Cynthia Cushing’s Post

What is community power? It's a question that arose from the branding discussion we held with Communities of Opportunity (COO), a partnership between Public Health – Seattle & King County and Seattle Foundation. Read about the important work the COO governance group is doing to achieve #healthequity in our region. bit.ly/COO-Community-Power

Dr. Pearl McElfish, Director of UAMS’s Institute for Community Health Innovation, dropped some great leadership nuggets at the Springdale Chamber’s Women’s Networking Luncheon. She encouraged us to: 1)Discover your superpower and spend the majority of your time doing that. 2)Prioritize what is most important right now and help your team prioritize. 3)Speak the truth and develop a culture where your team speaks the truth. 4)Don’t wait for the good stuff. Build it in everyday.

Did you know that companies that prioritize social responsibility see a 13% increase in revenue on average? By investing in local communities, businesses not only make a positive impact but also strengthen their bottom line. Build a ladder to your bigger vision, act with curiosity, and bring the right people to the table. By listening and learning from the local community, we can create mutually beneficial partnerships that drive positive change. Happy Community Health Improvement Week! #CommunityDevelopment #BusinessImpact #Leadership

✊🏽Register now for our October 16 webinar with the Zehr Institute for Restorative Justice. The topic is how we are turning Houston into a restorative city through intergenerational partnerships. I will be presenting alongside an RJ alum and two high school RJ practitioners. #RestorativeJustice #intergenerationalPartnerships #Generational #Circles #TransformativeJustice #Youth #YouthLeadership

When we are with our community everything flows, every move lands and work is joyful. Thought leaders build their communities intentionally and with purpose. Building an intentional community means moments like these happen often. #thoughtleader #community #building #expert #changemakers

I attended a Diversity Dialogue Dinner led by UPMC and YWCA York the other night and here's what I learned: 1. Showing Up Matters. Especially if you consider yourself devoted to Justice & Equity work but even if you're not … showing up to learn and understand is essential to your growth. 2. What we all need most is more collaboration and communication across organizations and communities. Less siloing and more true community building. Less competition over funds and more connection over serving humanity. 3. Radical Kindness is still the language we all want to speak. Not the language of violence but that of cooperation, compassion and empathy. 4. There is no greater bridge builder and safe space-making tool than FOOD. It's our biggest commonality. 5. We need more events like this and to make them widely accessible for everyone to experience so that more connections can be made. 🤔 Thank you to Iyatunde Lark-Rivers, MHA for being a fantastic facilitator and to stephanie romero for being a light with such positive energy.

The secret to building a successful community? Here are my three main strategies in building a community from scratch: Find the common denominator This could be a shared need or vision. Make sure that this is always the foundation on which you connect people. For example, I made sure that the shared need (which was the need for standards and templates) was the main focus of every community interaction. Strong leadership Communities need to mature, and in its initial stages it requires a strong lead that illustrates the possibilities and also the importance of being a part of the community. A community lead should be able to find the shared need and motivate the community to participate. Connect to the individual A community is nothing without the individual. As a community lead, your first task starts with getting to know the individuals. It's not always possible to know everyone from your community, but that does not mean you should not do your best to get to know who is in your community. Bonus: Make sure to implement a continuous improvement loop in the initial stages and commit to the suggestions.

"By aligning the board with your strategies, empowering committees, fostering accountability, and engaging the community, you can leverage your board’s collective strengths to drive meaningful and lasting change." Senior Program Officer Lisa Mullins Thompson shares seven steps to build buy-in, encourage understanding, and leverage your board for greater success. Read here: https://bit.ly/3zUfZuv

When we are with our community everything flows, every move lands and work is joyful. Thought leaders build their communities intentionally and with purpose. Building an intentional community means moments like these happen often. #thoughtleader #community #building #expert #changemakers

Engaging a community through Communities of Practice, Chapters, Guilds, and focused groups can be powerful. However, without clear purpose, defined outcomes, and planned activities, these initiatives risk disengaging members and adding little to no value. Strategic planning and intentionality are key to fostering meaningful engagement and achieving desired results. #CommunityEngagement #StrategicPlanning #Intentionality #Weekly thoughts #MusingsofaQualityGeek