We work in partnership with health equity, civil rights, social and racial justice, and public health advocates to champion and support an evolving, interconnected portfolio of federal policies, practices, and investments that strengthen community-centered health, safety, and wellbeing. Our federal policy priorities are selected based on their role in shaping equitable outcomes and are grounded in our organizational values of health equity and racial justice, interdependence, dignity, and accountability .

Our overarching advocacy goals are grounded in:

• Advancing a System of Prevention for Health Equity and Racial Justice.
  We define a System of Prevention for Health Equity and Racial Justice as the outcomes resulting from collective efforts to champion community-driven policies that advance upstream prevention, health equity, and racial justice.
   
• Strengthening community protective factors to equitably advance health, safety, and wellbeing.
  We emphasize changing community conditions as a direct way to improve health, safety, and wellbeing, recognizing that shifting conditions is essential to addressing the inequitable distribution of resources, power, and opportunity.
   
• Expanding the boundaries—and influence—of public health practice.
  We seek to increase the relevance and uptake of upstream public health approaches by cultivating greater alignment between the broader public health sector and community-centered health equity and racial justice priorities.
   

To complement our policy priorities, we ground our advocacy approach in the following commitments:

• Amplifying community-centered solutions and leadership
• Championing health equity and racial justice
• Upholding our values of connection, dignity, and interdependence
• Weaving multiple forms of evidence
• Elevating community-centered narratives
• Expanding and redefining our policy partnerships
• “Showing our work” to support accountability and transparency

In 2025, amid deep uncertainty and threats to community health ecosystems and the non-profit sector, we acted in solidarity to advance an affirmative federal agenda—resisting harmful cuts while promoting a long-term vision for transformational systems change.