Organizations Championing Women’s Health
The Summit will serve as a forum for organizations dedicated to understanding and addressing the challenges faced by women and girls in Houston.
By sharing insights, resources, and strategies, we aim to foster a collaborative environment where we can discuss potential solutions to these issues. Through collective effort, we strive to enhance the impact of our initiatives and create a supportive community that empowers women and girls throughout Greater Houston.
September 10, 2024
9 am – 1 pm
9:00 a.m.
Registration, breakfast, and networking
9:30 a.m.
Welcome and Introductions
Linda Rhodes, Executive Director
The Women’s Fund for Health Education and Resiliency
Lauren K. Summerville, Board President
The Women’s Fund for Health Education and Resiliency
Emcee and Moderator
Gina Gaston
Anchor for ABC 13 Houston
9:40 a.m.
Data presentation
The presentation will highlight data on Houston’s current health status, emerging trends, and the nonmedical factors influencing outcomes, offering a comprehensive view of our community’s challenges and opportunities.
Daniel Potter, Ph.D.
Director of the Houston Population Research Center at The Kinder Institute for Urban Research
About Daniel
Daniel Potter, Ph.D., is the Director of the Houston Population Research Center at the Kinder Institute for Urban Research at Rice University. In his role, Dr. Potter has built and leads a full-service survey research team has worked with local nonprofits, school districts, health agencies, and other community organizations to gather critically important data that articulates the needs of Houston-area residents while working with experts to help identify solutions. This work includes the Greater Houston Community Panel (GHCP), a longitudinal, panel study of more than 7,000 adult residents in Houston and Harris County, which uses quarterly surveys to examine topics like health and well-being, civic engagement and participation, safety and experiences with crime, social connectedness, and financial stability. One of the hallmarks of this work is the Kinder Houston Area Survey, which is entering its 44th year, making it the longest running survey study of any major metropolitan area in the country.
Prior to being Director, Dr. Potter was the Senior Director of Research at the Kinder Institute, where grew the institute from one research center to five research centers. In addition to the Houston Population Research Center, Dr. Potter established and directed the early build out of the housing and neighborhoods, community and public health, and economic mobility and inequality research centers. Dr. Potter was also previously the Associate Director for Regional Research at the Houston Education Research Consortium (HERC), the education research center at the Kinder Institute, where he grew HERC from having a partnership with one school district to having partnerships with 11 school districts in the Houston area who serve over 715,000 students. In these partnerships.
Dr. Potter has authored journal articles, research reports/briefs, and book chapters. Dr. Potter earned his Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Virginia.
10:00 a.m.
Q&A
10:10 a.m.
Break
10:15 a.m.
Panel discussion
Panelists will discuss how their organizations use health data for decision-making, share key findings, and explore collaboration strategies to enhance impact and better serve our community, fostering collective action for improved health outcomes.
Dr. Jamie Freeny
Director for Center for School Behavioral Health
Mental Health America of Greater Houston
About Jamie
Dr. Jamie Freeny
Dr. Jamie Freeny is a dedicated public health practitioner with a desire to make a difference for the health and wellbeing of children and adolescents. She earned her doctorate in Public Health with a focus on child and adolescent mental health from the UT Health School Of Public Health. Her areas of research include adverse childhood experiences, adolescent mental health, trauma informed care, and collaborative engagement.
Dr. Freeny currently serves as the Director of the Center for School Behavioral Health at Mental Health America of Greater Houston which works collaboratively with school districts, public and nonprofit child-serving organizations, institutions of higher learning, and community stakeholders to develop and implement equitable projects and policies that promote the well-being of school-age youth. She has spent the last 15 years working through healthcare systems, residential behavioral health centers and non-profit organizations to educate and advocate for adolescent mental health.
Dr. Freeny has presented on various topics to professional audiences including adverse childhood experiences, child trauma, and equity in school mental health and has galvanized systems change through an equitable and trauma-informed lens. She was awarded the 2021 Child Advocate of the Year for the State of Texas and has been invited as a child mental health expert to provide education and testimony on behalf of proposed legislation, and national and local policy.
Denise LaRue
Administrative Director of Clinical Integration and Transformation
Harris Health System
About Denise
Denise LaRue
Denise LaRue serves as Administrative Director of Clinical Integration and Transformation within Harris Health System’s Population Health platform in Houston, Texas. Her work focuses on building capacity for health equity through initiatives that optimize Harris Health’s ability to focus on disparities, as well as to assess and address health-related social needs within system processes and workflows. These efforts include integrating community resources within health centers, establishing organization-level cross-sector partnerships to improve care across settings, and redesigning care to meet patients’ total health needs. Some examples of these efforts include developing Harris Health’s Food Rx initiatives, establishing a Medical Legal Partnership, and launching the We Ask Because We Care campaign to improve awareness and systematize collection of quality demographic and social need data among patients.
Denise received her undergraduate degree in Biology from Baylor University and holds a Masters in Public Health and a Masters in Health Care Transformation, both from the University of Texas.
Lharissa Jacobs
Founder & Executive Director
Fit Houston
About Lharissa
Lharissa Jacobs
Lharissa Jacobs is the Founder and Executive Director of Fit Houston, a non-profit that promotes free physical activity in under-resourced communities. As the former Vice President of Health Strategies at the American Heart Association (AHA) in Houston, she worked with clinics and community partners to maximize equitable health and well-being. She has spent the past two decades advocating for healthy communities. Prior to joining the AHA, she pioneered and led a large portfolio of evidence-based programs focused on child nutrition and chronic disease prevention for the YMCA of Greater Houston.
Lharissa is a Senior Fellow with the American Leadership Forum and alumna of McKinsey & Company Asian Executive Leadership Program. Lharissa is on the Board of Directors for the UH Health Family Care Center, Houston Tool Bank and The CommonMarketTexas. She is dedicated to using her professional experience and innovative thinking to support sustainable and stronger communities. She has a master’s degree in education and an M.B.A. from the University of Houston and speaks Spanish.
Lharissa is happiest in the great outdoors, often running with friends, sprinting after two lovable terriers, and spending quality time with her husband and two children.
Christy Serrano
Program Officer
Episcopal Health Foundation
About Christy
Christy Serrano
Christy (Adriana Christine) Serrano is a Program Officer at the Episcopal Health Foundation. Christy leads the foundation’s grantmaking strategies that advance EHF’s goal of building a foundation for a healthy life by investing in early relational health and maternal health during pregnancy through the first years of life.
Prior to her time at EHF, Christy served in policy, programmatic, and philanthropic roles working to promote early childhood development and infant mental health. Christy’s expertise lies in policy analysis, program development, and nonprofit administration. She has also served in volunteer leadership positions with various nonprofit advisory boards and committees.
Christy holds a Master of Public Policy from the University of Chicago, and a Bachelor of Arts from Northwestern University. She grew up in Missouri City, TX and now lives in Houston, TX with her family.
11:35 a.m.
Q&A
11:55 a.m.
Lunch break and table discussions
Tables will discuss the barriers their organizations faced in reaching populations this past year, noting whether these challenges are resolved or ongoing.
12:25 p.m.
Collaboration and next steps
A group discussion on the barriers previously discussed, focusing on learning about other organizations’ work, exploring ways to better serve women and girls, and identifying collaboration opportunities to benefit Greater Houston.
12:50 p.m.
Conclusion
This is an invitation only event.
If you have not received an invite, please contact us.