North America Regional Office – NARO
Introduction
IUHPE/NARO – the North American Regional Office of the International Union for Health Promotion and Education (IUHPE) – is one of its seven regional offices around the world and comprises the US, Canada and the Caribbean.
The goal and objectives for NARO Regional Committee in 2019-2022:
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The key goal for this three-year period is increasing opportunities for the engagement of IUHPE members, both regional and global.
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Our objectives and activities are focused on:
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Setting up a mentoring program
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Developing conference sessions for the IUHPE’s XXth World Conference in Montreal in 2022
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Connect and co-create within the network, particularly by partnering with IUHPE working groups and IUHPE’s Student and Early Career Network (ISECN).
Dr. Hope Corbin
Regional Vice President
Dr. Hope Corbin is associate professor and director of the Human Services program in the department of Health and Community Studies at Western Washington University. She has been an active member of IUHPE since 2004. Most of her favorite professional memories have taken place at IUHPE World conferences and her best professional work has been projects she undertook with IUHPE colleagues.
Hope’s scholarship focuses on intersectoral collaboration to reduce inequity in the social determinants of health. She recognizes the potential for partnership to leverage diverse ways of knowing and power for emancipatory health promotion. Hope works to uncover historical and contemporary processes that inhibit partnership to find better, more equitable ways of working, particularly in North-South collaboration. Lately, she is exploring how incorporating the arts in health promotion practice, research, and social mobilization provides a promising pathway to transformation, liberation, and healing for individuals, settings, communities and societies. Hope serves as Vice President for the International Union for Health Promotion and Education's North American Region, Faculty Mentor to the IUHPE's Student and Early Career Network, and as Deputy Editor-in-Chief to Health Promotion International.
Work Plan
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Membership development strategy for the region.
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Fundraising – potential sponsorship and funding in the region.
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Partnerships – strengthen existing partnerships and develop new partnerships.
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Communication – strengthen current communication tools.
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Governance - align current trustees with the most relevant global portfolios; rethink most effective strategy for the composition for the NARO board.
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Advocacy, Capacity Building, Scientific portfolio, knowledge translation and/or leadership.
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Engage the NARO region to contribute to these professional goals as directed by their interests and capacity.
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Contact NARO members who are in arrears (in line with global strategy).
IUHPE/NARO 2019-22 Officers
Members of the Regional Committee:
Regional Vice President:
J. Hope Corbin (hope.corbin@wwu.edu)
Immediate-past Regional Vice President:
Bojana Beric-Stojsic
Vice President of Finance:
Keiko Sakagami
Trustee for Communications:
Taylor Lawson
Trustee for Fundraising:
Emily Jenkins
Trustee for Membership:
Nikita Boston-Fisher
Trustee for Partnerships:
Stephanie Leitch
Trustee for Scientific and Professional Development:
David-Martin Milot
Trustee for Scientific Meetings and Conferences:
Mathieu Roy
Secretariat
Elaine Auld
Member - IUHPE Global Executive Board 2019-2022:
Ann Pederson
Louise Potvin
Latest News
Message from Dr. Hope Corbin, Regional Vice President, on the COVID-19 Pandemic
As I write this on April, 23rd, 2020, the US currently has 852,253 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and has reported 43,587 deaths (New York Times, 2020). Alarmingly, the states, cities and regions tracking such data are seeing drastically higher rates of infection and deaths among Black Americans and other communities of color. The patterns of social, economic, and political oppression faced by these communities that led to preexisting health disparities are exacerbated in the face of the pandemic (Washington Post, 2020). Health promotion is urgently needed now and in the future to redress these inequities and ensure health for all people.
As I reflect on the socioecological underpinning of health promotion and the Ottawa Charter action areas, I see so clearly how in an emergency, failures in any part of the system impede progress across the board. The patchwork of policies without uniform and evidence-based federal guidance is derailing and undermining containment efforts. The supportiveness of environments is completely created state by state, workplace by workplace, school district by school district, etc. and is resulting in wildly different experiences for individuals, families and communities. There has been inspiring community action—unfortunately it has had to be directed toward addressing failures at other levels with people sewing masks and 3D printing face shields at home because appropriate testing and PPE is unavailable to protect frontline health care workers. The failure of our health care services to enact a prevention orientation in our general health care system before the crisis is resulting in high death rates due to the prevalence of NCDs in this country. Taken together—these failures are allowing the virus to rage in certain areas, making vulnerable certain workers, forcing stop-gap measure due to a lack of preparedness, and resulting in even more preventable illness and death.
The landscape in the US is grim. And while there is much to critique and much to still fear as shaky (and premature) discussions of reopening the “economy” begin—I am still astounded by the leadership shown in some cities, regions and states. My own state of Washington moved swiftly and decisively in shutting down schools, events, and most businesses successfully flattening the first wave of the local outbreak. This is quite honestly the only time I have ever witnessed a true “health in all policies” effort—truly, all other concerns were put aside in the service of protecting life. Now the question and challenge to us is: how can we continue to keep this focus front and center in the US (and other countries)? How can we use the data and experience of this pandemic to secure health and life for our most marginalized communities? As societies, we must not squander the opportunity to learn from this.
We invite you to read all COVID-19 messages from the IUHPE President and Regional Vice Presidents.
Publications
Newsletter Archive
- Health Promotion Canada Updates (NARO Navigator, 2018)
