The Health Education Council: Transforming Health Equity for Over 40 Years.

How does a small organization tackling hypertension grow into a community health powerhouse? Join me for an inspiring conversation with Deborah Oto-Kent , the visionary founder of the Health Education Council, as she shares nearly four decades of experience transforming community health. Deborah takes us through the humble beginnings of her organization, initially focused on hypertension in diverse, low-income communities, to its broader mission today that addresses an array of health disparities. From healthy cooking on a budget to youth violence prevention, Deborah's stories illustrate a holistic approach that emphasizes not just health access but also social connection, economic stability, community safety, and education. Deborah is joined by Martin Ross, Deputy Director of External Affairs, Partnerships & Workforce Development to add definition to the cause and it's impact.

We highlight the importance of building collaborative partnerships to create healthier communities. Explore the intersection of health, wealth, and community well-being, stressing the need to address the whole person—mind, body, and spirit. Learn why economic stability and financial education are crucial health issues and discover the essential role of collaboration among non-profits, businesses, and public health organizations in driving transformative change. This episode underscores the power of neighborhood-based solutions and the flexibility required to meet real community needs.

Finally, hear about the evolution and future direction of the Health Equity Coalition, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. We reflect on impactful work like the renovation of  Roseville's Weber Park and initiatives addressing loneliness through community connection. Deborah and Martin share their insights on the importance of neighborhood-based initiatives and increased investment in low-income areas, advocating for a broader understanding of health access and mental health. Through inspiring stories and practical advice, this episode offers a deep dive into community health transformation and the lasting impact of dedicated, holistic efforts.

To learn more about HEC visit their website: https://healthedcouncil.org/
Or you can call: 916-556-3344
You can order Debra's books on Amazon.
"A Park for Everyone"  & "Finding Your Connecting Place"

Episode Highlight Timestamps
(00:11 - 00:44) Founder's Long-Term Organization Involvement
(03:55 - 05:47) Social Determinants of Health and Impact
(07:55 - 10:14) Integrating Mental and Physical Health
(14:00 - 15:04) Equity Outreach and Community Engagement
(28:25 - 29:21) Community Impact Through Improved Lighting
(38:30 - 39:42) Drivers of Health Dominant Design
(43:49 - 45:18) Personal Reflections on Succession and Impact

Chapter Summaries
(00:00) Integrated Approach to Community Health
Deborah Oto-Kent shares the evolution of Health Education Council, addressing health disparities through education, safety, and community well-being.
(10:14) Building Collaborative Community Health Partnerships
Health Education Council's holistic approach addresses access to health, economic stability, mental health, and education through collaboration.
(24:37) Community Engagement and Solution-Focused Partnership
Leveraging community assets, deep listening, and neighborhood-based solutions can enhance public health outcomes.
(34:53) Succession Planning and Organization Growth
HEC's evolution and future direction, addressing social determinants of health, neighborhood-based initiatives, and leveraging diversity for sustainable solutions.
(46:06) Inspiring Stories of Community Impact
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Transcript

Debra Oto-Kent: [00:00:00] I think that resident engagement is a foundational principle of the Health Education Council. You mentioned partnership and collaboration, so embedded in our mission, so is resident engagement. Why? Because we firmly believe that, you know, people that are closest to issues are closest to solutions and we must listen.

Our approach is more on assets. What do you bring? What are the assets that exist in your community, in your family, in your neighborhood, in your church community, in your circle, that we can leverage and build upon to promote health? I'm

Jeff Holden: Jeff Holden. Welcome to the Nonprofit Podcast Network. Our purpose and passion is to highlight a nonprofit organization in each weekly episode, giving that organization an opportunity to tell [00:01:00] their story. In their words, to better inform and educate the respective communities they serve, as well as provide one more tool for them to share their message to constituents and donors.

Our goal is to help build stronger communities through shared voices, and to both encourage and support the growth of local non profit organizations through podcasting. Thanks to our founding partners for their foresight in helping us transform the way conversations start. CapTrust, fiduciary advice for endowments and foundations.

Runyon Saltzman Incorporated, RSE, marketing, advertising, and public relations creating integrated communications committed to improving lives. And Western Health Advantage, a full service health care plan for individuals, employer groups, and families. Trust. It's sorely lacking in so many areas of our existence.

However, once it's established, you can be certain that person or organization is going to thrive. In addition, when you combine [00:02:00] that trust with a passion and conviction that an individual or organization has earned and apply it to a necessary social priority, well, that's a recipe for success. It's not often you get to see the culmination of these elements come together sustainably, but our guests in our organization today have done just that.

And I think primarily because of the unwavering commitment by the founder and executive director, Deborah Oto Kent. She's been leading this organization now for almost 40 years. Her primary areas of interest include coalition building among diverse stakeholders, resident engagement, and reducing health inequities among underserved, low socioeconomic, and diverse populations.

Under her leadership, the Health Education Council has developed model programs focused on addressing the underlying social drivers, of Health Outcomes and Increasing Access to Resources to Reduce Disparities from Preventable Causes of Death. The Health Education Council has been named [00:03:00] Nonprofit of the Year by the California State Legislature in 2016, 2021, and 2023 for its work to reduce health inequities in the Sacramento region.

Also joining us is Martin Ross, Deputy Director of External Affairs, Partnerships, and Workforce Development at the Health Education Council. Starting off after graduation as an engineer with the U S C P A and California drinking water program. He then moved into various public service leadership roles in inner city, semi rural and metropolitan cities in the Western United States as a captain and major with the salvation army as an executive director of ready to work.

And now as a 2024 25 class member of the American leadership forum, Deborah, Martin, welcome to the nonprofit podcast network. 

Martin Ross: Hey, thank you so much for inviting us. Yeah, thank you. We're greatly, really excited. Outfit here. Look at this. Oh, thank 

Jeff Holden: you. It's not often I get to speak to a founder of [00:04:00] an organization that's been there, you know, more than 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12.

The most was 27. But Debra, you've been a part of this organization for almost 40 years, which is an amazing, amazing accomplishment. Tell us a little bit about how it started And what engaged you? 

Debra Oto-Kent: Right, 40 years. That does make me a senior citizen, doesn't it? Well, I, you know, I never intended to start or form a non profit.

Back in the 80s, I, my background's in public health and I always wanted to do community based, you know, public health work and we were funded with a grant to run a project called the Hypertension Council and it was addressing higher rates of high blood pressure, a significant contributor to our major killer, heart disease and, and stroke.

And we were doing this work in low income, [00:05:00] ethnically diverse communities throughout the region. And I kept thinking, we started to get, I asked for information, education, services, and other areas as well. What do I do about my diabetes? You know, my husband has this condition. And I realized that people were really hungry for information and access to resources to help them live healthy lives.

But we were funded on a grant that we'd have to write every year, and so I've been I asked, you know, some organizations, like, will you help me fundraise? I'm not a fundraiser. Can we do this through another organization? And tried that a couple times, shopped around for homes, and I always had a group of advisors in the work, and we did kind of a landscape assessment.

And there really wasn't, 30 something years ago, an organization that was singularly unique. committed to reducing health disparities among, you know, low [00:06:00] income, underserved, diverse, immigrant populations in our region. And so that kind of formed the basis of starting the Health Education Council. 

Jeff Holden: Well, my, has it ever grown?

Debra Oto-Kent: Well, I mean, we still are involved in the early work of the council. You know, we've back then, the most preventable causes of death were poor nutrition, lack of physical activity, or obesity, right, that we call it today, and tobacco. And up until very recently, those And that remains the two most preventable causes of death.

COVID really sort of elevated that discussion in a different way, but we continue to do a lot of healthy eating, active living, outreach, engagement, cooking classes, you know, walk with friends, programs, a lot of efforts directed at that. And our tobacco work has evolved as the tobacco industry and product innovation [00:07:00] has happened.

You know, we're still involved with youth vaping and addressing all kinds of other tobacco related products and prevention. So that work is kind of continued. It has expanded and evolved. 

Jeff Holden: And the good news is because of the awareness of tobacco use and its likely cause of cancer, even vaping today has changed so much and minimizes, probably giving you the opportunity to get better.

Take that energy into other areas that need more attention. 

Debra Oto-Kent: Yes. Mm hmm. 

Jeff Holden: Your work supports five different categories. 

Debra Oto-Kent: Mm hmm. 

Jeff Holden: And, you know, I'll read through them just for the benefit of awareness. Health access, social connection, economic well being, community safety, and wellness education. 

Debra Oto-Kent: Mm hmm. 

Jeff Holden: How does that play out?

impact your client, your constituent base? What do you see is maybe the most prevalent and then can you maybe touch on each of those so we understand a little bit more about what [00:08:00] they mean? 

Debra Oto-Kent: We have known since I started the organization that the majority of health outcomes in our collective, your mind, our collective ability to live healthy lives and to Live a long, healthy, productive life.

Happens outside of the doctor's office. And back then, the term, the social determinants of health, was not part of the common vernacular. We've known that for a long time and the underlying drivers of, of what really, really produces health around your economic, your socioeconomic status, your educational attainment level, where you live in your zip code, the amenities that you may have like parks and public spaces, the kind of job you have, you know, all those things profoundly impact our ability to be healthy.

And so I'd say about when we hitch, maybe. 20 years before our 20th years, [00:09:00] we started to think like, how do we conceptualize our work? And how do we look at the intersection of these five areas and, and health? And so that's kind of how our work has evolved. And it also evolved during the practice or implementing our mission.

So we do, we teach people, how do you cook healthy on a budget? Folks on CalFresh. And we quickly realized that teaching people how to cook healthy on a budget was financial education. We also started realizing that we would do assessments around areas, most of us have heard this term around food deserts, where there's not quick and easy access to healthy foods.

We also found out those are financial institution deserts. But they had a proliferation of check cashing facilities and payday lenders. So we began to really see these intersections. And so I sent half a dozen of our staff who were doing cooking [00:10:00] classes to learn how to do financial education at the same time.

How do we provide financial coaching to low income families? Hmm. Many of those people are small business owners. They may have landscaping businesses or be caterers. And so how do we? serve them and serve their business and serve their overall health in order to improve the health of their family.

Likewise, we arrived at, you know, we talk about community safety. We arrived at this work, too. We were. Doing work in neighborhoods and wanting people to be more physically active and walk in their local parks. This is around healthy eating, active living. And 2 o'clock on a Friday afternoon, we were doing a walk assessment and we had a group of volunteers and students.

And there was a shooting right in front of this group. And we quickly realized this intersectionality around how do you be healthy [00:11:00] in your own neighborhood where you live. 

Jeff Holden: You're afraid to go out. When that neighborhood 

Debra Oto-Kent: is unsafe and there's violence in your neighborhood. So that really launched, you know, our safety work around park reimagination.

And how do we make parks and public places safer? It also launched our Youth Violence Prevention Collective and a program for youth that we call SHOP, Safety, Health, Opportunity, Practice, engaging youth from around the region. If you think about your physical health and mental health, for the longest time, like, we, we've kept those very separate, right?

You'd go to, you'd take one path to see your doctor, And then if you wanted to address your mental health, that's a whole nother access path. 

Jeff Holden: And that's a big if. And that's, that is a huge if. Especially in a minority community. People don't want to address the fact that they have a mental wellness issue.

Debra Oto-Kent: Lots of cultural stigma. Yes. Lots of, we don't talk about it. 

Jeff Holden: Right. 

Debra Oto-Kent: I am from one of those ethnic communities [00:12:00] myself. Yeah. Where, you know, you tough it out. Yeah. If you were just stronger. So, our social connection. Bucket or pedal of work, if you will, looks at the intersection of health, your physical health, and your mental health.

And what we've learned over the last eight years or so of implementing a project we call Mentosana Vitasana, Healthy Mind, Healthy Life. And it's a program that we partner with the Sacramento Mexican Consulate at. We do education and outreach. We implement a depression screening scale at the consulate.

At the same time, we're doing financial education and blood pressure checked. We're trying to take a total wellness approach. But that program has helped us understand how do we address cultural stigma, and then how do we link people with counseling and mental health services in a safe place and space.

And so that project, partnering [00:13:00] with other organizations, offers people who need and want counseling. Five sessions at the consulate in a safe, trusted space. So based on the work of that, we're really deepening our work in mental health and social connection and reducing stigma. 

Jeff Holden: It's interesting because when I looked at those as five pillars, let's say I siloed them until I heard you just explain how they're fully integrated as a part.

of well being. Yes. Not, we do this and this and this and this. No, we do this. They're all connected. Go ahead, Martin. 

Martin Ross: No, it is. So that's one of the The aspects that attracted me to the Health Education Council. I received like a LinkedIn Connect invite thing and I said I could always use a another friend or connection and then I had this Hey, do you want to come check out the Health [00:14:00] Education Council as a you know as an employment opportunity?

and so It was extremely impressive. So what I wanted to talk about out of these five areas. So for me, it resonated with my core value. So in the past, you know, we're talking about health wealth connections. That's one of the things that resonates as we begin to talk. I mean, it is enormous. But what we need to do often is to help people realize that we're addressing the whole person.

We're addressing not only the whole child, but the whole adult and then we have to look at it that we're addressing the whole family So from the background that I can even at some point the community the whole community. Yes, right I mean Debbie has what to two books out right now that Sutter helped us work on and and It's a park for everyone and then you're connecting Right.

And those are two, two books that talk about it. I mean, I think we should come back to that for a minute, talk about it, but it's really about telling a story [00:15:00] where a parent and a child and a community can sit around and talk about what can we do to How does this resonate with us? How can we help bring about not only transformation and change for us, but maybe By us doing something igniting something Connecting with others that we can make a change for our community So not only from a park perspective, but from a mental health perspective So, you know, I I came from a ministry area.

I was Salvation Army officer for 20 20 years So my speak was really only mind, body, spirit. That's what I spoke. I very much understood, but I never had some of those extra words to talk about. this holistic approach. So now when I came over to the health education council again, when I got that text or social media contact, I said, man, that's really resonating with my, my core values.

It's resonating with the [00:16:00] work that I do because I know where you have to address the whole person. So I often think of it in a couple of different ways. So we're reclosing the gaps. on access. I think it's really all about access. So closing the gaps on access on health, closing gaps on mental and social connectiveness, closing gaps on economic well being, closing gaps on community safety, closing gaps on education, health being at the center and it's a public health approach.

But when we can start talking to everyday individuals like yourself, you're a business person. So using business practical language, if we think of that round table approach and our logo and model, and we divide it in the half and half, our Sutter's, our Kaiser's, our Robert Wood Johnson foundations are, you know, California, you know, department of public health, they get it.

But what about McDonald's? What about other people that are thinking about, uh, How do I make a difference? And so, when we say, for instance, one way that connects it, often under [00:17:00] economic well being, which it's all of it, to some perspective, because there's a thread that goes between all of those, health being at the center, is that is unemployment, is underemployment, is lack of financial education, A health concern.

Do you think it is? Absolutely. Yes. You would say it was. And so now that very statement begins to open up the doors. So then in the, the mind of the corridor principle is like, well, wait a minute, look at this. So I'm saying, so if we're thinking if a person can improve themselves and their economic wellbeing because there's a health wealth connection, Debbie mentioned the zip code, they mentioned the access.

Can they stay on their own home? What about those things that make you want to holler? There's a book that was called that. I mean, that is. Mental health. I'm dealing with bills and illness and lack of education or wellness education, or if I were formerly incarcerated, or I'm in a justice involved situation where I don't know where to go or how to navigate.

Is someone going to give me a [00:18:00] second chance for hiring? You know, so we're tackling those subjects. And as Debbie likes to put it, trying to move the biggest boulders up the hill. A lot of times people say health education council. What is that? Is that a government agency? Oh no, we're a non profit. What is our expertise?

Leveraging the power of community and listening and getting to those hard to reach, need to be reached, never reached, where they live, where they work, where they play, where they pray. And I like to call it just equity outreach. Everyone needs access because everybody's thinking silo. And if we don't collectively come together, and as Debbie puts it in one of the National Academy of Medicine videos, and change the way that we're doing, what we're doing, and not just throw money, but notice that we're working with the whole person, that our broken systems I believe are just going to plain old drive us broke, and we're not going to bring about any change.

But if we change the way we approach health, and realizing that it's all about all that we do. [00:19:00] Then I think we'll be able to more effectively make change because that's how everyday people operate. 

Jeff Holden: That's actually a perfect segue to collaboration. Now I usually ask this question deep into the conversation, but your organization is built on collaboration.

Debra Oto-Kent: You 

Jeff Holden: don't, you couldn't stand alone. It, it, it just, forget the money, forget the funding. It's so integrated, it requires the collaboration, the communication, the interface and interaction of community elements. Talk to us a little bit about that. 

Debra Oto-Kent: I've been told, you know, collaboration and partnership is deeply embedded in our DNA.

It is. Recently, during the pandemic, we actually purchased a building as our, as our headquarters, but I still believe and I tell our, our staff, our, our work is not about bricks and mortars or building. It is about collaboration and partnership, meeting people where they, where they're at, where they move, the institutions that they interact [00:20:00] with, and being out in the community community.

It's also built on the fact that no one sector can independently improve the health of communities. It's going to take all of us at the table. Public health can't do it, healthcare can't do it, local government can't do it, air quality resources, transportation, housing, all of these entities profoundly impact health and well being of neighborhoods and communities.

So I think, you know, collaboration, we have to do work in that way. We have to. And it's pretty much how all of our work emerges. 

Jeff Holden: Are there any type of organizations that you find yourself working more closely with than others? 

Debra Oto-Kent: We, you know, historically we've always worked with education. 

Jeff Holden: As in schools, local schools, community schools, school 

Debra Oto-Kent: districts, and we think kids are exposed to, you know, educational systems, and so we've always had strong partnership with schools.

We have strong [00:21:00] relationships with local governments. And health care, we've had good relationships. Strong partnerships with healthcare systems. Yeah, I mean a whole variety of business. I would imagine even food 

Jeff Holden: banks. 

Debra Oto-Kent: Food banks. Yeah. A whole array of non profits. Faith based communities. Fraternities and sororities.

A lot of ethnic and culturally based organizations. So we, you know, Martin talks about meeting people where they're at. And we try to understand that. Like, if you're part of a community, we want Where do you move, and how do you roll, and where do you shop, and what do you do, and those are the entities that we try to really work in collaboration and partnership with and make infusing health good for those organizations as well.

A priori. It's not us trying to come in and do something. It's finding that, that secret, that sort of that special place that says, this is in need of ours. 

Jeff Holden: You just said the word keyword [00:22:00] need it's finding the need 

Martin Ross: well and plus if we talk about trust and Trustworthiness and so forth. I mean HTC secret sauce, which it shouldn't really be a secret sauce But it's really this idea around convening.

It's forming trusted networks We're spending time after hours. I think in forming relationships And whether it's individuals or it's corporate or government, they trust us. I mean, there's some things, I mean, like if we get into what we do, like trust, there's resident engagement, there's collaboration and partnerships.

We listen, we follow through and, you know, we pivot where we have adaptability. And I think what's important when we look at that, why would does that, why does that work? So we. Realize that we don't know what matter of fact We don't know what all the problems are and we don't know what all the solutions are But what we can do is we can form these important relationships.

[00:23:00] I like to call it trifecta forming, right? Three legs hold up a stool Three points make a plane GPS works off a triangulation so if we Start looking at disparate groups. I mean, so three creates stability, right? And at least three, maybe there's more, there's a lot of different groups out there, but we're scanning for that.

And we brought in, you know, new partners with our workforce, our advisory board that has a workforce development bit. We've been meeting, we're getting ready to do a workforce development symposium conference. This conference is really about We're like, well, why would health get involved in it? Well, there's some major health providers that are interested because you know what industry thinking of a trifecta or lack of one industry will say we can't find them.

Our anchor institutions and training institutions will say we can't find them. And we have a whole neighborhoods that are saying, how can we unless someone show us? So whether it's covid vaccination or Or equity outreach information or workforce development. All it is really why it works for [00:24:00] us is because we have these partnerships that we're forming, we're working hard at on the community level and on the corporate level.

And then when it comes to being able to time to get something done or maybe to pivot, because when we find out the information, That government, so to speak, or anchor institutions say this is what it's supposed to be and we find out that it's not, then we change. That's how, you know, that Invest Health Roseville project turned from 60, 000 to 11 million.

It was because we pivoted. We changed. We listened. And then we got other people that ought to be working together and saying, At all levels, they got together and they did something. That's where we could come together and really make a difference. And so I asked, that's, that's where I think HCC is huge.

And so you can kind of tell him my voice elevation, I get excited about it. 

Jeff Holden: Yeah. I think one of the things that you have, that is such a plus. Yes. I know we know you do get excited. This is what I like about you. You are so passionate about it. And that's, I think what makes [00:25:00] the difference. I was going to, And I think it's really important to kind of come off of that between your excitement, your enthusiasm, your passion for the tenure of the organization in the community.

Debra, you've been there from the beginning. Those create credibility and they create trust. And not only amongst the people who have the ability to fund the organization, but from those in the community who are receiving what it is you're trying to connect them with. They've seen you before. They've actually generationally seen you.

Children and are now parents and say, no, this, these, these guys really helped us out. It's a good organization. So that's just an incredible. Compliment to your contribution. We'll be right back with Deborah and Martin as we continue the discussion of the Health Education Council right after a few short messages from those who make this program possible.

I was in the media business for over 35 years and had the great privilege of working with Runyon Saltzman, RSE, marketing, advertising and Public Relations. We [00:26:00] collaborated on many different campaigns, but their commitment to the non profit sector hasn't changed since their founder Gene Runyon started the agency.

Over many years and many campaigns, Runyon Saltzman has been committed to improving lives by tackling California's most challenging issues. Guided by research informed strategies and insightful, creative solutions, RSE develops innovative communications campaigns that raise awareness, Educate and reduce stigma in diverse communities throughout our state and beyond.

To learn more about RSE, visit rs e. com. 

Scott Thomas: Hello, this is Scott Thomas with CAP Trust in our Sacramento office. I specialize in working with local nonprofits and associations. Annually, we survey private and public nonprofit organizations across the country to better understand challenges they see in today's environment.

In our more recent survey, we heard concerns about proper board governance, mission aligned investment, and how to implement all term investments. [00:27:00] If you would like a copy of the survey or to discuss your organization, look me up, scottthomasatcaptrust. com. 

Jeff Holden: I'm thrilled to have Western Health Advantage partnering with us as they do so much to support so many non profit agencies in our community.

As a truly local health plan, you'll find individual and family options. employer options, plans for CalPERS and Medicare Advantage. From medical services to pharmacy, health and wellness support, as well as behavioral health care, Western Health Advantage has a plan that fits what you need. As an employer, for profit or non profit business, individual or family, you can find more at westernhealth.

com. We're talking with Debra Oto Kent and Martin Ross of the Health Education Council. Let's rejoin the conversation. Tell me a little bit about the organization. How many employees do you have? 

Debra Oto-Kent: About, between 45 and 50. 

Jeff Holden: Okay, that's a lot of people. That's, that's a lot to manage. [00:28:00] The organization is roughly four, four and a half million dollars.

How are you funded? 

Debra Oto-Kent: We are funded a lot by grants and contracts, both government, private, foundation, and corporate grants, and sponsorships and donations, uh, from individuals. 

Jeff Holden: Do any programs fee for service type of things? We 

Debra Oto-Kent: do some fee for service programs around our training and some of the services around, you know, listening, doing listening sessions for other organizations to learn more about communities.

Jeff Holden: And to a point that Martin was making a little earlier, you were recently recognized by the Center for Health Justice as a leading example of community engagement. How much better does it get? You're actually being recognized for it. You're preaching it. You're walking the walk and talking the talk and somebody saying, yep, you are.

Tell us a little bit about that recognition. I can see you're beaming. So it's obviously a nice recognition to get. So that's a. 

Debra Oto-Kent: [00:29:00] Yeah. I think that. Resident engagement, as Martin had said earlier, is a foundational principle of the Health Education Council. You mentioned partnership and collaboration, so embedded in our mission, so is resident engagement.

Why? Because we firmly believe that, you know, people that are closest to issues are closest to solutions and we must listen. I think the other thing is that, you know, For so many, we take a very need approach, like what do they need? What do you need? And it's all need. I think we are approaches more on assets.

What do you bring? What are the assets that exist in your community, in your family, in your neighborhood, in your church community, in your circle that we can leverage and build a bond to. to promote health. In one of our projects in West Sacramento that we started about seven years ago, we convened a group [00:30:00] of 15, what we call community activators, just folks who we'd ask around and say, who would you talk to if you wanted to get something done?

And these are the folks we convened, the influencers, the influencers, and not the usual sort of suspects often. Right. And After this meeting with them, we came up with 261 assets within those neighborhoods, within those circles, within those communities to leverage and to activate in service of further elevating health.

So, I feel like our approach is one of deep listening and of acting and follow through. And so, Martin has seen me do this, like, we'll be out at a, at an event and someone will come up to me and say, my husband has XYZ and he needs information and we don't know who to call. I mean, I personally take that number and make sure that that person is followed up with.

I think, you know, the way [00:31:00] we listen, we build trust, I think, through action. 

Jeff Holden: Well, and care. care. So often people get engaged in a program or a commitment to something to do it. 

Debra Oto-Kent: But 

Jeff Holden: do they really care? 

Debra Oto-Kent: And when they really 

Jeff Holden: care, it's evident. They ask the question and they follow up. They make a commitment to that individual or they, they, they make a promise.

And they follow up. 

Debra Oto-Kent: Yeah, and I, I think, you know, I mentioned a lot of our funding comes through grants and contracts. And often, in those grants and contracts, we are funded to do something, right? We're funded to do, you know, classes, or we're funded to do very specific things. And sometimes, you know, And we've heard that that's not really what communities want to do.

Mm hmm. It's, it's our priority, not their priority. Right. And so our ability to navigate that and to be willing to pivot, you know, Marv, Marv mentioned this project in Roseville. Our project [00:32:00] was around food insecurity in an area that was a documented designated food desert identified by the California Department of Public Health.

And we talked to the community. And food was an issue, but walkability and safety was their highest issue. Being in a safe park, having a neighborhood park was their highest issue. So, how did we take that and pivot and say, let's work on that, right, while still navigating this meeting our grant deliverable, so to speak, right?

Jeff Holden: And 

Debra Oto-Kent: yet, I think that's our responsibility. We have a deep responsibility. 

Jeff Holden: And to your trustworthiness, the fact that you listened. to them and engage the way they saw the benefit, not the way the grant maybe saw or you saw the benefit. All of a sudden, there goes that credibility again. They're like, Hey, they actually listened and did what I was asking or saying.

Debra Oto-Kent: It [00:33:00] is those often. small, low hanging fruit changes, right? That can happen. We were, early on in our project, remember, we were working with, you know, the mayor was part of our team, Carol Garcia, at that time, and she said, Debbie, somebody stopped me in the grocery store and thanked me for the new lighting in the park, right?

This is something that we were heard from residents. Can we just get better lighting? Can we get the trees trimmed, right? Often it's the smallest things that we hear. That can easily be acted upon that that often 

Jeff Holden: aren't. And now I have confidence to go to the park in the evening, I can take a walk, I can take a walk, and I can get healthier because I'm not afraid to go to the park because it's well lit.

And here we are back to the health. 

Debra Oto-Kent: See, you're a public health professional. Right. 

Martin Ross: Well, to kind of piggyback on that. We are a science based, but also a public listening. Organization when we're talking about [00:34:00] why solutions aren't getting done I think it has to do with the willingness to get, you know, Debbie mentioned we go where the people are at, but I have to ask a major question, whether we're talking about donors, we're talking about government, we're talking about business, public, private, you know, solving, you know, problems.

If we, you know, this is what I get excited about. I mean, I'm an engineer, you know, that's my background. And I went, you know, got my MBA and I was working on looking at solutions for homelessness. But I wanted to take take the good people skills and blend those with analytical skills. And see, this is really what HEC does.

I mean, we're using a data based neighborhood based approach. Right? We're in the neighborhood. It's not. Oh, here's a region or so. I mean, that's good. But how do we transform a neighborhood? A neighborhood sets an example where you can get pre imposed data and say, Hey, wait a minute. We actually did change something here.

You know, you would think that Roseville, right? I was gonna 

Jeff Holden: say what what issues in [00:35:00] food? Where's a food desert in Roseville? I cannot think of one. Well, there is 

Martin Ross: there is right there around the railroad tracks. Okay, right there in that corridor There's core neighborhoods that are just as poor and who would think of that?

Who would think I'm not thinking of 

Jeff Holden: denials railroad tracks and right there right now is closed. There's nothing there's nothing there 

Martin Ross: But, but when you talk about the capacity of what I look at, what happened, there's a here, there are hidden resources there. People weren't really communicating, but once they started to communicate with one another, you know, HEC being one of those convener glues, we like to find people who want to play well in the sandbox together.

So we were asking what kind of organizations, well, do you, do you play well in the sandbox? Do you really want to bring about some change? So if we can find more people who want to play in sandbox as well together, not to say that we're bringing all the right. toys, just bring what you have. And then let's start playing together, listening together.

And you know what? We believe that we probably will be able to come up with a solution. Are we thinking like we're dumping a bunch of [00:36:00] money at different things and why can't we get things done? And what I'm trying to encourage. Our. Public and our private institutions is go find those partners in the neighborhood, those nonprofits, those promotoras, those individuals, those influencers that are out there.

En espanol palabra, it's the same word, but go find them because they're going to tell you who to connect with. And so if we form these ambassador relationships, I think we're going to get way better service delivery. We're going to get effectiveness. We're going to get solutions because we're going to have people that are going to be able to be those conduits, those glues.

neighborhood to say, Hey, you trust us. Is somebody going to trust this health institution? Maybe, maybe not, but if they trust us and we're partnering with the health institution, maybe that health institution can be in a better light. What about the bank? Do we trust that bank? We're getting ready to do micro lending.

Well, if we have [00:37:00] other people that speak the language, Russian, Ukrainian, Hmong, Vietnamese, Spanish, Farsi, right? And those languages, and then they say, wait a minute, and they see somebody who resonates with them. Then they say, wait a minute, you're doing it. Wait a minute. I trust you. Maybe I'll try that bank.

Maybe I'll try that health clinic Maybe I'll give you that bank will 

Jeff Holden: have one of those speakers with you Yeah in the community at seven o'clock in the evening Right to say we're here for you 

Martin Ross: if we're coming and we're we're trying to say I'm the chair of the Sac County Equal Employment Opportunity Advisory Committee, the county and any of these institutions, 15 percent vacancy rates.

It's not that there aren't people who want and they said we want folks with lived experience to work. It's not that these folks with lived experience don't want the jobs. It's we stop at five o'clock and we're not trusted. And we're not getting out there. And that's where the [00:38:00] failure is. But that's also where the solution lies and HCC is doing great things.

But Debbie will say, we're nothing special. We're just regular everyday people. But if being special means coming to visit you after five or to return a phone call or to come up with a partnership, well, Hey, then you're special. I think things can change. We just got to do it better. 

Jeff Holden: Yep. So Debra, if money weren't an object.

How would you grow the organization? 

Debra Oto-Kent: Wow, that's a good question. I thought 

Jeff Holden: so too. It's now become one of those that we'll ask on a regular basis. Well, you got that strategic plan, that new one that you're working on. 

Debra Oto-Kent: Yes, well, you know, since Martin's come on board, he's been And I think, you know, as a founding executive director, every time we hit a milestone, 25 years.

Wow. We've been around because, you know, and then the next milestone, [00:39:00] except I always had this idea. Like our goal is to put ourselves out of business. It's like, that is the ultimate goal. And yet, I think over time. health inequities have grown. And of course, we're just coming off a pandemic where our organization grew during the pandemic because of all of the COVID equity work that we were doing, kind of the, you know, the burden, if you will.

The 

Jeff Holden: nice thing about that is not only was there, I hate to say that COVID equity, but there was also cash and there was infusion to nonprofits and organizations from the government that really helped fuel. a lot. 

Debra Oto-Kent: Yes. Yes. And deepening our outreach and engagement and reaching communities that did not have access to services that were very much needed.

The fact that during COVID, the social determinants of health was completely laid [00:40:00] bare, never would I have thought we would have seen lines around food distribution centers in such a dramatic way. So, I think the pandemic brought to life a lot of the inequities, health inequities that were there before the pandemic.

And so your question, if money wasn't an object, how would I grow the organization? I'd love to hear Martin's perspective on this too, because he's been focused a lot on what's the AGC next. I would. double what we're doing. I would create more neighborhood based initiatives. I would create systems where people can flow and roll in their own communities and receive health related services, education, ease of access, ease of access, and probably expand in underserved communities more throughout the region.

I would deepen our work around Working [00:41:00] to create more investment in low income communities, because I think that's ultimately good for cities and counties and communities as a whole. Overall, if communities are healthy, everybody wins. 

Martin Ross: I like that. All right, Debbie. AGC next. And I want to expand on it a bit because I think she's a little bit humble on some of those types of things.

Here's what I think, right? I'm going to talk about dominant design for a minute. We need to start preaching social determinants of health because it's become the dominant design. I mean, when I, when most people are like, what is he talking about? Oh, we know what we're talking about. Think about. Our regular old school phones, right?

The ones that are sitting on our desk are the ones that we threw away, right? So, we would pick it up and, you know, it has the, the mouthpiece and then the earpiece and, but then we'd start looking at our smartphones, right? You saw Nokia, you saw all these other, different variations. But here comes a second mover, right?

Apple. And then it could be Samsung, right? Those are the two [00:42:00] major ones and all of our phones look like a particular shape, right? But what has happened with this idea of drivers of health, she identified 30 years ago that when Most people were talking about health issues. It was all acute issues taking place in the hospital.

But health happens together. Health is happening in our homes and our neighborhoods and our communities and our churches and our mosque and and synagogues and community centers and schools. It's happening all there, right? It's not at the hospital if we really want to be effective at it. So she's started tackling that.

And it's starting to become this dominant design, like our smartphones. And if you start thinking about, and I'm trying to speak to those business people out there, those that are those CEOs, the decision makers, because I love our MSWs and our, you know, public health persons, but the people that need to be thinking about this, making the decisions around the table, they have their economists and their business folks, [00:43:00] and they would say, Pay attention to this because four out of five, maybe five out of five of the funding priorities of the major banks, the major other institutions, just look around.

They're all coming around this dominant design, emerging dominant design of drivers of health or social determinants of health, right? We're talking about. Access, health access. We're talking about mental health, right? Everybody's concerned about mental health. There's not a single person that's not under the water or near under the water or got to some lower level.

And especially if you didn't have the resources that you need, you probably went under the water during this crisis. This pandemic, we're talking about what was exposed when the stuff hit the fan, when the heat got turned up about the prosperity and the access and the availability and the connections that need to take place in America and our communities.

We thought the solutions were all about throwing money, but we don't have any more money. All that, you know, American rescue plan act dollars, they're, they're, they're gone. They're going to be gone. They're going to be gone at the schools. But America really is [00:44:00] about taking that diversity. and using necessity and creating invention.

And if we really get in to start caring about each other and stop being divided, we can really make something happen. And here's what I mean. So Debbie's her, all those awards, right? These are national level, right? So she had all the money that she should have. I think she should be flying around the country, doing that national level stuff, talking to preach because he's a preacher.

We 

Jeff Holden: just fixed your success. She's a preacher. It's done. There you go. 

Martin Ross: But she's one of those quiet preachers, right? She's one of those quiet preachers, but when you listen to her, she has impact, she has wisdom and so forth, and people listen. And so that's what I think we ought to be doing, and that way we can fix some problems and start preaching it.

That's what I believe she should be doing, and if she had all the money in the world. And then of course you're talking about leadership, and I think a bunch of donors. Should get excited about it and come around that too. Let's look at an holistic approach and find organizations like HEC and others that are doing the work We saw [00:45:00] a bunch at Sac State.

There's people doing the work, but don't just give your money to anybody Give your money to some organizations that are getting some stuff done in a very grassroots Way that we all think we think in a holistic way To your 

Jeff Holden: point of holistic, you know, it starts with the individual. If we can treat the individual holistically, mental health, mental wellness, and physical health and well being, that transcends to the family.

The family transcends to the neighborhood, the community, the faith based organizations, the jobs, the economic benefit of all. And I see you doing that so well. And again, it's this, this track record of success that you've got that's, that's It's just incredible to be able to, to see that we're running out of time and I could go on and on and on.

I know it went fast, didn't it? And when I ask you succession, because I know that's on everybody's mind, and since this is going to be a tool for you. It's going to come up and what, what, what does that look like today where besides we're going to put you on a plane and travel you around [00:46:00] the country with, you know, the unlimited funding we're going to get.

What does that look like? 

Debra Oto-Kent: You know, I think when we hit, you know, 20 years, I started working with my board. around succession planning, and for a long time, I've realized that a big part of succession planning is deepening your bench internally, and so I go back to, you know, being a founding executive director where I was going to the store and buying the office supplies and doing the payroll and writing the checks and doing everything, and over time, we've built the infrastructure of the organization and deepened our bench.

and investing a lot in leadership development of our team. I think we have a great team right now. We have a great team of leaders. We've created and been thoughtful about thinking about creating a deputy structure and We ask ourselves, I ask myself this question all the time. The board is reluctant often to ask this question, right?

But what if I [00:47:00] was hit by a bus? What would happen then? Our greatest responsibility, right, is to ensure that there would be a continuation, I think, of our programs and our services. 

Jeff Holden: The well being of the organization. 

Debra Oto-Kent: The health and well being of the organization. So I feel like I've been working on this for the last 10 years.

The hardest part. of succession has been personally about me and what, you know, what my role is going to be. I just want to continue to be of service. I do think having done this work for a thousand years, you know, I do have some history, you have a collection of stories. I see how things recycle themselves.

We call it different things, but we're still talking about the same thing that we have not moved the dial on. You I think I am spending increasingly now more of my time thinking about what is our impact? How do we take our responsibility as a non profit [00:48:00] organization who takes and receives the public's money?

And spend that appropriately, and use that appropriately, and tell the story of our impact, how we're having it. It's why I've started writing these children's books, because it has moved me from data collection to meet a grant deliverables, to really thinking about whose lives are we improving. How is that being done?

And so, I'm increasingly, because the organization has grown, and I think has a great leadership base, I think that's a contribution I can, you know, make at this point. And so, I think when I leave and exit, the organization's going to be fine. 

Jeff Holden: Two things. Best way to reach people. The organization, what's the best way to get in touch with you guys?

Martin Ross: Well, you know, our website is pretty good. There's a lot of cool stuff. It's very good. It's been running in the background. So they can go to [00:49:00] healthedcouncil. org. So with an E D in the middle and then with a C I L. So healthedcouncil. org. That's our website. We can go there. Folks should always give us a call.

Yeah, our phone number is there. 916 556 3344. That's our, our number. Yeah. 

Debra Oto-Kent: We're also have staff out at housing communities, affordable housing communities that are out stationed there. We have five or six staff at the Mexican consulate every day, Sacramento Mexican consulate. And 

Jeff Holden: so really quickly before we go, books, you said the two books.

You mentioned I didn't see that on your website, and so this is new to me. Share with us the two books really quickly if you could. Oh, 

Debra Oto-Kent: one's called A Park for Everyone. It tells the story of Nina, a little girl, and how she advocated for changes in her park. It is based on our work in the city of Roseville and Weber Park.

And 

Jeff Holden: that 

Debra Oto-Kent: happened over seven years and last year we were so thankful to the city of Roseville. [00:50:00] They've, they allocated nine and a half million dollars to completely renovate this park. 

Jeff Holden: And so, 

Debra Oto-Kent: a lot of that's because of this little girl who decided to come and speak her mind about what's going on. Why she needed a healthy, safe park.

And the second book is called Finding Your Connecting Place. We have learned during the pandemic that, you know, when we talk about mental health, we do have an epidemic of loneliness in our country that was declared prior to the pandemic. That pandemic happens. And so what we found in our mental health work is a lot of times people just want to connect with each other.

They want to talk to each other. They want to be in groups together. They want to talk about the challenges of raising a kid or doing things together. And so this is a story about Nina and her grandmother who seems lonely. And she finds her connecting place through a women's art group that meets now. Um, and he works regularly at our offices and connects [00:51:00] around art and talking and sharing 

Jeff Holden: what the two of you have walked us through today is really nothing short of amazing your tenure in our community.

What a, what a treasure you are, both you personally and the organization. So I thank you for that, for what you do, for helping the communities that you serve, the breadth of the people that you've touched and the families and the generations of families. Now, I'm sure. that are aware of the Health Education Council have really, really benefited.

So, Martin, Deborah, thank you. for 

Debra Oto-Kent: elevating so many non profits in our region and telling our story. Thank you. 

Jeff Holden: You're welcome. 

Debra Oto-Kent: Yeah. 

Martin Ross: And we hope it catches on and gets, continues to grow. Loved your presentation that we had over at Sac State for the social entrepreneurship and, and you know, we've reached out to one another and I like even more than, than before too.

So it was all, it keeps going. Nothing was negative, but communication and connection, right? And now collaboration. 

Jeff Holden: Yeah. Well, thanks again, you guys. Appreciate it. Thank you. [00:52:00] Thank you for listening to the nonprofit podcast network. I hope you enjoyed the episode. If what you heard moved you, please reach out to that organization and do what you can to help.

If you like and appreciate what we're doing to support local nonprofits, please give us a positive review, subscribe, and share. If you're a nonprofit with an interest in participating in an episode, you can reach me at jeff at hearmenowstudio. com. If you have a need for the services or products our sponsors offer, please reach out to them.

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