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 25 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.

Name	Role
Alina Swart	Community Representative
Carmen Pacheco-Jones	Community Representative
Cheryl Sanders, Lummi	Tribal Community Representative, Western Washington
Delia Gutierrez	Community Representative
Jean Scheid	Community Representative
Jessica Nye	Sector Representative, Local Health Jurisdiction
Katie Stephens	Community Representative
Leah Tanner, Nez Perce	Tribal Community Representative, At-Large
Mike McNickle	Sector Representative, Local Health Jurisdiction
Mustafa Mohammed	Community Representative
Nichole Peppers	Sector Representative, Accountable Communities of Health
Olivette Foster	Community Representative
Paul Park	Community Representative
Phinthang Yeang	Community Representative
Dr. Quyen Huynh	Sector Representative, Governor’s Interagency Council on Health Disparities
Symetria Gongyin, Spokane	Tribal Community Representative, Eastern Washington
Taniela Tokailagi	Community Representative
Vacant	Sector Representative, Philanthropy
Vacant	Tribal Community Representative, Urban
Vacant	Community Representative

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.