IWBI Launches Global Network of Advisors to Advance Health Equity Worldwide
Health Equity Advisory to further the goal of prioritizing diversity, equity and inclusion
NEW YORK, January 14, 2020 /3BL Media/ – The International WELL Building Institute today announced the launch of its new IWBI Health Equity Advisory to help accelerate its vision for everyone to have a fair and just opportunity to be as healthy as possible. The Advisory will work to identify, codify and scale strategies that can be used by buildings, businesses and communities around the world to help achieve this vision.
The Advisory will be led by a global group of prestigious co-chairs representing diverse areas of expertise and perspectives, including:
- Amit Bouri, Co-Founder and CEO, Global Impact Investing Network
- Atyia Martin, Ph.D., CEO and Founder, All Aces, Inc.
- Cheryl S. Durst, Hon. FIIDA, Executive Vice President and CEO, International Interior Design Association
- Rabbi Gil Bashe, Managing Partner, Global Health, FINN Partners
- Kimberly Lewis, global sustainability, equity and faith-based leader and diversity and inclusion consultant
- Nancy Roman, president and CEO, Partnership for a Healthier America
- Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, M.D., PIK Professor of Health Equity and Health Policy, University of Pennsylvania and former president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
- Yele Aluko, M.D., Managing Director, Chief Medical Officer, EY Americas
The co-chairs will be supported by experts and leaders in health equity, diversity and inclusion, inclusive design, community building and stakeholder engagement as well as other best practices that promote equitable access to healthier places and address the needs of marginalized and underrepresented populations.
Over the course of 2021, the Advisory will help identify opportunities to make healthy places available and accessible to all individuals, no matter their identity, location, background or level of ability. With the aim to support equitable access to health as its outcome, and diversity and inclusion as the ways to achieve this goal, the Advisory will recommend key metrics and indicators for measuring and evaluating progress; identify considerations for promoting health equity at the organizational level; and provide expertise on the localization of strategies across regions and sectors.
“Fulfilling our vision for health equity requires recognizing that many health disparities are rooted in systemic conditions and social determinants – including the design and operation of the places where we live our lives, and this gives rise to disproportionate health burdens on specific populations,” said IWBI President and CEO Rachel Hodgdon. “In the context of the formidable enemy that is COVID-19, we know for a fact that we can activate the spaces and places where we spend our lives as a first line of defense in this fight.”
She continued, “Already the WELL ecosystem seeks to address diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility and justice. Now, as part of our effort this year to redouble our focus on the pursuit of equity, the IWBI Health Equity Advisory will help to further fortify WELL as a lever for advancing a culture of health that affords everyone an opportunity to live the healthiest version of their lives. We are pleased to welcome our esteemed co-chairs and begin the collaborative work of promoting solutions that drive greater health equity worldwide.”
Applications for Health Equity Advisory participation are now available here.
About the International WELL Building Institute
The International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) is a public benefit corporation and the world’s leading organization focused on deploying people first places to advance a global culture of health. IWBI mobilizes its community through the administration of the WELL Building Standard (WELL) and the WELL Health-Safety Rating, management of the WELL AP credential, the pursuit of applicable research, the development of educational resources, and advocacy for policies that promote health and wellbeing everywhere. More information on WELL can be found here.
International WELL Building Institute, IWBI, the WELL Building Standard, WELL v2, WELL Certified, WELL AP, WELL Portfolio, WELL Portfolio Score, The WELL Conference, We Are WELL, the WELL Community Standard, WELL Health-Safety Rating, WELL Health-Safety Rated, WELL and others, and their related logos are trademarks or certification marks of International WELL Building Institute pbc in the United States and other countries.
Media contact:
media@wellcertified.com
