CHER interns, Esther Minju Lee and Brandon Osborn were selected, along with 10 other California State University, Long Beach students, to attend the California State University (CSU) Student Health Policy Conference held in Sacramento, California. CHER-affiliated faculty member and Assistant Professor of Health Science, Selena Nguyen-Rodriguez, PhD, also represented CSULB during this conference.
The CSU Student Health Policy Conference has been sponsored by The California Endowment for three consecutive years. The purpose of the conference is to expose CSU Students to the process of policy and to give insight on how health policy directly affects communities and their health. During the conference, students met with State Legislators, Lobbyists, and State Public Health Officials, including Deputy Director at the California Department of Public Health Office of Health Equity, Jahmal Miller and Secretary of the California Health and Human Service Agency, Diana Dooley.
Students also attended Assembly and Senate Health Committee Hearings as well as visited the California Museum, which is currently featuring an exhibit developed by The California Endowment called “Health Happens Here.” Students were particularly interested in this exhibit since CHER serves as the Learning and Evaluation Team for Building Health Communities Long Beach, an initiative funded by The California Endowment under the “Health Happens Here” campaign.
CHER interns really enjoyed this conference, as Brandon remarks, “This conference opened my eyes to Health Policy and how policy making actually works. Not only has this conference inspired me to become an advocate for better health in my community, but it has also encouraged me to enter the public health field.”