One of the key messages guiding the Center for Prevention’s mission to tackle the leading causes of preventable disease is around the importance of community. A thriving community is made up of people who care for and about each other; people who depend on one another.

The dominant health narrative says that health is about individual choices and behaviors. However, because of inequities built into our systems, policies and environments, not everyone has the opportunity or access to make healthy choices. We need to work together to change the systems and structures that hold us back from our full potential as healthy thriving communities.

In this episode, we invited LaTrisha Vetaw and Jill Chamberlain to have a conversation about the roles of individuals and of community, the importance that lived experiences and seeing yourself as a part of your community play in shifting the narrative around health – especially physical activity, access to healthy spaces such as parks and walking paths. LaTrisha has over a decade of experience serving her community, both as Health Policy and Advocacy Director at NorthPoint Health and Wellness Center and most recently as a Minneapolis Park Commissioner At-Large. Jill is passionate about supporting policy and systems change work around active living, serving as Senior Community Health and Health Equity Program Manager at the Center for Prevention.