2025 STANFORD MEDICINE OFFICE OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Hosting the Spring Community Event in April with 50+ community partners and Stanford colleagues. In this informal gathering of long-time partners, we reminded ourselves of the importance of supporting one another as we collectively navigated major changes to our social safety net and scientific funding landscape.

Hosting the 23rd Annual Community Health Symposium in September with nearly 300 Stanford affiliates and community members in attendance, in partnership with:

Stanford Medicine | School of Medicine
Office of the Senior Associate Dean of Research
Stanford Center for Clinical and Translational Research and Education (Spectrum CTSA),
Office of Community Engagement, &
Office of Faculty Development and Engagement | HEAL Network

Delivering 30+ educational sessions for faculty, staff, students, and community members to build capacity to engage in or lead community-partnered research to advance health equity.

Photo Credit: Henry Alva Alva, Stanford Medicine, Office of Community Engagement

The Health Ambassadors Program’s second cohort showcased their community-engaged research at the 23rd Annual Community Health Symposium, highlighting projects rooted in community priorities. This year, we proudly welcomed our 2025–2026 cohort of 9 participants and look forward to another inspiring year of learning, collaboration, and impact.

Photo Credit: Caro De Sa, Stanford Medicine Office of Faculty Development & Engagement

Supporting and advising 23 research teams this year by offering guidance on effective community-engaged research strategies through our community engagement Technical Assistance Program. To request the survey for your partner's project, submit your request here!

Photo: (L-R) Wai Lam Wong, Community Health Partnership of Santa Clara County; Kate Hiester, San Mateo County Health; Vicki Taylor, St. Andrews Residential Programs, Jaliyah Davis, BLACC 

Publishing 8 articles showcasing impactful community partnerships, research insights, and health equity initiatives - all to advance the science of engagement:

• 1) The Spanish translation, adaptation, and validation of a Community-Engaged Research survey and a pragmatic short version: Encuesta Comunitaria and FUERTES
• 2) PCORI project with UNM publication: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11736299/
• 3) A short pragmatic tool for evaluating community engagement: Partnering for Health Improvement and Research Equity  FRONTIERS IN PUBLIC HEALTH
• 4) Engaging Latina Females and Community Partners to Pilot Test and Optimize Medically Supportive Groceries CURRENT DEVELOPMENTS IN NUTRITION
• 5) Telemedicine Experiences of Adults with Intellectual and/or Developmental Disabilities During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Lessons for Future Accessibility
• 6) Developing the engage for equity institutional multi-sector survey: Assessing academic institutional culture and climate for community-based participatory research (CBPR).
• 7) Community-Based Participatory Research to Address the Disproportionate Burden of Breast Cancer in Black Women.
• 8) Assessing the context within academic health institutions toward improving equity-based, community and patient-engaged research.

23rd Annual Community Health Symposium

The 23rd Annual Community Health Symposium convened on September 30, 2025, drawing nearly 300 healthcare professionals, community leaders, faculty, staff, and students. This year’s event underscored a sustained and growing commitment to reducing health disparities and expanding access to care in underserved communities. The strong turnout reflected both the urgency of the challenges ahead and the collective determination to address them.

A central highlight of the symposium was the dynamic panel discussion focused on Strengthened Partnerships & Alliances - as depicted in the first petal of Achieving Health Equity and Systems Transformation Through Community Engagement: A Conceptual Model. Panelists shared insights on building trust, fostering sustainable collaborations, and advancing system-level change through community-centered engagement. Their discussion offered attendees actionable strategies for deepening partnerships across sectors.

Throughout the afternoon , attendees learned from a diverse array of posters, exhibitors, and an oral poster presentation that showcased innovative, community-driven approaches to improving public health. These presentations created valuable forums for dialogue, allowing researchers, practitioners, and community representatives to exchange ideas and highlight programs demonstrating measurable impact.

The symposium concluded with the annual award ceremony, honoring organizations and individuals whose leadership and commitment continue to advance community health and enhance community-engaged research. Their achievements served as both inspiration and a reminder of the power of sustained partnership.

The 23rd Annual Community Health Symposium event reinforced a shared sense of purpose. The insights generated and relationships strengthened throughout the day will play a critical role in shaping future initiatives and driving systemic change.

We look forward to building on this momentum at next year’s symposium, with expanded opportunities for learning, connection, and community.

RECORDING | PROGRAM

Special thanks to our event cohosts and planning partners:

Stanford Medicine | School of Medicine
Office of the Senior Associate Dean of Research
Stanford Center for Clinical and Translational Research and Education (Spectrum CTSA),
Office of Community Engagement, &
Office of Faculty Development and Engagement | HEAL Network

Written by: Glenda Estioko

Photo: (L-R) Cristina Mancera, MA; Lisa Goldman Rosas, PhD, MPH; Patricia Rodriguez Espinosa, PhD, MPH; Wei-ting Chen, PhD, MA; Magali Fassiotto, PhD

This year, we established a regular cadence of support for our ADRC Community Health Workers (Promotoras) via monthly meetings to strengthen capacity for outreach and education efforts around Alzheimer’s and Related Dementias across our local communities. Our promotoras’ efforts reached an average of 200 community members per month.

Written by: Nayeli Cerpas-Bernal, MPH

Photo: (L-R) Teresita; Guadalupe; Cynthia; Angelica

Photo Credit: Nayeli Cerpas-Bernal, MPH, Stanford Medicine Office of Community Engagement

The second cohort of the Health Ambassadors Program completed training sessions and began implementing the community-engaged research projects they developed between November 2024 and April 2025. With $6,000 per organization, Ambassador projects included a community needs assessment of Korean American mental health access (Korean American Community Services), piloting and evaluating a youth participatory action research program (Ayudando Latinos a Soñar, ALAS), and an exploratory inquiry of role perceptions of Spanish-speaking community health workers/promotores in health care (Community Health Partnership).

2025 Ambassadors presented their projects and experiences in the program at the 23rd Community Health Symposium in late September.

The third Health Ambassadors cohort began in October, the training schedule was updated to prioritize translating organization goals to research initiatives and enhance future fund development capacity. Participants will be developing proposals to submit for a competitive seed grant opportunity with OCE to implement community-engaged research initiatives and projects to partner with Stanford Medicine researchers.

2026 Health Ambassador Organizations: LEAD Filipino, Roots Community Health, Kapwa Kultural Center, Canopy, San Mateo County Sustainability Department, Youth ALIVE!, YMCA Of Greater San Francisco, Innovate Public School, Daly City Youth Health Center

Written by: Cristina Mancera, MA

Photo: Top Row (L-R): Wei-ting Chen, PhD, MA; Martin Pettis; Belén Farmer Martinez; Christi Morales-Kumasawa; Raymond Magpantay; Cristina Mancera, MA

Bottom Row (L-R): Jason Williams; Marnelli Canosa; Nkemka Egbuho; Jack Steinmann

The pilot cohort of the Patient Advocate Training in Health Sciences (PATHS) at Stanford Medicine kicked off in February 2025. The ultimate goal of the PATHS program is for patient advocates to take an active role in research, and trains patient advocates in research methods and related topics. Participants increased their knowledge of the research process and how patient advocates can be meaningfully involved. PATHS Forward for participants have included joining the CTSA CAB, participating in the Stanford LEAP program, and regularly sharing resources and opportunities through the cohort listserv.

We are excited to launch the second PATHS cohort in February 2026 with 18 participants!

Written by: Cristina Mancera, MA

Photo: PATHS 

Stanford’s Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC): Healthy Brain Aging Study

In 2025, we strengthened our efforts as the Outreach, Recruitment, and Engagement team of Stanford’s Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC). In this capacity, our focus is on facilitating genuine bidirectional community partnerships and addressing healthy brain aging in our local community. The Stanford ADRC received renewal for five more years to continue advancing research progress into better diagnosis and care, and discover treatments and/or prevention methods. Co-designed with our Community Advisory Board (CAB) and Community Health Workers (Promotoras) as ADRC ambassadors, this past year, we solidified existing community partnerships and conducted key outreach, education, and engagement activities with priority communities. Moving forward, we aim to build on these successful efforts and continue to help establish the Stanford ADRC as a trusted hub on brain health and aging. Some of this past year’s ADRC highlights include:

Community Partnerships

• • Met with our CAB during six bi-monthly meetings to reflect on engagement practices and participation outcomes; review recruitment goals; pilot collaborative engagement in outreach; and inform return of results efforts.

  • Developed a menu of offerings for existing and new partners that includes tabling outreach, presentations for community members and providers, and memory screenings.

  • Built and strengthened partnerships with 20+ organizations, faith-based groups, and collaboratives to serve as a trusted collaborator, such as Community Services Agency, Peninsula Family Service, Mexican Heritage Plaza, San José Parks and Recreation, Half Moon Bay Library, NEMS PACE San José, ON LOK, Coastside Adult Day Health Center, and the Healthy Brain Aging Collaborative.

• Outreach/Education/Engagement

  • Developed an adaptable, seven-module health education and outreach curriculum for community education presentations on brain health, symptoms and markers of Alzheimer’s and related conditions, stigma and social support, nutrition, physical activity, sleep, and stress management.  

  • Conducted community outreach at large-scale events, including the California Teachers Association’s NEA Retired Issues Conference (~200 participants), Binational Health Week (~300), Walk to End Alzheimer’s (~250), and Avenida de Altares Día De Los Muertos Festival (~285). 

    Conducted tailored presentations for community members at Fair Oaks Community Center (~30 participants) and for volunteers/staff at Community Services Agency (~20), following up with resources as needed.  

Written by: Nayeli Cerpas, MPH; Henry Alva Alva

Photo: December 2025 ADRC Celebation

Black Ladies Advocating for Cancer Care

Where Equity Becomes Action: How BLACC and Stanford OCE Are Transforming Breast Cancer Care for Black Women

When community leadership and academic excellence move in true partnership, equity becomes action. The collaboration between Black Ladies Advocating for Cancer Care (BLACC) and the Stanford School of Medicine Office of Community Engagement (OCE) is a nationally relevant model demonstrating how culturally grounded, community-led innovation can dramatically improve breast cancer care for Black women.

At the heart of this partnership is BLACC’s Peer Navigation Program, funded by the California Breast Cancer Research Program and co-designed with Stanford OCE as collaborators. The foundation of this work will be documented in the BLACC Peer Navigator Training Manual, it will be a comprehensive manual that prepares Peer Navigators and equips survivors and advocates with clinical knowledge, wellness strategies, navigation skills, and culturally responsive tools to support Black women through breast cancer diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship. The training manual will integrate evidence-based breast cancer education with holistic domains such as nutrition, stress reduction, spirituality, caregiving, environmental health, and care for unhoused and medically vulnerable populations, creating navigators who are both knowledgeable and deeply trusted.

A major success of the partnership is its collaboration with the Charlotte Maxwell Clinic, a free Bay Area clinic known for integrative and alternative breast cancer therapies. BLACC peer navigators were embedded into CMC’s care model, ensuring that women receiving acupuncture, nutrition counseling, and mind body therapies were also supported by peers who shared lived experience and cultural understanding. Community accountability and shared governance were reinforced through the BLACC–Stanford Community Advisory Board, which consists of a diverse advisory board structure of patients, survivors, caregivers, clinicians, and public health professionals guiding the research, implementation, and evaluation of the program and ensuring the work remained community-led and ethically grounded.

The impact of this collaboration was publicly celebrated in the “Hope and Resilience: Watch Me Stroll” event marking the successful completion of the Peer Navigation Pilot Study. The event celebrated the collective achievement of community members, peer navigators, clinicians, and researchers, and underscored that this milestone represented not an ending, but a scalable beginning for equitable breast cancer care.

Building on this momentum, BLACC and Stanford OCE launched the Food Is Medicine Pilot Project, recognizing nutrition as a cornerstone of breast cancer healing and survivorship. The project brings together Black women breast cancer survivors, caregivers, and peer navigators to co-create a culturally rooted nutrition model which will transform research into practical, dignity affirming solutions that reflect real foodways and lived realities.

Together, these initiatives form a proven, fundable, and replicable model for equitable breast cancer care. Supporting BLACC and Stanford OCE means investing in solutions that work because they are built with, led by, and accountable to the communities they serve.

Special thanks to: Alyce Adams, Amina Chaudhry, Amy Alanes, Barb Hardy, Barakah Love, Carla Tyson, Cassandra Westbrooks, Chiquita Tuttle, Chris Willhite, Dinah Trevil, Dolores Moorehead, Grant Smith, Gwendolyn Mitchell, Helen Calhoun, Helen Hailu, Jan Tomlinson, Juanita Waugh, Lan Xiao, Lenora Williams-Omenka, Lidia Schapira, Lisa Goldman-Rosas, Lucinda Bazile, Mary Lynn Morales, Melbra Watts, Melissa Bondy, Michelle Meza, Norma Ryles, Olivia Tigre Nerimora, Pamela Ratliff, Pat Robinson, Patricia Rodriguez Espinosa, Princess Mae Visconde, Ray Rieder, Regina Guillory, Rhonda McClinton-Brown, Sen Fernandez Poole, Sharon Robinson, Souad Elizzani, Sridhar Seshadri, Starla Gay, Suzette Chaumette, Tainayah Thomas, Taylor Hollis, Toni Alexander, Washingtoni, Wei-ting Chen, Yvonne Woods, Zhonnet Harper, and all other folks not mentioned here that made this project possible.

Written by: Lenora Williams, MBA, BLACC Co-Founder

Photo: September 2025 Hope and Resilience: Watch Me Stroll Celebration

Upstream

In 2025, we strengthened our efforts as part of Stanford’s Upstream Research Center. In this capacity, our focus is to engage with our local community to understand the barriers and facilitators to cancer prevention and early detection engagement. We hope to understand the impact of financial assistance programs on health outcomes, particularly the effects of basic income programs on health and cancer screening behaviors, and the relationship between the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and health outcomes in California. We work in coordination with our Regional Coalition members to inform our research initiatives within the community that we hope to work with, while also coordinating with various community-based organizations that can help us both develop and create initiatives that serve our communities. Some of this past year’s highlights include:

• Community Partnerships

  • Met with our Regional Coalition members in quarterly meetings to reflect on engagement practices, research development, and participation outcomes across our respective areas; review goals; collaborate with members within Upstream to increase engagement and create initiatives that can yield a larger return of results.

  • We also met with seven community-based organizations to understand how they support low-income clients in applying for the CalEITC, as well as other tax-related benefits, to inform our future research initiatives.

Written by: Henry Alva Alva

Photo: June 2025 Upstream Annual Retreat.

Photo Credit: Eileen Bernabe, Stanford Medicine, Population Health Sciences

ADRC

This year, we launched a 16-week Food As Medicine pilot titled “Vida Sana, Mente Sana” in close partnership with our Community Health Workers (Promotoras) local organization Fresh Approach to provide 25+ older adult and caregiver participants with nutrition education workshops, food vouchers, and education about healthy brain aging.

Written by: Nayeli Cerpas-Bernal, MPH

Photo: October 2025 Binational Health Week kickoff event at Eastridge Mall in San José

Upstream

• We are currently developing focus group sessions with two community organizations  to explore the experiences of community members accessing financial assistance programs, particularly the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). Our goal is to identify barriers individuals face in accessing the EITC and understand how these programs influence their health and well-being. By engaging with participants, we aim to gather valuable insights that can enhance access to these programs and increase their uptake. Ultimately, we seek to understand the factors that contribute to improved financial stability, which can lead to better health outcomes. Our findings will be presented to the Regional Coalition and partner organizations to co-create strategies that support low-income families in accessing the CalEITC and other tax-related programs to improve health outcomes.

  Written by: Henry Alva Alva

  Photo: (L-R) Helen Hailu, MS1; Sara Kimberlin; Shimica Gaskins; Lena Winestone (Upstream Pilot Grant Awardee).

  Photo Credit: Eileen Bernabe, Stanford Medicine, Population Health Sciences

The Stanford Clinical & Translational Science Award (CTSA), led by Senior Associate Dean of Research Dr. Ruth O’Hara, provides key clinical and translational research infrastructure at Stanford Medicine. Translational research seeks to develop and deliver new treatments and cures for diseases to patients faster. The Office of Community Engagement is part of the CTSA, and we are proud to be the convener of the Stanford CTSA Community Advisory Board (CAB) where we connect the voices and priorities of community members and patient advocates with CTSA’s program leaders.

In 2025, CAB members engaged with the Stanford CTSA community during 6 bimonthly meetings to discuss topics including access to care, integration of AI, and discussions with K12 scholars regarding integrating community engagement  in their research. Additionally, the CAB developed recommendations for developing strong community-academic partnerships.

This year we hosted our 2nd Annual CAB retreat in November, convening leaders from across CTSA, Stanford, and the community. The event provided an opportunity for CAB members to engage with Stanford leaders in discussions regarding community priorities, challenges, and how to effectively collaborate. The meeting also facilitated fruitful discussions about next steps, opportunities for future engagement, and a thorough review of the PATHS program.

In 2025, we also presented our newly developed community advisory board evaluation at the 46th Annual Society of Behavioral Medicine Meeting. The evaluation is designed to help study teams assess the effectiveness of their CABs in building trust and facilitating collaboration.

Written by: Yessica Martinez Mulet, MS

Photo: (L-R) Lisa Goldman Rosas, PhD, MPH; Yessica Martinez Mulet, MS; Patricia Rodriguez Espinosa, PhD, MPH

The Stanford Medicine Office of Community Engagement (OCE) Technical Assistance Program continues to serve as a key resource in advancing community-engaged research and partnerships. Through expert guidance and strategic support, the program assists researchers and community collaborators from the earliest stages of project development to successful implementation. Its work also fosters new and meaningful research collaborations that strengthen the connection between Stanford Medicine and the diverse communities it serves. In 2025, the OCE advised 23 research teams by offering guidance on effective community-engaged research strategies to be integrated into their grant proposals and ongoing research project.

In 2025, the OCE Technical Assistance Program sustained strong partnerships with several Stanford Medicine initiatives dedicated to promoting health equity and inclusive research. These collaborations include:

• Stanford Cancer Institute Office of Cancer Health Equity

• Department of Medicine’s Community Partnership Program

• Stanford Maternal and Child Health Research Institute (MCHRI) Office of Community-Engaged Research

  Department of Pediatrics Office of Child Health Equity (OCHE)

Together, these programs work to expand the reach and impact of community engagement efforts across a wide range of populations and health areas. In 2025 alone, our teams collectively addressed more than 60 requests for community engagement support.

Written by: Dave Zapata

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