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Message from the Director
Greetings,
I hope that you were able to recharge this summer. We hosted our Onboarding and Mini College in June, when we officially welcomed our new cohort of Champion Provider Fellows and celebrated the accomplishments of our graduating cohort! Our new fellows will gain hands-on experience crafting and delivering effective messaging during our upcoming Media Training in September, led by BMC. We also look forward to learning more about their interests in PSE work during our upcoming Work In Progress (WIP) call. As a reminder, alumni fellows are welcome to join WIP calls to share experiences and network with other like-minded Champions in PSE change.
Recognizing the power of learning from alumni, we are pleased to announce our 2025-2027 alumni mentors.
| | Our alumni mentors will serve as moderators for webinars and trainings, and provide technical assistance to our new cohort of fellows. | | |
In Health and Solidarity,
Wagahta Semere, MD, MHS
Fellowship Director & Associate Professor
UCSF School of Medicine
| | Reminder: Find articles and resources related to your area(s) of interest by clicking on the icon(s) that correspond to our five focus areas, below: | | |
Dr. Wai-Yin Chan (Cohort 5, San Diego County)
Dr. Chan (Cohort 5, San Diego County) developed a collection of articles for the California Dental Association (CDA) Healthy People 2030 as a guest editor. She recruited current and past fellows, Dr. Arlet Arratoonian (Cohort 5, Los Angeles), Dr. Melissa Campos (Cohort 4, San Diego), and Dr. Fadra Whyte (Cohort 4, San Diego) as authors.
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Dr. David Thai (Cohort 5, Sonoma County)
Delta Dental Community Care Foundation (DDCCF) - Access to Care Grant awarded to Dr. David Thai (Cohort 5, Sonoma) and West County Health Centers $250,000 to expand access to dental care in Guerneville, CA.
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Reminder! Brown·Miller Communications is here to help you!
Need help with message development, op-ed support, or preparing for an interview? Make sure to contact Mike Miller or Muriel Bañares of Brown·Miller Communications. They provide a multitude of media and communication services to Champion Provider Fellows and local health departments. Send them an email to find out how they can help you!
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*Champion Provider Listserv*
Collaborate & communicate with Champion Provider
Fellows across the state about your community change efforts.
NOTE: Please do not use the listserv to promote lobbying efforts or to discuss patient care.
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2025-2026 State Budget Maintains Nutrition Commitments
On June 27, Governor Gavin Newsom signed the 2025–26 California State Budget, which reflects a continued commitment to fighting hunger and advancing food equity. Among other priorities that support nutrition access for vulnerable communities, key investments include a one-time $60 million allocation for CalFood to support the purchase of California-grown and produced food by California food banks, maintaining School Meals for All with an additional $90.7 million, and $36 million to restart the CalFresh Fruit & Vegetable EBT Program.
Read more here.
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Note: Materials included in this section are for reference and information purposes only and do not imply endorsement by the federal government, California Department of Public Health, or the University of California, San Francisco.
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Office of Nutrition Research Strategic Plan: 2026-2030 Fiscal Years
National Institutes of Health. Office of Nutrition Research. (2025)
The Office of Nutrition Research (ONR) strategic plan outlines a vision with nutrition as central to whole person health from the first to last days of life, as well as across generations. Addressing diet-related chronic diseases in children and adults requires an all-hands-on-deck approach. Within NIH, ONR is taking the lead by identifying emerging scientific opportunities, rising public health challenges, and scientific gaps in the field of nutrition. Given the foundational role of nutrition in biology and health, everyone at NIH has a stake in advancing nutrition research.
Read the strategic plan here.
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Statewide Universal School Meal Policies and Food Insecurity in Households with Children
Orta-Aleman, D., Schwartz, M. B., Patel, A. I., Polacsek, M., Hecht, C., Hecht, K., Zuercher, M. D., Ritchie, L., ScM, J. C., & Gosliner, W. (2025). American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 107942. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2025.107942
Food insecurity disproportionately affects US households with children, causing adverse health and developmental outcomes. During COVID-19, federal waivers enabled free meals for all K-12 students, but these waivers expired in 2022. Subsequently, some states adopted their own School Meals for All (SMFA) policies. This study examined whether households in states with SMFA policies experienced lower food insecurity than states reverting to means-tested programs and whether associations varied by family income.
Read the article here.
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Bike Buses: Let's Bike to School Together
Safe Routes: National Center for Safe Routes to School (2025)
The concept behind a bike bus is a simple one: Groups of students and adults riding to school together. However, a bike bus is more than the sum of its parts, sparking enthusiasm among families and showing communities what’s possible for the trip to school. Bike buses, also known as bike trains, come in all shapes and sizes. The National Center for Safe Routes to School developed a guide for those considering starting a bike bus.
Read more and download the guide here.
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3rd Annual Food is Medicine National Summit
October 8-9, 2025
Boston, MA & Virtual
The Summit is the premier gathering for leaders shaping the future of Food is Medicine. Last year, the event convened over 200 people in person, and more than 1000 online, from across academia, healthcare, the private sector, policy, community-based organizations, and individuals with lived experience to advance the role of food and nutrition in healthcare. This year, the Summit will focus on both the real-world progress and the tensions in Food Is Medicine implementation, effectiveness, and equity.
Read more and register here.
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Safe Routes to School Summit 2025
October 28-30, 2025
Virtual
The 2025 Safe Routes to School Virtual Summit will be three days of engaging presentations, hands-on trainings, and educational conversations focused on topics that matter most to Safe Routes practitioners.
Register here.
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American Public Health Association Annual Meeting & Expo
November 2-5, 2025
Washington, D.C.
APHA’s Annual Meeting and Expo is one of the largest and most influential public health meetings in the world. More than 12,000 public health experts are expected to participate in the 2025 Annual Meeting, virtually or in-person. Journalists covering this event have access to more than 4,000 scientific papers and thousands of oral presentations that foster discussions about the larger picture of public health. It is a remarkable opportunity to meet sources, chart trends and uncover story ideas.
Register here.
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