Martha Moore-Monroy has been working to advocate for health equity nationally through her service with the National REACH Coalition and now she has been invited to join the National COVID-19 Resilience Network, an initiative of the Morehouse School of Medicine. At the same time, she guides students to help with COVID response and work for health equity.
Passionate about supporting underserved communities, Martha Moore-Monroy, MA, lecturer and program manager at the Zuckerman College of Public Health and has been collaborating to ensure historically underserved racial and ethnic communities receive COVID-19 response information and resources through her service with the National REACH Coalition (NRC). Recently, Ms. Moore-Monroy was invited to serve on the Regional Community Coalition for the National Covid-19 Resiliency Network (NCRN), led by the Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM), alongside other board members from the NRC. An impressive recognition of her work and abilities, this new role is a promising opportunity to help expand health equity. Congratulations Martha!
National COVID-19 Resiliency Network
The purpose of the National COVID-19 Resiliency Network (NCRN) is to coordinate a national network of various levels of community organizations to help mitigate the effects of COVID-19 on the communities they serve. Members of the Regional Community Coalition (RCC) represent different types of community health organizations in disproportionately affected communities. The network will identify communities disproportionately impacted, access and prioritize their needs, and then disseminate culturally appropriate COVID-19 related materials and resources. Through the NCRN and the National REACH Coalition, Ms. Moore-Monroy will expand her work to reach underserved communities with information and resources
Guiding Students to Build Health Equity
As a dedicated champion for health equity, Martha works with many students, both undergraduates and grad students, to reach diverse communities.
“I’m inspired by my students. Their enthusiasm and determination to help others, to work for change, amazes me,” said Moore-Monroy. Recently, some of her students worked with the Southeast Arizona Health Education Center (SEAHEC) to create infographics for their Future Health Leaders Club and met with high school and middle school students to talk about health careers. Undergraduate students Ashlee Morgan and Jacob Marczak are coordinating a program with Apollo Middle School in Tucson to support teachers and mentor students.
Moore-Monroy’s graduate students have been working with many different community organizations on health equity projects. Graduate students Casey Cheung, Heather Doss, and Bailey Hollingsworth are working with the Pascua Yaqui Charitable Organization, graduate students Betsy Sorensen and G. Lopez Ixta are working with the South Tucson Housing Authority, graduate students Josie Eck, Velma Gesimba and Eniola Idowu are working with Planned Parenthood, graduate students David Egbo, Tiana Poirier Shelton and Jing Xia are working with Saguaro National Park on a plan to increase diversity among visitors, and graduate students Genesis Buckhalter-Horne and Oneida Chinyere are working with the United Way on a financial health initiative.
Many of Moore-Monroy’s students have done extra work outside the classroom to support community organizations, such as undergraduates Nadia Clarke and Sohail Daulat who worked with the Pasqua Yaqui tribe and Medical Directive on health issues. Sohail also worked with student Lauren Murphy to set up an equity and diversity club for undergraduate students.
Working with the National REACH Coalition
Martha Moore-Monroy’s work focuses on community-based participatory research (CBPR) and programs to benefit health outcomes in historically underserved communities. She emphasizes health equity through focusing on environmental influences, policy changes, barriers to accessibility, and educational interventions. Martha is the Vice President of the National REACH Coalition Board of Directors. Her work with the National REACH Coalition focuses on advocacy and supporting national health equity efforts.
Recently, the National REACH Coalition organized a series of webinars to help guide vaccine distribution equity efforts among different communities. One of the public health students Martha works with, Alaina Kautz, and members of the NRC Board of Directors to collaborate on planning and organizing the events. Check out the webinars with the National REACH Coalition:
Flipping The Paradigm: Community Leading Health Equity Efforts
African American & Asian/Pacific Islander Communities & COVID-19 Vaccinations
