Post From News
Share this post!
April 30, 2025 – Build Healthy Places Network (BHPN), a program of the Public Health Institute (PHI), announces the continuation of its vital partnership with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). For over a decade, RWJF’s pivotal support has enabled BHPN to foster healthy and prosperous communities across the United States.
It’s often said that your zip code is a better predictor of your health than your genetic code. This highlights how much the community you live in impacts your well-being. BHPN is working to change that. BHPN believes a powerful opportunity exists to transform health by shifting power to community members and uniting the strengths of healthcare, public health, and community development to support investments in community infrastructure.
With a $3 million grant from RWJF over three years, BHPN will focus on helping different sectors work together to guide community investments that give all communities a fair opportunity to be healthy and thrive. We will focus on long-term changes that prioritize solutions created by the community itself. Additionally, we will build stronger relationships with organizations that want to broaden the ecosystem of partners working to make communities healthier, ensuring they have the conditions vital to support wellbeing. We can only achieve this by working to tackle the long-lasting effects of unfair systems on community well-being and give more power to the people who live there.
BHPN is a nationally respected organization, with credibility as a convener, facilitator, and knowledge source. Working at the intersection of community development and health, BHPN supports collaborations that prioritize community-owned solutions and approaches for trust building, such that community investments align with residents’ values and create prosperous and healthy neighborhoods for all. By creating a strong ‘connective tissue’ between these sectors, we can drive initiatives that improve community infrastructure, advance racial equity, and create healthier neighborhoods nationwide.
“Our partnership with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has been instrumental since BHPN’s inception,” said Ruth Thomas-Squance, co-executive director of BHPN. “This renewed commitment from RWJF affirms the value of our collaborative approach. Their support has allowed us to grow nationally and make a significant impact in the multi-sector field. There is more to do, and we are excited to continue this important work together.”
Colleen Flynn, co-executive director of BHPN, added, “while these sectors share goals and a focus on disinvested communities, they have historically worked in silos. This new grant will help us continue to support organizations looking to bridge those gaps and unlock the full potential of these partnerships to build stronger, healthier communities.”
“PHI’s Build Healthy Places Network (BHPN) is leading the way in bringing together the public health, healthcare and community development sectors to find collaborative, innovative and effective ways to tackle today’s most pressing community health needs,” said Melissa Stafford Jones, president and CEO of the Public Health Institute (PHI). “Their continued partnership with Robert Wood Johnson Foundation will amplify BHPN’s efforts to foster collaboration and drive meaningful change on the ground—building increased opportunities for cross-sector initiatives that support community-guided investments in health and wellbeing for all.”
Bolstered by a new strategic plan, BHPN will continue to employ a multifaceted approach to their field building aimed at fostering collaboration and driving systems change.
About Build Healthy Places Network
Build Healthy Places Network is a national organization that fosters multi-sector partnerships to advance equitable community investment and improve health outcomes. BHPN supports collaborations that prioritize community-owned solutions and approaches for trust building, such that community investments align with residents’ values and create prosperous and healthy neighborhoods for all. For more information visit buildhealthyplaces.org. BHPN is a program of the Public Health Institute in Oakland, CA.
About the Public Health Institute
The Public Health Institute, an independent nonprofit organization, advances wellbeing and health equity with communities around the world. PHI develops research, leadership and partnerships to build strong public health policy, programs, systems and practices. For more information, visit www.phi.org.