HIP July 2024 Newsletter

HIP is busy over the summer preparing for the fall leadership summits to kick off the 2024-2025 school year! We recently welcomed a chief of staff to our team to oversee strategy, growth and partnerships! The HIP team is diligently working on expansion with new partner schools and districts!

HIP SPOTLIGHTS

JEFFREY AKIN

HIP BOARD CHAIR

Jeffrey Akin has served as HIP’s board chair for the past two years. Jeff is a life-long entrepreneur, philanthropist and community advocate. 

Jeff and his wife, Lisa Schejola Akin, and children Alessia and Luca, currently reside in Madrid, Spain. 

Jeff and Lisa lived in Miami for many years, where they witnessed, firsthand, the profound power and extraordinary reach of HIP’s impact in the South Florida community. 

Jeff immediately connected with and was impressed by HIP’s potential for replicability and scalability. Jeff provides regular guidance and counsel to HIP’s leaders on the organization’s infrastructure, growth and expansion.

The Akin’s family foundation, the Carlo and Micol Schejola Foundation, has invested in HIP for many years, helping build the HIP team and supporting HIP’s nationwide expansion to Broward County, Little Rock and New York. 

Thank you, Jeff, for your leadership and stewardship of the HIP organization! We are truly grateful for your support and generosity!

KAREN HEATHERLY

PRINCIPAL, LITTLE ROCK WEST

Our first year in Little Rock, Arkansas, in partnership with the Clinton Foundation, was a tremendous success! 

Principal Karen Heatherly, of Little Rock West, writes about her first year with HIP:

“Students often listen to their peers over adults in their lives. HIP provides that opportunity for students to hear important health information from individuals they will listen to. I have heard students talking about the lessons and presentations in a positive way. This is a great program and I can see it getting better year after year.”

MAYA RACHLIN

PEER EDUCATOR, MIAMI BEACH HIGH

“When I first heard of HIP, I was a lonely and anxious freshman who had just moved to a new and intimidating place. I was struggling to find my place and felt powerless until I listened to my first HIP presentation. HIP gave me the opportunity to talk to my peers and understand that what I was feeling was common and accepted."

Maya Rachlin

Peer Educator

Miami Beach Senior High School

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