Comité de Salud Pública en las Montañas Rocosas
This curated collection of sessions highlights diverse voices, evidence-based insights, and actionable strategies that promote health equity across communities. From addressing Black maternal and infant mortality to examining the political determinants of brain health, these events highlight critical conversations and practical tools for creating a more just and inclusive public health system. Whether you’re exploring the life course approach to equity, integrating anti-racist frameworks into policy, or navigating community resilience during funding crises, each session offers insight, inspiration, and action toward meaningful change.
2026 Anti-Racist & Health Equity Series
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Dr. Hannah Matthys
Session 3 : Identifying Your North Star: Evidence-Based Health Equity
Wednesday, May 27th, 2026: 11:30 am - 1:00 pm
This interactive workshop guides participants in understanding and articulating why certain identity groups may require additional support. Participants will discuss what areas of data are meaningful, and they will develop a more nuanced and evidence-based approach to advocating for marginalized groups, strengthening their ability to promote equity thoughtfully and effectively.
Session 4: From Place-Based Disparities to Community-Led Solutions
Wednesday, June 17th: 11:30 am - 1 pm
From Place-Based Disparities to Community-Led Solutions is a 90-minute interactive, trauma-informed training designed for public health and community leaders working in rural and frontier Colorado. This session explores how geography, workforce limitations, structural determinants, and social context uniquely shape health outcomes outside urban centers. Participants will examine why traditional urban equity models often fall short in rural settings and will gain practical, place-based tools to advance health equity through asset-based framing, cross-sector partnerships, culturally responsive engagement, and rural-appropriate evaluation strategies
James Kuemmerle
Session 6: The Weight of Equity: Burnout, Racial Battle Fatigue, and Moral Injury in Healthcare Professions
July: Date and Time TBD
Research demonstrates that healthcare systems are not immune to systemic racism and that racism affects populations and professionals differently across healthcare environments. This training explores the compounded impact of racial battle fatigue (RBF) and moral injury on health professionals, particularly those from racially marginalized communities. Racial battle fatigue refers to the cumulative emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion resulting from ongoing exposure to systemic racism and microaggressions in professional spaces. Moral injury historically associated with military contexts is increasingly recognized in healthcare and describes the profound psychological distress that arises from witnessing or participating in actions that violate one’s moral or ethical values, such as inequitable care delivery or systemic neglect of marginalized communities. Participants will gain practical tools to recognize, address, and mitigate these harms within their organizations. This proposal centers intersectionality as a critical framework for understanding how burnout, moral injury, and racial battle fatigue are produced within healthcare institutions, particularly for racially and gender-minoritized professionals. By applying intersectional approaches to leadership development, workforce policy, and institutional accountability, this training aims to support sustainable, equity-driven reforms that foster meaningful systemic change in healthcare environments.
Patrick Gonzalez
Stephanie Lemus
Alyssa Bieneme
Natalee Salcedo
Session 7: From Intent to Impact: Embedding Equity into Public Health Learning & Engagement
Wednesday, September 16th: 12pm - 1pm
This interactive 1-hour training supports public health professionals in moving beyond equity as a stated value toward equity as a daily practice that intentionally informs the design and delivery of public health learning and engagement opportunities. Using the evidence-informed MIPAEE framework (Motivation, Information, Practice, Application, Evaluation, and Equity), participants will examine how equity-centered questions can be embedded across each phase to strengthen facilitation, engagement, and relevance across diverse roles and contexts. The training emphasizes practical equity-centered planning tools that support equitable design and delivery of trainings, meetings, community listening sessions, and other learning and engagement opportunities. Participants will leave with shared language, applied strategies, and concrete next steps they can use in their work, supported by a planning worksheet to be provided following the session.
Session 8: Navigating Crises with Credibility: Why Trust is foundational for Public Health Professionals
Monday, October 19th: 12pm - 1pm
This interactive training will explore how individuals have micro- and macro-level influences across multiple communities. Foundational to that influence is trust. We will explore how trust impacts credibility and why it is important to establish trust before a crisis. Learners will be able to critically evaluate how current political climates and systemic racism intersect to erode trust within families, local, and global communities. By the end of this course, participants will have identified strategies to establish and rebuild trust.
Emilie Warr
Jeff Romero
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Kelet Robinson
Session 8: Vaccines: Race, Religion, and Politics
Wednesday, November 11th: 12pm - 1pm
This session provides a historical overview of how vaccine access and acceptance have been shaped by class, politics, and religious interpretation. It examines ethical considerations in vaccine development—including the use of pork-derived gelatin and fetal cell lines—and how these factors may disproportionately impact communities with higher rates of religious observance. Participants will explore the science behind vaccine development and compare the risks of vaccination with the risks of remaining unvaccinated, particularly for high-mortality diseases. The training also critically examines how bias—sometimes framed as religious obligation or personal freedom—can influence health decisions and contribute to inequitable outcomes. Grounded in a public health and equity lens, this session equips participants with a deeper understanding of how structural factors shape vaccine access, trust, and health disparities. Grounded in a public health and equity lens, this session equips participants with a deeper understanding of how structural factors shape vaccine access, trust, and health disparities.
2025 Topics
In 2025 the following topics were covered as part of the Anti-Racist & Health Equity Series:
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Community in Times of Funding Crisis
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Black Maternal and Infant Mortality
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Political Determinants of Brain Health
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Anti-Racism Over the Life Course
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Reimagining Equity in Grantee/Philanthropy Relationships
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Cultivating Empathy and Equity in Public Health Practice
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Cervical Cancer: History & Future in Marginalized Groups
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Empowering Communities: Trauma-Informed and Inclusive Strategies
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Integrating an Antiracist Lens into Public Health Policy
Refund Policy
Please note that all ticket sales for these events are final and non-refundable. We understand that plans can change, and while we are unable to offer refunds, we do allow for substitutions. If you are unable to attend, you may transfer your ticket to another person at no additional cost.
To request a substitution, please contact us at info@coloradopublichealth.org with the name and contact information of the new attendee no later than 24 hrs before the event.
Thank you for your understanding and support!