Building Stronger Communities for Better Health

Dr. Gail C. Christopher
Vice President, Program Strategy, W.K. Kellogg Foundation
PlaceMatters: Building Stronger Communities for Better Health

A 2010 analysis of life expectancy data by the Cuyahoga County PLACE MATTERS Team, a group of local leaders developing strategies on how where we live, work, and play impacts health, reveals a 24-year difference in life expectancy between individuals living in Lyndhurst versus individuals living in the Hough neighborhood of Cleveland. We will discuss this and more at this important dialogue on “why place matters.”

PLACE MATTERS is a nationwide initiative of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, Health Policy Institute, to build the capacity of community leaders to address social, economic and environmental conditions in communities that shape health and health outcomes. PLACE MATTER S is designed to improve the health outcomes of participating communities – including Cuyahoga County – through shared learning experiences. The program assists participating teams in developing and implementing community-based strategies to address the social factors that determine health.

Dr. Gail C. Christopher is the Vice President for Programs, Food, Health & Well-Being at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Dr. Christopher is recognized nationally as a leader in health policy, with particular experience in the issues related to social determinants of health, health disparities and public policy of concern to minority populations. Dr. Christopher has more than 20 years of experience in designing and managing national initiatives. A writer and presenter, Dr. Christopher is an author, co-author, writer of a monthly column in the Federal Times, and more than 250 articles, presentations and publications.