2019 Annual Report (5)

HEAL Initiative | Mid-Fellowship Retreat and Graduation
Dine College in Tsaile, Arizona, Navajo Nation | June 27th - June 29th, 2019
On June 27 - 29, 2019, Julia Pettengill travelled to the Navajo Nation in order to participate in the HEAL Mid Fellowship
Retreat and Graduation. HEAL hosted the retreat and graduation on the Dine College Campus, Tsaile Arizona, Navajo
where all workshops took place and housing was in student dorms. Attendees included the HEAL founders Phuoc Le and
Sri Shamasunder, steering committee members, HEAL Mentors, Staff, 29 Fellows of the 2017 -2019 Cohort working in
Global Health and Equity in the Navajo Nation, Mexico, Liberia, Mali, Malawi, Haiti, India and Nepal graduated. Also
present were 17 fellows of the 2018 -2020 Cohort for their Mid Fellowship retreat (profiles attached). It was a truly unique
opportunity to meet the leadership, staff and fellows (nurses, doctors, social workers), and learn about all of the HEAL
programming and the work the HEAL Fellows are doing in the field of Global Health and Equity in their sites around the
world.
Sessions attended:
6/27
1. Fellow Spotlight: Jennifer Gorman & Jessica Top. Pediatric Department & Wellness Center Partnerships, Navajo
Nation
2. Social Medicine Rounding: How to Approach Cases from a Social Medicine Lens
3. Health and Environment: Upstream Public Health Issues Such as Climate Change., Air and Water Quality,
Pollution, and Biodiversity Loss: Coming together for Transformative Action
4. Adapting Local Contexts for Success
5. Practical Facilitation Tools for Inclusion and Equity
6. HEAL Site Work Poster Presentations
7. Hike with Fellows in Canyon de Chelly
6/28
1. Fellow Spotlight: Fellows Site Exchange SEWA, India / Possible Health, Nepal
2. Building Movement within HEAL
3. Fellows Site Presentations
4. Graduation
5. Meeting with HEAL Founders: Phuoc Le and Sri Shamasunder
6. Dinner and Discussion
6/29
1. Day trip/ Airport Drive and Possible Health Grant work with Dr Bakash from Possible Health
Observations:
1. Excellent, Diverse Leadership, Staff and Fellows: I was very impressed by the values of HEAL deeply ingrained in
the DNA of the founders, steering committee members, staff, mentors and fellows. They are highly competent,
diverse, supportive of each other and committed to the movement of Global Health and Equity. They demonstrate
humility, solidarity, health equity, immersion, responding to structural violence, transforming through community,
and relentless incrementalism.
1. High Quality Fellowship and Programming: The fellows, fellowship curriculum, structure and programming is
exemplary. This is a transformative experience for fellows and cultivates long term relationships, collaborations
and peer support (bios attached). Interestingly, Dr. Phuoc Le had initially thought of starting a global health
residency but opted for the Fellowship program instead because it was more cost effective, could include nurses,
doctors, social workers, and could be funded in large part by clinical contracts.
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