Congratulations to Center faculty member and MCH Program alumni Dr. Rebecca Shlafer, 2025 recipient of the prestigious President's Community-Engaged Scholar Award! This career award recognizes one scholar for exemplary community-engaged scholarship in their respective field(s) of inquiry. The President's award is the highest recognition for community-engaged scholarship at the UMN. Dr. Shlafer received her PhD in child psychology from the Institute of Child Development (2010) and her MPH in Maternal and Child Health (2016) at the UMN. Her research, teaching, and advocacy focuses on understanding the developmental outcomes of children and families with multiple risk factors, specifically children with incarcerated parents and the programs and policies that impact incarcerated people and their families.
Hearty congratulations to MCHers Kara Cowell and Mary Kenny for receiving a UMN School of Public Health microgrant award for their Minnesota Menstrual Equity Toolkit project with the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota. We are #UMNproud of your work!
Student Spotlight: How is Aarin Urevig Informing Breastfeeding Practices Through Research and Community Engagement?
MCH Leads Blog: How Jen Farnsworth’s MCH MPH Helps Her as a Violence Prevention Specialist
Jen Farsworth MPH from Milken Institute for Public Health at George Washington University, is the April feature of MCH Leads. In her blog entry, Jen applies MCH Competency 1 (MCH Knowledge Base/Context) to her work as a Senior Violence Prevention Specialist at LAWS Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Services. “I integrate the MCH knowledge of the life-course perspective, root causes of social norms, and prevention into my daily work. As a member of the prevention and outreach team and as the county’s designated sexual assault service provider, I educate and engage communities everyday.” Learn more about Jen’s contributions here.
Community-Engaged, Reproductive Health Research Within the Carceral System: Reflections and Lessons Learned
Individuals with criminal legal system involvement have often been systematically excluded from the process of conducting research. In this webinar, five panelists will discuss their involvement in community-engaged research projects at the intersection of the criminal legal system and reproductive health, as researchers, participants and university instructors. Free and open to all! Register here.
Learning Lab: Shaping the Future of Public Health–Make Your Voice Heard with Abby Gold, Molly Immendorf, and Karen Ehrens
Thursday, May 8, 2025 | 11:00am-1pm CT | Zoom
The Impact Collaborative process uses distinct modules designed to help teams co-create a program or project that achieves a positive, measurable local impact. In this session, participants will learn how to develop a unique value proposition for their program and how to communicate its short, medium, and long term impacts to partners and decision makers. If you’re interested in reading the Impact Collaborative Workbook, you can find it here. Free and open to all! Register here.
Webinar on Minnesota's Healthy Start Act (HSA)
This webinar, hosted by the Justice-Involved Women and Children (JIWC) Collaborative, will summarize a recent evaluation of HSA implementation, main findings, recommendations, and will feature a panel of individuals who will share their experiences with this policy, highlighting perspectives from researchers, Department of Corrections staff, and individuals with lived experience. Free and open to all! Register here.
2025 Adolescent Health Summer Institute: Shaping Healthy Communities–Unleashing the Power of Youth
Hosted by the UMN School of Nursing, the 2025 Adolescent Health Summer Institute offers a space for those who work with young people to become a catalyst for positive change by building stronger, more connected communities where all young people can thrive.
Register here.
