New Connections at 10

A Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Program

Margarita Alegría, PhD
Chief, Disparities Research Unit Department of Medicine, MGH Professor, Department of Psychiatry Harvard Medical School

FOREWORD

As a professional who has spent the majority of her career trying to improve the available resources for racial/ethnic minorities, New Connections has been a dream come true.

I have been involved with New Connections for more than 10 years, beginning after co-founder Dr. Debra Joy Pérez, a former graduate student of mine, invited me to serve as its first chair. Since then, I have participated in numerous webinars and workshops, offering guidance to dozens of underrepresented scholars as they have sought to expand their careers in academia. Throughout my involvement, I have been struck most by how much lost talent there is in the world because of the lack of long-term investment in the careers of diverse scholars.

My experience with this project has been professionally and personally gratifying. I have learned a lot about the topics that matter most to these communities — topics that are under-investigated by current NIH portfolios, but are nevertheless highly relevant — and how much these scholars have to offer in terms of knowledge and innovation. New Connections serves as the ambassador of underrepresented early investigators who are trying to make an impact in their fields. It is more than a resource for professional development; it is a network of support. I hope New Connections continues to grow, as it has demonstrated the power — and success — of investing in the careers of underrepresented researchers and scholars.

Follow #NCturns10 to read more about our talented scholars and track other developments in our 10-year anniversary campaign!

To learn more about New Connections, please contact us or visit our website.

Welcome to the New Connections 10-year anniversary special publication!

2016 marks our 10-year anniversary, and we are celebrating our longstanding relationship with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in a number of ways — including through this interactive publication.

As you scroll through the site, you will meet scholars with backgrounds in public health, social work, urban planning, education, sociology, psychology, and engineering — among other fields — who are helping build a Culture of Health.

The 12 individuals featured here represent a sampling of the 138 scholars that have participated in the New Connections program over the past decade.

We hope these stories demonstrate the impact of the program in advancing the professional development of early and mid-career scholars who are members of ethnic or racial minorities, low-income communities, and/or the first in their family to receive a college degree.

OUR BACKGROUND

In 2005, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) started the New Connections national program to expand the diversity of perspectives that inform RWJF programming, introduce new researchers and scholars to the Foundation, and build a supportive network of scholars from historically underrepresented groups working in fields that intersect with health and health care.

New Connections represents a lifelong professional network for researchers seeking to create change. Specifically, the program awards grants to Junior Investigators and Mid-Career Consultants from ethnic or racial minority groups, those who are the ﬁrst in their family to receive a college degree, and/or individuals from low-income communities.

In addition to the grantees it funds, the New Connections program also supports a broad network of more than 830 researchers interested in the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s goal of building a national Culture of Health. The researchers transcend disciplines (health; health care; social sciences; business; urban planning; architecture; and engineering); work to build the case for a Culture of Health with strong qualitative and quantitative research skills; and produce and translate timely research results.

Equal Measure serves as the National Program Office for New Connections.

Read our blog post kicking off the Equity. Contribution. Community: New Connections at 10 campaign.

“The value of New Connections at its core is its contribution and commitment to diversifying the field of health and health care. New Connections has been achieving this for the past 10 years by providing professional development resources, training, mentorship, and networking opportunities for scholars from underrepresented backgrounds so that they can advance in their fields.”

Lisa Aponte-Soto
New Connections National Program Deputy Director; Director, Equal Measure

10 YEARS OF IMPACT:
BY THE NUMBERS

Drag the circle to learn more about the background and impact of New Connections

10 YEARS OF IMPACT:
OUR RESEARCH

10 YEARS OF IMPACT:
ON BUILDING A CULTURE OF HEALTH

In 2013 and 2014, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation embraced a new vision: to build a national Culture of Health to enable all in our diverse society to lead healthier lives, now and for generations to come. And that’s what New Connections aims to achieve by providing research grants, networking, and skill-building opportunities to researchers from diverse backgrounds.

“If we are to achieve a Culture of Health that benefits our entire nation, we must ensure that all in our society — regardless of where they live, how much money they make, or where they come from — have the opportunity to make the most of their health. In the past, RWJF has endeavored to acknowledge the issue of equal opportunity in all the programs we have supported. But we have come to believe that we must make a more defined commitment, and take a more coordinated approach, to minimize the barriers that continue to compromise the health of so many in our society.”

Risa Lavizzo-Mourey
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation President and CEO

Through four action areas, or priorities, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation believes communities can work toward a Culture of Health in which people thrive physically, mentally, and socially throughout their lives.

The four action areas are as follows:

Making Health a Shared Value
Fostering Cross-Sector Collaboration to Improve Well-Being
Creating Healthier, More Equitable Communities
Strengthening Integration of Health Services and Systems

See the four action areas below to learn how New Connections scholars are building a Culture of Health in their communities.

CULTURE OF HEALTH:
ACTION AREAS AND SCHOLARS

Making Health a Shared Value

A Culture of Health recognizes that we’re all in this together. In some cases, that means ensuring that your ethnicity is represented in the U.S. Census categories. Other times, it looks like working with schools and communities to ensure children have access to parks, playgrounds, schools, and safe streets.

“I always say ‘we,’ because I can’t do this research by myself. I’m always working with a team of others making everything possible.”

Alexander Vigo-Valentín
2010 New Connections Awardee

LEARN HOW ALEXANDER VIGO-VALENTÍN, FLORENCE DALLO, AND ANTWAN JONES ARE MAKING HEALTH A SHARED VALUE.

Fostering Cross-Sector Collaboration to Improve Well-Being

Building a Culture of Health is a team effort. That’s why community partnerships across sectors are crucial to improved population health, well-being, and equity. From looking at youth in the juvenile justice system to working with policymakers on community revitalization efforts, New Connections scholars are thinking creatively, and pushing their own areas of expertise into new frontiers.

“It’s impossible to do my work in a silo. Cross-sector partnerships are key to helping the St. Louis community better understand some of the unique experiences of Black boys and men that start early.”

Keon Gilbert
2013 New Connections Awardee

LEARN HOW HANH CAO YU, KEON GILBERT, AND HENRIKA MCCOY ARE FOSTERING CROSS-SECTOR COLLABORATION TO IMPROVE WELL-BEING.

Creating Healthier, More Equitable Communities

All communities deserve the chance to reach their greatest health potential — which can only happen when communities are healthy and equitable. New Connections scholars work toward this end in many ways, whether it’s studying workplace health and safety or incorporating tribal concepts of well-being into health education materials.

“It is a human right to be healthy — to have your life evolve in this Culture of Health. I’m trying to reach the person that has not been reached thus far.”

Vanessa Casanova
Current New Connections Awardee

LEARN HOW MYRA PARKER, RODNEY LYN, AND VANESSA CASANOVA ARE CREATING HEALTHIER, MORE EQUITABLE COMMUNITIES.

Strengthening Integration of Health Services and Systems

A Culture of Health means integrated care that empowers patients and providers. This type of integration can look very hands-on — such as providing a patient with mental health services through text messaging — or it can involve exploration of the economic, social, and political structures that create health disparities along the rural-urban divide.

“Recognizing that lifestyle choices — not just the pills we take — contribute to our health is an essential part of building a Culture of Health. With a more integrated health care system that looks at a broader definition of health, hopefully people will start volunteering information about their lifestyle choices to their health care providers.”

Michelle Rogers
2013 New Connections Awardee

LEARN HOW MICHELLE ROGERS, ADRIAN AGUILERA, AND SHANNON MONNAT ARE STRENGTHENING INTEGRATION OF HEALTH SERVICES AND SYSTEMS.

LOOKING FORWARD:
OUR FUTURE

Looking past our 10-year anniversary to what comes next, one thing is certain: the New Connections program will continue to champion the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s vision of a Culture of Health.

We look forward to supporting our next round of scholars through:

Career development activities;
Qualitative and quantitative research skill-building exercises;
Production and translation of timely research results; and
Collaboration with other researchers from diverse fields to create a healthier, more equitable future for all people.

Based on what we already have seen from the researchers highlighted in this publication and elsewhere, we confidently can state that our participants are the next generation of leaders. They are collaborating across sectors to upend the status quo, address health disparities, and take bold steps to achieve greater equity in communities across the country.

“We’ve been considering how the business sector, engineers, community planners, and others may be part of the New Connections network. Fostering relationships, fostering connections and partnerships, and fostering other interdisciplinary approaches to research and new solutions is where we see the program going into the future.”

Renée Byng Yancey
New Connections National Program Director; Vice President, Equal Measure