The Missing Piece: The Role of Community Development in Addressing Social Determinants of Health

The Missing Piece: The Role of Community Development in Addressing Social Determinants of Health

In the United States, COVID-19 has disproportionately affected communities of color, disinvested neighborhoods, and low-wage workers. While these racial and socioeconomic inequities have always existed, the pandemic has highlighted the connection between social determinants of health and clinical outcomes. Now is the time to harness public awareness, government resources, private partnerships, and political will to address the root causes of health disparities. Collaborations between healthcare institutions and community development organizations have the capacity to solve some of these entrenched societal injustices. Join Dr. Daniela Lewy as she makes the case for innovative alliances and shares examples of concrete efforts underway. 

Daniela Lewy is LISC’s National Director of Social Determinants of Health where she supports LISC's 35 local offices to implement healthcare partnerships and translate community development work into health impacts. Before joining LISC, Dr. Lewy was a political appointee in Governor Terry McAuliffe’s administration, serving as Executive Director of the Virginia Governor’s Children’s Cabinet where she worked across four secretariats, 19 state agencies, and over 150 programs to create sustainable cross-sector partnerships that connected local communities to state supports. Dr. Lewy was formerly an International Health faculty member at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health with the Center for Refugee and Disaster Response, researching and teaching at the intersection of health and education throughout Africa and Asia.  She holds a Bachelor’s degree from Wesleyan University, a Master’s of Public Health from Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, and a Doctorate in Education Leadership from Harvard University.