Dear Friends of HSC,
I am writing today to let you know that after more than 20 incredible years leading Healthy Schools Campaign, Rochelle Davis will be stepping back from her role as President + CEO later this year. The HSC board of directors, in collaboration with Wishnick & Associates, is launching a search process for a new President + CEO who will ensure that HSC’s work to create healthy schools for children will continue to deepen and grow in the years to come.
Rochelle sometimes jokes that she’s not sure exactly when HSC was founded because the organization developed organically, as the natural result of people coming together to address children’s health, education, and our environment. The date might not be exact, but one thing is certain: during the many years that Rochelle has guided the organization, HSC has dramatically changed the national and local conversation about the ways in which health and education intersect. For example:
- When HSC began its work in Chicago there was no daily recess or PE for students, no school breakfast program, no Office of Student Health and Wellness, no Office of Nutrition Support Services and no Chief Medical Officer. HSC and its network of parent leaders effectively advocated for all those changes and more, pushing the district to make and honor major commitments to health and wellness.
- Since HSC began working to support states in expanding their school Medicaid programs, 17 states have made key changes that provide school districts with ongoing, sustainable resources to provide mental and physical health services to the nation’s most vulnerable children. Many of HSC’s recommendations were included in the recently signed Bipartisan Safer Communities Act!
- HSC has convened important partnerships across sectors that have inspired major changes for students and schools. These include Space to Grow, Healthy Green Schools and Colleges, Chicago School Health Access Collaborative, the Healthy Students Promising Futures national learning collaborative and Cooking up Change.
During this upcoming transition, I especially want to highlight the HSC staff, who are continuing the amazing job they have been doing of making sure that nothing — not even a global pandemic — can slow down this important work.
I hope you will join us in thanking Rochelle for all she has done, and in our excitement to see what comes next for HSC.
Sincerely,
Rob Rogers
Chair, HSC Board of Directors
