Health Equity Council
The Health Equity Council (HEC) is a strategic and action-oriented body within the Colorado Public Health Association (CPHA). The Council advances CPHA’s mission by promoting equity, racial justice, and improved health outcomes for all Coloradans.
Guided by CPHA’s core values—Advocacy, Connectedness, Health Equity, Racial Justice, and Service—the HEC centers lived experience, strengthens inclusive leadership, and embeds equity across CPHA’s programs, partnerships, and advocacy efforts.
The Council serves as a hub for collaboration, learning, and accountability, ensuring equity is not an add-on—but a foundation of public health practice across Colorado.
What does an average committee meeting look like?
Meetings are structured, agenda-driven, and collaborative. Agendas are shared in advance and meetings typically include:
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Council and CPHA updates
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Strategic planning and implementation discussions
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Learning and capacity-building
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Partnership coordination
Goals
The Health Equity Council exists to:
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Amplify underrepresented and historically excluded voices
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Foster inclusive public health leadership
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Elevate lived experience as a recognized form of expertise
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Coordinate meaningful partnerships across Colorado
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Build equity capacity within the public health workforce
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Embed equity into CPHA’s operations, committees, advocacy, and programs
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Use data and lived experience to inform policy, practice, and recommendations
Partnerships & Collaboration
The Health Equity Council prioritizes:
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Reciprocal relationships with community-based organizations
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Statewide engagement, including rural and under-resourced communities
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National and global peer learning
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Language access (ASL and Spanish)
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Connection-building events (virtual, hybrid, and in-person)
Sustainability & Accountability
To ensure long-term impact, the Council will:
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Seek funding and sponsorships for stipends and programming
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Publish an annual Equity Impact Report
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Use feedback mechanisms for continuous improvement
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Track engagement and outcomes by race, geography, income, and interest
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Maintain transparency and external accountability
To ensure long-term impact, the Council will:
-
Seek funding and sponsorships for stipends and programming
-
Publish an annual Equity Impact Report
-
Use feedback mechanisms for continuous improvement
-
Track engagement and outcomes by race, geography, income, and interest
-
Maintain transparency and external accountability
To ensure long-term impact, the Council will:
-
Seek funding and sponsorships for stipends and programming
-
Publish an annual Equity Impact Report
-
Use feedback mechanisms for continuous improvement
-
Track engagement and outcomes by race, geography, income, and interest
-
Maintain transparency and external accountability
Meet the Co-Chairs
Erika Cathey
Erika Cathey is a public health professional with over 14 years of experience in communicable disease investigation and control, environmental health, emergency preparedness and response, and data analysis. Her work centers on cross-sector collaboration to prevent disease and advance health equity.
While Erika’s primary focus has been infectious disease epidemiology, her diverse background includes service as a U.S. Navy Hospital Corpsman, an infant mortality researcher, an infection prevention analyst in an acute-care hospital, a restaurant inspector, and the leader of a team of epidemiologists and emergency preparedness responders.
Erika currently works as a Public Health Analyst at the CDC, teaches a Field Epidemiology course at Colorado University, and is a second-year Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) student at Emory University.
Hridith Sudev
Hridith Sudev is an onco-epidemiologist, community organizer and writer who has spent over a decade working to expand healthcare access for communities that public health systems often overlook. Born in India, and raised in Oman, he moved to Denver to study public health, and has called Colorado his home base ever since.
Sudev is a Senior Research Fellow in onco-epidemiology at Mercer University, where he coordinates a cancer inequities research consortium across multiple healthcare institutions. He also teaches public health as an adjunct faculty lecturer at Kennesaw State University. In 2021, he founded Colectivo de Paz, a Denver nonprofit that now serves more than 13,000 people a year through healthcare navigation, mutual aid, youth education and advocacy.
He holds bachelor’s degrees in biological sciences and public policy from the University of Denver, an MPH from the Colorado School of Public Health, and is a DrPH candidate in social epidemiology at Mercer University. Sudev has served on the CPHA Board as its inaugural Director for Emerging Leaders since 2023. He is Editor-in-Chief of RISE Magazine and Co-Chair of the Health Equity Council, and has received CPHA’s 2024 Emerging Leader of the Year award for his contributions to public health in Colorado.
2026 Anti- Racist & Health Equity Series
This curated collection of sessions elevates diverse voices and actionable, evidence-based strategies to advance health equity across communities. Addressing topics from Black maternal and infant mortality to brain health and community resilience, each session offers insight and tools for meaningful public health change.