughout the United States. Its mission is to strengthen and promote cities as centers of opportunity, leadership and governance. Working in partnership with 49 state municipal leagues, NLC serves as a resource to and advocate for the more than 19,000 cities, villages and towns it represents. NLC’s Institute for Youth, Education and Families works to strengthen the capacity of municipal leaders to take action on behalf of the children, youth and families in their communities.

The NLCI will launch a two-year, comprehensive effort in Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana to expand technical assistance and peer learning opportunities for municipal leaders from both urban and rural communities who are interested in adopting and implementing policy changes that promote healthy eating and active living. This two-track initiative will be undertaken in partnership with the Foundation for the Mid South (FMS), a regional community foundation serving Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi with extensive knowledge of and relationships within the region, and led by three prominent and diverse mayors who have demonstrated a deep commitment to the goal of reducing childhood obesity. With a strong focus on two key policy areas—increased access to recreation opportunities and healthy food—NLCI will provide technical assistance to three larger cities within targeted states. On a parallel track, NLCI and FMS will work together to identify and support the efforts of committed mayors from up to 30 smaller, more rural communities within the three FMS states and build the capacities of entities that will serve as state-level intermediaries. In all aspects of the initiative, NLCI will help city leaders understand the circumstances and needs of populations at highest risk for childhood obesity and related health problems, and NLCI's technical assistance will be designed to stimulate and support policy changes that improve obesity-related health outcomes for these populations.
www.nlc.org

Contact:
Leon Andrews, M.S.
Program Director, Youth Development
Phone: (202) 626-3039
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