The Community Engagement office co-sponsors and hosts the annual CONNECT conference that brings VCU faculty and staff working on community engagement together with community members and non-profit leaders.
More information on the CONNECT conference can be found in this story from last year's conference.
Connect 2024
Theme: New Community Engagement Approaches to Addressing Health Equity
Friday, November 1, 2024, 8:30 am - 4:30 pm
Cabell Library Room 303
901 Park Ave, Richmond, VA 23284
FREE TO ATTEND
Connect 2024: Community Engagement Conference invites community members, community organizations, and faculty, staff, students and alumni at VCU to come together for a day of learning, networking and skill development. Participants will learn skills and principles of community engagement, see partnerships in action with a focus on community engagement approaches to health equity, and engage in design activities to support future collaborations to meet community need.
AGENDA
| 8:00-8:30 | (Registration) |
| 8:30-8:45 | Welcome: Centering Inclusion, Health Equity, and Voice Introduce theme, goals, and how and why of the conference design |
| 8:45-9:30 | Inclusion: Speaker Goal: to develop skills and knowledge to create more inclusive spaces |
| 9:30-10:15 | Inclusion: Table Activity-How to create Brave Spaces Goal: to develop skills and knowledge to create more inclusive spaces |
| 10:15-10:30 | Break |
| 10:30-11:30 | Voice - Pitch Training for non profits and people Goal: Develop an organizational, personal, or project pitch to share who you are with others who may be able to support you |
| 11:30-12:30 | Lunch (including Volunteer Pitches) Individuals can volunteer to share the pitches they developed. |
| 12:30-1:30 | Community Engagement Approaches to Health Equity Fireside Chat: Voices from the Field Goal: Learn from the lived experiences of people on the ground. |
| 1:30-1:45 | Break |
| 1:45-2:45 | Pains and Fixes: Table Activity Goal: Address pain points and effective solutions discussed in the fireside chat. |
| 3:00-4:15 |
Fixes to Pitches - Table Activity Develop collective pitches to address a pain point or solution |
| 4:15-4:30 | Next steps |
Planning Committee
We are grateful to the members of the Connect 2024 Planning Committee for their outstanding work designing this conference.
- Kimberly Battle, VCU School of Nursing
- Susan Bodnar-Deren, VCU Department of Sociology
- Brett Brooks, LISC
- Chenice Brown, Just C
- Ari Cheeks, VCU Student
- Caroline Cobb, VCU Department of Psychology
- Stephen Davenport, VCU Division of Community Engagement
- Vaughn Garland, VCU Mary and Frances Youth Center, Co-Chair, Grounding the Work Subcommittee
- Shari Garmise, VCU Division of Community Engagement, Co-Chair, Collaborative Pitch Solutions Subcommittee
- Leah Gregory, VCU Wright Center for Clinical and Translational Research
- Daniel Gutierrez, VCU School of Education
- Angelica Heath, Mayor’s Youth Academy, Office of Community Wealth Building, Co-Chair, Collaborative Pitch Solutions Subcommittee
- Tara Heckstall, Virginia Credit Union
- Kaylynn Hill, VCU Office of Development and Alumni Relations
- Shanza Isom, VCU Academic Affairs
- Gloria Keating, Richmond Public Schools
- Saundra Laws, Office of Community Wealth-Building
- Erika Love, Office of Community Wealth-Building
- Michelle McGregor, VCU School of Dentistry
- Ernest Moore, Office of Equitable Transit and Mobility, Co-Chair, Ground the Work Subcommittee
- Jo Murphy, VCU Department of Forensic Science
- Natalie Pennywell, Virginia Department of Medical Assistant Services
- Singith Perera, VCU School of Education Doctoral Student
- Juan Santacoloma, Chesterfield County Public Schools
- Brittany Seward, ChamberRVA
- Altise Street, Dentaquest
- Sandra Sykes, New Life Community Center
- Earl Thompson, Ambassadors of Virginia, Co-Chair, Community Engagement Approaches to Health Equity Subcommittee
- Anne-Marie Turnage, VSU Service Learning
- Logan Vetrovic, VCU Office of Health Equity, Co-Chair, Community Engagement Approaches to Health Equity Subcommittee
