ChangeLab Solutions

Recently, ChangeLab Solutions' CEO Sarah de Guia sat down for a video conversation with Board Chair, Dr. Lydia Isaac. Lydia brings deep wisdom from her public health journey and her current work at the National Urban League. They had a candid conversation about what it takes to lead with purpose and stay grounded in equity work during challenging times.

They discussed several major themes:

- Board governance: How to build diverse boards, avoid “board creep”, and plan for the next generation of leadership

- Equitable policy in challenging times: How organizations can provide practical resources and leverage the law to support communities and advance equity, even in a hostile policy environment

- Advancing equity at the National Urban League: Lydia's vital efforts to center youth mental health priorities and protect voting rights as a core public health issue

If any of these topics connect with you and your work, we invite you to watch the video of the conversation. bit.ly/4vZ72aP

Ep #1 Dr Lydia Isaac & Sarah de Guia, JD, on Supporting People & Movements in Changing Times In this inaugural episode of Conversations on Equity & Leadership, ...

Litigation can play a critical role in advancing public health goals. Amicus briefs help ensure courts understand the science, context, and real-world impacts behind each case.

Join ChangeLab Solutions and Northeastern University’s Center for Health Policy and Law on Thursday, June 25 at 10am PT / 1pm ET for Shaping Public Health in the Courts: The Role of Amicus Briefs and Cross-Sector Partnerships. This one-hour webinar will examine how legal action can improve public health to foster healthier, more equitable communities.

In this session, you’ll learn:

- How litigation can be used as a strategic tool to advance public health
- The role and impact of amicus briefs
- How public health professionals and scientists can work with lawyers to promote public health in the courts
- About recent public health litigation and amicus brief efforts and the challenges of doing this work

Save your spot to gain insights on advancing public health through litigation. Register here: bit.ly/4uISY4R

Structural racism drives many health inequities in the United States, and laws and policies have played a major role in shaping unequal access to the conditions that support good health. Because colorblind approaches fail to remedy these harms, it is essential for policymakers and community leaders to understand the legal landscape related to race-conscious policymaking.

Recent court decisions and executive actions have increased scrutiny of efforts to advance racial equity. However, the core civil rights framework remains intact, and many equity‑focused policy strategies are fully lawful. Our new legal primer and webinar are designed to help changemakers develop and implement policies that center health and racial equity.

Policymaking to Advance Health & Racial Equity equips policymakers, public agencies, and community partners with practical and legally-grounded guidance on how to design, implement, and defend policies that promote equity. It explores the legal standards governing equitable policymaking and provides information on how to evaluate legal risks and apply strategies to advance feasible, community-informed solutions. Read the primer: https://www.changelabsolutions.org/product/legal-primer-policymaking-advance-health-racial-equity

Join us on May 12 at 12pm PT / 3pm ET for a webinar on Policymaking to Advance Health & Racial Equity. This session lays the groundwork for why racial equity matters, offers an overview of the current legal landscape and its implications for health and racial equity, and introduces our new legal primer. Register today: https://changelabsolutions.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_JUavJPY_R3eqNQewsF3G_Q #/registration

RacialEquity Policymaking HealthEquity

This moment is challenging for all of us working in community health — and it calls for care, intention, and strategic action.

In a new blog, CEO Sarah de Guia shares how ChangeLab Solutions is intentionally meeting today’s uncertainty while continuing to advance health, equity, and democracy alongside our partners nationwide. Including:

- Defending the legal foundations of health, equity & civil rights by providing timely legal analysis, practical tools, and direct support to public health and government leaders navigating shifting legal and political terrain.

- Advancing equitable policy implementation through trainings, new resources like our Legal Primer for Policymaking to Advance Health & Racial Equity, and partnerships that strengthen state and local capacity to implement policy with intention.

- Supporting community-driven policy change by centering community leadership, responding to real-time challenges facing nonprofits and local collaboratives, and helping partners adapt and advance equitable solutions in uncertain conditions.

- Identifying innovative legal & policy change opportunities by examining how governance, information, and community power intersect — and investing in collaborative approaches that support participatory democracy and lasting systems change.

Read the full update and learn more about the initiatives currently underway at ChangeLab Solutions.

https://www.changelabsolutions.org/blog/meeting-moment-strengthening-public-health-civil-rights-democracy

After our Finding & Reading the Law sessions sold out last fall, we’re offering four more skill-building trainings for changemakers to develop their legal knowledge with guidance from ChangeLab attorneys.

In our rapidly shifting political landscape, changemakers need to be equipped to interpret the law and influence policy. Legal knowledge isn’t just technical — it’s transformational. We’ve seen firsthand how the ability to find, read, and understand the law empowers practitioners to drive meaningful, lasting change.

Join us for Finding & Reading the Law, a live virtual training designed to improve your legal knowledge; build authentic, real-time connections with peers that spark insight and growth; and provide practical resources from seasoned facilitators.

This 2-hour training will include:
- An overview of key legal terminology to help you locate and understand the laws relevant to your work
- Real-life case examples to learn how to navigate legal resources and find critical information on laws, ordinances, and executive orders
- An interactive, skills-building activity to practice finding and reading state statutes
- Resources for continued learning and long-term skill development
- Access to a 1-hour follow-up session with ChangeLab attorneys to help you apply learnings to your work

Register today for one of our Finding & Reading the Law sessions:
- Wednesday, February 25
- Tuesday, March 3
- Thursday, May 7
- Wednesday, May 20
All trainings are from 10am-12pm PT / 1-3pm ET.

Register here: https://events.humanitix.com/finding-and-reading-the-law-2026

Are you attending the APHA Annual Meeting & Expo? We’re excited to join this year’s conference in Washington D.C. and connect with peers from across the country as we collectively work to support policies that promote better health for all people in all communities.

From November 2–5, our staff will be presenting on issues that range from advocacy in the current political climate to strategies for climate change mitigation. View our schedule below — we hope to see you there!

Advocacy in the Current Political Climate - 3108
Monday, November 3, 10:30am–12:00pm
Speakers: Sara Bartel, Managing Director; Tyra Satchell, MPH, Policy Analyst

From Assessment to Action: A Roadmap to Advance Health Equity - 4037
Tuesday, November 4, 8:30–10:00am
Speaker: Tyra Satchell, MPH, Policy Analyst

From Punitive to Positive: Exploring How Traditional School Discipline Policies Push Children with ADHD & Tourette Syndrome Into the Margins & What Schools Can Do Instead - 4054
Tuesday, November 4, 9:30–9:45am
Speaker: Christine Camilleri, Senior Planner

From Assessment to Action: Strategies for Climate Change Mitigation & Understanding Health Pathways - 4228
Tuesday, November 4, 2:45–3:00pm
Speaker: Christine Camilleri, Senior Planner

Public Health Legal Authority for Good: Examples & Evidence - 5036
Wednesday, November 5, 9:30–9:45am
Speaker: Sara Bartel, Managing Director

Check out our full schedule: edin.com/company/1063128/admin/notifications/all/

How can public health practitioners, policymakers, and community partners better understand and apply public health legal authority in ways that prioritize effectiveness, fairness, and accountability to community priorities?

Our new resource, Public Health Legal Authority for Good, is an actionable collection of laws and policies from a range of US jurisdictions, all related to establishing and exercising local and state public health authority effectively and fairly. It includes links to research supporting the use of these legal strategies to improve public health, based on the efforts of the Act for Public Health initiative.

Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gWrpauDN

Legal knowledge isn’t just technical — it’s transformational! In a rapidly shifting political landscape, changemakers need to be equipped to interpret the law and influence policy. We’ve seen firsthand how the ability to find, read, and understand the law empowers practitioners to drive meaningful, lasting change.

Join us for Finding & Reading the Law, a live virtual training designed to improve your legal knowledge; build authentic, real-time connections with peers that spark insight and growth; and provide practical resources from seasoned facilitators. Register by October 15 for a 10% early bird discount! https://events.humanitix.com/finding-and-reading-the-law

This 2-hour training will include:
• An overview of key legal terminology to help you locate and understand the laws relevant to your work
• Real-life case examples to learn how to navigate legal resources and find critical information on laws, ordinances, and executive orders
• An interactive, skills-building activity to practice finding and reading state statutes
• Resources for continued learning and long-term skill development
• Access to a 1-hour follow-up session with ChangeLab attorneys to help you apply learnings to your work

Register today to reserve your spot for Finding & Reading the Law:
• Thursday, November 6, 10am-12pm PT / 1-3pm ET
• Wednesday, December 3, 10am-12pm PT / 1-3pm ET

https://events.humanitix.com/finding-and-reading-the-law

Finding & Reading the Law Join us for Finding & Reading the Law, a live virtual training designed to improve your legal knowledge, build authentic, real-time connections with peers that

Improving the social determinants of health is fundamental to the work of health departments, and our new resource Moving from Research to Action: Policy Scans to Promote Community Health can help. It was designed to support public health practitioners in better understanding how to leverage policy scans to support the identification, assessment, and prioritization of policy options in collaboration with community partners, to ensure that everyone has a fair and just opportunity to lead a healthy life.

This resource draws on our work conducting policy scans in collaboration with national organizations and government partners, featuring stories from the Douglas County Health Department (DCHD) in Nebraska. We hope that this resource will help public health practitioners understand how they can use policy scans as a tool to promote community health.

Learn more: https://www.changelabsolutions.org/product/moving-research-action

Are you attending NACCHO360? We’re excited to join this year’s conference in Anaheim, California and connect with colleagues from across the United States who are working to shape the future of public health practice.

On July 14, ChangeLab Solutions staff members Sara Bartel, managing director; Jessica Nguyen, senior planner; and Cesar De La Vega, managing director, will share their expertise on topics that range from advancing health equity and racial justice to utilizing public health legal authority to advance community change.

See our schedule below — we hope to meet you in Anaheim!

Advancing Law and Policy Change Through Organizational Readiness on Tuesday 7/15 from 10:30am–12:30pm

Carving a Path Forward: Leveraging the Tools of Historical Narrative, Law, and Policy to Advance Health Equity and Racial Justice in Challenging Times on Tuesday 7/15 from 3:30–5:00pm

Good Governance Meets Public Health: Co-Enforcement as a Path to Restore Trust, Build Cohesion, and Advance Health Equity on Wednesday 7/16 from 8:00–9:00am

Public Health Legal Authority as a Tool for Community Change: A Conversation About Laws and Policies in Theory and in Practice on Wednesday 7/16 from 1:30–3:00pm

Equitable Policymaking in Action: How Washington State and Seattle-King County Promote Fairness in Public Health Rulemaking & Other Regulatory Activities on Wednesday 7/16 from 3:30–5:30pm

https://www.changelabsolutions.org/news/meet-us-naccho360_2025