Community-based workforces and organizations who share in the worldviews, practical struggles, and cultural pride of the racial and ethnic communities they serve have been key to advancing health equity in the United States. They have also been indispensable in closing the gaps in health and human services for the populations whom the pandemic has hurt in uneven numbers and intensity. They have, for instance, worked diligently to overcome material and attitudinal barriers to COVID-19 vaccination coverage within local Black and Hispanic/Latino communities.

We invite you to hear from local community leaders and their CommuniHealth research partners about:

·    How this human-centered, community health infrastructure continues to exercise unmatched skills during the pandemic response,

·    What further advances in health and wellbeing can be had if these local champions receive sustained support going forward, and