Center for Community Health and Engaged Research

📢 Join this month’s Tribal Collaborative on Cancer Speaker Series! 📢

Tomorrow, C-NACHE researchers Darold Joseph, PhD and Julie Armin, PhD with the ACS funded "My Health My Choice" project will speak about a cancer screening education program for Native women with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).

📋 Gain insight into how this project seeks to improve reproductive health knowledge among women with IDD and to understand how caregiver and institutional settings affect access to cancer screenings.

📅 Tuesday, June 16, 2026
🕙 10:00 AM MST-AZ
💻 Via Zoom
🔗Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/iVN4GsxDQ_euatBVZwzesw

Please use the link above to register and feel free to share with your network. We hope to see you there! 📍

Community expertise and public health education came together through the Indian Country CHR ECHO Series, where NAU Master of Public Health students joined Community Health Representatives (CHRs) from across the Southwest to explore how data can support community action.

Led by CHER Associate Director Dr. Samantha Sabo, the session highlighted how community data can inform health promotion, program planning, and public health decision-making. MPH student Desirae Bain shared insights alongside CHRs and public health partners, demonstrating the power of shared learning and community-driven solutions.

"As much as I came prepared to share information, I left learning from the very people I was there to support," she said. “These experiences shaped my path into public health and my commitment to supporting Indigenous communities. I have learned that the world around us is all public health.”

The ECHO model creates space for knowledge to flow in every direction. Students learn from community leaders, CHRs share lived expertise, and partners work together to strengthen health outcomes across Indigenous communities.

We are proud to support the next generation of public health leaders while learning from the communities that continue to shape and advance the field.

To read the full feature, please visit: https://maestro.ihs.gov/list/260604A_0/5xc874fpybw7.vib

Join us next Thursday from 9-10am MST-AZ for a C-NACHE webinar:

"Legacy Mining & Kidney Cancer: Environmental Exposures as a Social Determinant of Health" with Tasha Nez, M.S. (Diné).

Tasha is from Tónizhoní Valley on Black Mesa and is guided by Diné Blessing and Protection Ways. Her work is driven by a deep commitment to environmental justice and health equity for Navajo communities facing cancer disparities. Tasha holds a B.S. in Environmental Sustainability with a minor in Biology and an M.S. in Environmental Science (Policy emphasis) from NAU, plus an A.S. in Public Health from Diné College. Tasha believes research must honor our traditions and healing ways to build trust and create meaningful change.

In this presentation, Tasha will share how legacy mining and environmental exposures continue to impact Native communities and contribute to kidney cancer and other health disparities. This webinar will explore environmental exposures as a social determinant of health, while highlighting the lasting effects on Indigenous communities, current research efforts, and the importance of culturally grounded approaches to cancer health equity.

Register for the webinar: https://rb.gy/oo0kqa

GIVING DAY IS HERE!

It's your chance to directly impact our efforts to enhance community research, support students, and find solutions to health disparities throughout northern Arizona. As we navigate the future of public health funding support, one thing is clear: We need your help.

We need regular folks like you to chip in $5, $10, or $50 today so that we can keep building the foundations that improve community health through creative, evidence-based solutions. We need you now more than ever!

Donate today: https://givingday.foundationnau.org/a/gday/106502/CHER

Together, we can help advance discovery, strengthen research opportunities, and expand the knowledge that shapes our future.

Welcome to another Fairness First Friday!

Are there any OTs in the house?! 🎉 Celebrate Occupational Therapy Month with us by reading our latest blog featuring CCPS partners Jess Salyers and Emily Rich. They teach us that rethinking care means listening differently. 🔗

Read the full blog here: https://legacy.nau.edu/sherc/fairness-first-blog/jess-salyers-emily-rich/

If this work resonates with you, below are opportunities to listen, learn, and be part of ongoing change:

-Register for Jess and Emily’s Final Session available to AZ residents (May 16, virtual + free) https://www.otemily.com/communitypartnership
-Check out Emily’s Instagram instagram.com/emilyrichot
-Stanford Disability in Medicine Conference (April 25, free + virtual for students) https://smadie.stanford.edu/conference/

Next month is EDS awareness month! Donate to the EDS Society: https://www.ehlers-danlos.com/may-awareness/

Give. Show. CHER. Make a gift to your favorite Community Health Research Center, show your , and share your NAU story. Spread the word on NAU’s seventh annual on May 1!

Get started: https://givingday.foundationnau.org/a/gday/106502/CHER

Today, CHER is cohosting the Annual Arizona Biomedical Research Centre Arizona Dept of Health Services Yuma community forum. This forum highlights Arizona’s efforts to improve healthcare access and outcomes for border communities. This binational forum offers the ability for researchers, healthcare providers, medical experts, and community members to share their ideas and progress for their communities in the U.S. and Mexico.

This event is part of CHER and ABRC’s longtime partnership in expanding healthcare education across the state through hands-on workshops and forums.