OurSpace World: Sowing Health, Building Community

Data on health disparities point to a great need for improved access to health information in Black communities. As they are learning about subjects like food, health, and the environment, Black, Indigenous and other People of Color (BIPOC) youth need to see themselves in the books they read (termed curricular "mirrors"). In 2021, OurSpace World, Inc. received a Health Information Outreach Award from NNLM Region 1 Mirror Resources for Health, Food, and Environment to address this need.

This webinar/session will provide an opportunity to learn about this project, the online repository produced, the intersecting challenges the team sought to address, and ongoing related initiatives at the local, regional and national levels.

The project's goals were to use NLM resources (e.g., MEDLINE, MedlinePlus, PubMed) to create a public online repository of resources containing materials representative of Black/African and Latinx youth of color, centered around agriculture, farming, food, health, environmental health and environmental justice.

Guest Presenter Bios
Aitalohi (Aita) Amaize, Administrative Director, OurSpace World, Inc. (Project Lead)

Aita is a Black and Asian mother and mixed-methods public health researcher who draws on years of experience as a grassroots organizer and Registered Nurse (RN) caring for predominantly Black patients in two Washington D.C. Emergency Departments and in its largest Federally Qualified Health Center. She brings decades of skills and experience in program development, project management, administrative support, program implementation and evaluation, and community organizing to her current role as Administrative Director of OurSpace World, Inc. She has led and participated in several community projects domestically and abroad. She holds a BA in Psychology from Princeton University (with certificates in African-American Studies and Neuroscience), a Master of Public Health (with certificates in Health Disparities and Health Communications) and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from The Johns Hopkins University, and is a PhD Candidate at the University of Maryland School of Public Health. With an extensive background in public health and nursing focused on historically marginalized populations, she is deeply committed to health equity, food sovereignty, and building systems and partnerships that enable intergenerational thriving.

Joi Howard, Consultant, Meeting Creative; Founding Member, enBloom (Project Manager)

Joi has over 18 years of event and association management experience with advanced skill in operations strategy and effectiveness. She believes that innovation in regenerative agriculture is key to sustainability for people and our planet. Her passion for agriculture as a learning tool led to the co-founding of enSprout where she is responsible for the efficiency and effectiveness of day-to-day operational activities and building strong relationships with organizations, local governments and individuals that align with enSprout's mission and objectives. She is also the founder of The enBloom Collective, a grassroots effort of business owners, parents, volunteers, start-ups, and change-makers with a shared vision for a holistically healthy and thriving community powered by climate-smart agriculture. Joi holds a diploma from Western School of Technology and Environmental Science, a B.A. in Multicultural Advertising from the University of Maryland, College Park, and a M.A. in Publications Design from the University of Baltimore.

Misty Trunnell, Research Services Librarian, Gelman Library, The George Washington University (Consulting Librarian)
Misty serves as the librarian for George Washington (GW) University's College of Professional Studies students, faculty and staff. Prior to joining GW Libraries and Academic Innovation, Misty was a Special Collections Librarian for Prince George's County Memorial Library System. She has also served as an academic counselor in higher education. Misty holds a MLS from the University of Maryland College Park, a MS in Clinical Psychology from Alabama A&M University, and BA in Psychology from Tougaloo College.

Objectives

• Explore opportunities for partnerships between libraries and farms addressing food sovereignty and environmental health. 

• Discuss one approach to environmental health literacy serving BIPOC youth.