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Community Leadership
Community Advisory Council
The Health Equity Zones Community Advisory Council convenes community, tribal, and sector leaders to establish the foundation of the Health Equity Zones Initiative. This group ensures efforts are community-centered and health equity-driven, with focused attention given to communities experiencing the greatest health inequities. Community representatives help identify and shape stories that provide insight on the health inequities facing communities in Washington, and the public health data that document how these groups are disproportionately impacted.
The Community Advisory Council is tasked with developing the selection process for zones and with guiding the Department of Health's Health Equity Zones work. There are 22 seats on the HEZ Community Advisory Council including community representatives, Tribal community representatives, and sector representatives. The sectors represented are Accountable Communities of Health, local health jurisdictions, the Governor’s Interagency Council on Health Disparities, and philanthropy.
Community Workgroup
2024 and beyond
The Community Workgroup and Community Advisory Council are currently co-designing how the two groups can continue to support and lead the Health Equity Zones Initiative in the current phase of the work now that the Rural and Urban Zones have been selected.
2022 and 2023
In addition to the Community Advisory Council, DOH convened a Community Workgroup to facilitate more avenues for community members to engage with the HEZ Initiative. The Community Workgroup provided guidance to the Community Advisory Council on key decision points by ensuring the stories and knowledge of community members experiencing the greatest health inequities were centered in the HEZ Initiative development process.
The Community Workgroup had open membership and met monthly. There was no formal commitment to participate on the Workgroup, but members were encouraged to engage to the best of their ability to provide input ahead of key decision points.