New Perspectives on Community Partnership: Interview with Laura Hillier

Laura Hillier

Laura Hillier directs Community Partnerships at the School of Education at Merrimack College.  As a member of the Ounce of Prevention Conference Planning Committee, she has helped design plenary topics and workshops that address health equity and social justice. Elecia Miller interviewed Laura about her experience with the Ounce of Prevention Conference.

What do you want participants of the conference to walk away with?

My hope is that participants walk away from this conference with two things. First, a new perspective or a new way of looking at an issue they currently address in their work. It could be a better understanding of the administrative challenges that their organization will experience in the face of implementing payment reform, gaining a better perspective of how a community-based agency can collaborate with a primary care organization, etc. I imagined it as not just gaining new knowledge, but changing the way they see the issue or service they provide. Second, I hope they leave the conference with one specific action they can take to strengthen the work they do and the communities they serve.

What has been your involvement in past conferences?

I have been involved in the planning of the conference in a variety of ways since 2008, including coordinating workshops, participating on the Award Nomination Committee, ensuring that conference speakers reflect the diversity of the state and assisting on the day of the conference.  

Please tell us about your work and how it is impacted by Public Health and the Ounce of Prevention Conference.

I am currently the Director of Community Partnerships for the School of Education at Merrimack College. I coordinate fellowships and internships for students studying Community Engagement, Higher Education, Teacher Education and Human Development.  A primary emphasis for most of these students is on cultural diversity and social justice. Although it may sound like a step away from the more direct public health work I have done for the past 20 years, I see it as working more at the social determinants level of public health. For me, the Ounce of Prevention Conference is an opportunity to network with like-minded people from a variety of professional and personal backgrounds, keep current on community health and health care issues, expand my knowledge and take home ideas I can share and implement.

This interview was conducted by Ounce of Prevention Planning Committee member Elecia Miller.