Update from SOPHE President Heidi Hancher-Rauch

I must be candid regarding my difficulty in drafting this month’s Pulse. In a period where it feels as though our world is under immense strain and the foundational principles of our profession—science and evidence—are being challenged, it is a formidable task to offer both hope and motivation to persevere. The past few weeks have presented significant challenges for our profession on the national stage. Furthermore, my own institution is currently facing scrutiny from our state attorney general because the work at the core of our mission is so deeply rooted in equity. In moments like these, how do we move forward with hope, not becoming too overwhelmed or discouraged?

I believe the answer lies in community, both broad and internal. In recent months, I have written about the importance of engaging with our “big C” communities—listening to others and finding common ground upon which to build. This remains an imperative and a shared responsibility. However, the current moment also calls for us to turn inward, to our professional community, our “small c” community, to mutually uplift one another. We must convene to find comfort, lament the current situation, find moments of levity amidst the absurdity, acknowledge the heartbreak, and then forge a path forward.

I intend to do precisely this at the upcoming SOPHE Advocacy Summit. I am energized by the prospect of hearing from a slate of incredible speakers, many of whom are prepared to offer practical strategies tailored for this very moment. I look forward with great anticipation to gathering with you, my peers and colleagues who are performing vital work in small towns, rural communities, suburbs, and large cities. I am eager to absorb the collective energy and information that will be shared over our few days together, using it to recharge my own resolve so that I may return to my community with renewed vigor to continue this fight.

While I draw strength and inspiration from the Advocacy Summit every year, this year’s gathering feels particularly essential. We need each other. We need this profound sense of community. We need the reminder that hope endures and that we possess the power to demand honesty, truth, and science. We need to convene in our nation’s capital and reaffirm that advocacy is at the heart of democracy. We must remind our lawmakers that they are accountable to us, their constituents, not the reverse.

Join the Fight

I ask you: Will you join us? Can you be there for this vital “small c” community gathering where we will lift each other up, recharge our collective batteries, and move forward with the passion of our profession to keep fighting for everyone in our communities? Together, we can achieve this. We have the power.

I truly hope you will join us in Washington, D.C. to harness this power together. If attendance is not possible, I urge you to consider ways you can gather with our professional community closer to home. Connect with your local SOPHE Chapter members or simply with professional colleagues. Step away from the office to a place where you can speak openly, where you can share moments of both frustration and laughter. Find ways to bolster each other, because this is a time when our mutual support is most critical.

Sometime during the month of October, let us convene in groups, large or small. Let us take turns bearing the heaviest burdens for one another so that each has an opportunity to rest. Let us find the shared resilience to laugh and the shared empathy to acknowledge the heartbreak. Most importantly, let us strategize together and fight back. I hope to see you soon—whether in D.C. or perhaps within one of our Communities of Practice—where we can unite for this crucial work.