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The Health Justice Speakers Bureau (HJSB) is a cohort of community and practice leaders who share their expertise through guest lectures or speakerships in UIC public health courses, recognizing that learning from diverse kinds of knowledge prepares students to better engage in community-based efforts in our shared work towards a healthy, just society.
In practice, HJSB involves individuals or representatives who are often not provided with the opportunity to speak in university classrooms, providing guest speakerships in UIC public health courses based on a topical need within a certain course. Health justice speakers* have grounding in public health, lived experience resisting systems of injustice and with the topic(s) they wish to speak on, and generally provide unique perspectives on special populations in a trauma-informed and de-stigmatized manner. Notably, HJSB is not simply an initiative to compensate any guest speaker who presents or lectures in UIC public health classrooms.
*Speakers are typically from non-traditional public health sectors such as mutual aid organizations, grassroots community groups, and other entities made up of residents from the community/ies of focus rather than, but not exclusive of, traditional public health partners such as local health departments and agencies with large operating budgets.
Health Justice Guest Speakerships
Health Justice Guest Speakerships
Health justice guest speakers have represented a range from non-profit organizations to federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) to neighborhood groups, and have shared their expertise with students around public health topics such as:
Environmental health, justice, and sustainability
Campaigns like Treatment Not Trauma, Stop MAT Asphalt, Stop General Iron
Chicago’s Cumulative Impact Assessment
Workers’ rights
LGBTQIA+ health
Homelessness, substance use, and harm reduction
Dismantling inequities, reducing bias, and examining the root causes of health disparities
Community engagement and organizing methods
Leading a community health assessment
Mutual aid and social cohesion
Mental health, social justice, and public health
Public health evaluation
Continuous quality improvement and using data to make decisions about programs
Collaborating Classes and Instructors
Collaborating Classes and Instructors
Since spring 2022, participating UIC classes and instructors have included:
4 classes in and 8 instructors from the Community Health Sciences (CHS) division
4 classes in and 4 instructors from the Health Policy & Administration (HPA) division
1 class in and 5 instructors from the Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences (EOHS) division
1 class in and 1 instructor from the Epidemiology & Biostatistics (EPI/BIO) division
7 core classes in the Interdisciplinary Public Health Sciences (IPHS)
5 classes in and 2 instructors from the Undergraduate Public Health program (PUBH)
1 class in and 1 instructor from the UIC School of Law
Benefits of the Health Justice Speakers Bureau
Benefits of the Health Justice Speakers Bureau
Our comprehensive, mixed methods evaluation data (from spring 2021 to 2024) illustrated the following benefits for respective students, community collaborators, and instructors who participated in the Health Justice Speakers Bureau:
STUDENTS
Increased knowledge of community-engaged and real-world public health practice
Felt more satisfied and engaged with courses
Gained exposure to new organizations and public health opportunities
Met learning needs (e.g., having applied learning experiences, engagement from instructors or speakers, and working as part of a team)
HEALTH JUSTICE GUEST SPEAKERS
Greater visibility of work and reflective opportunities alongside students and instructors as thought partners
Benefitted from monetary compensation
Have new or strengthened connections with UIC SPH students, faculty, and researchers
INSTRUCTORS
Helped meet respective teaching goals
Facilitated ability to host paid guest speakers
Have new or strengthened relationships with CBOs and community leaders
HJSB Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
HJSB Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How Does the Health Justice Speakers Bureau (HJSB) Work?
At least 3 weeks in advance of the projected class date, UIC instructor(s) and the CEnTL Project Manager (PM) meet to discuss the instructor's course and opportunities to incorporate community expertise and center lived experience in the classroom. The list of current HJSB members is shared with the instructor.
Depending on the instructor's needs, the PM reaches out to a health justice speaker to gauge interest, then sets up a call with them and the instructor to discuss details, integration into course content, and overall fit.
Once the match is confirmed, the PM offers guidance to the speaker while they are preparing, coordinates administrative and technical logistics between the speaker and instructor leading up to and after the speakership date, greets the speaker the day-of for their speakership, observes the class speakership, and distributes electronic post-surveys to students, instructors, and guest speakers for program assessment.
What types of speakers are eligible to join the Health Justice Speakers Bureau (HJSB)?
In an effort to authentically center community members who often are not provided the experience to speak in university classrooms, CEnTL has established a set of criteria that potential health justice speakers must meet:
Have grounding in public health and self-identify as having lived/living experience resisting systems of injustice and related to the topic(s) they wish to speak on;
AND work or participate in one of the following public health sectors: non-profits (especially small, neighborhood non-profits as opposed to larger institutions), mutual aid organizations, social justice and local campaigns, and neighborhood organizations;
AND present material in a trauma-informed, de-stigmatizing, and generative manner in alignment with liberatory principles
Will there be compensation for guest speakers?
Eligible speakers will be monetarily compensated with an honorarium starting at $50. Speakers who meet the above criteria must also meet UIC's criteria in order to be eligible for compensation:
Not employed by the state of Illinois
Not employed by or enrolled at UIC
Oftentimes, other government employees (i.e., City of Chicago, health department, federal agency) also have policies that do not allow them to receive this compensation. Speakers should check with their employers.
The event must include students or be open to a broader audience of community members and/or SPH
As a speaker, how often would I be asked to speak?
The CEnTL Project Manager (PM) shares the list of current HJSB members with course instructors, who then invite speakers who are a strong match for their course topic. We estimate you will be asked to speak three or fewer times. Each speakership would last 30 to 90 minutes depending on the course or event.
As a speaker, how will I know how to prepare for speaking in a course?
The Project Manager (PM) will e-introduce you to the instructor who has requested you to speak in their class. You and the instructor will communicate to establish when you are requested to speak, how long you are asked to speak, and any specifics on topics, the students, and presentation format. The PM will also offer guidance and training on preparing to speak in a higher education course that you may opt into, and offer guidance on what information may be helpful to get from the instructor to prepare yourself.
What is the typical format of a guest speakership?
Speakerships can be delivered in-person (most preferable), virtually, or hybrid. They can take the form of a lecture presentation, discussion panel, class activity, roundtable conversation, film screening and Q&A, etc. We encourage creative and engaging formats!
I'm an instructor interested in inviting health justice guest speakers to my course. What's next?
There are three pathways through which instructors can work with us to identify guest speakers for their courses:
Faculty or PM identifies a speaker from CEnTL's directory of HJSB members (preferred)
PM identifies a speaker who is not an existing HJSB member, but meets the criteria listed above
Faculty identifies a speaker who is not an existing HJSB member, but meets the criteria listed above and connects them to the PM to make sure they are a fit for HJSB
If you are interested in the Health Justice Speakers Bureau, please reach out to the Project Manager (PM), Emily Etzkorn, at eee2@uic.edu.
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