An episode of “Changing the Conversation” podcast
Keon Lewis shares strategies for planning and executing a regional summit with host Ashley Stewart.
January 15, 2024
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Ashley Stewart (Host) (00:05): Hello and welcome to Changing the Conversation. I’m your host, Dr. Ashley Stewart, the Director of Equity at C4 Innovations, and today we’re going to be talking about centering equity when developing a regional summit and to have this conversation, we are just so thrilled to have Keon Lewis with us today joining us from Kannapolis, North Carolina. Keon is the Equity Development Coordinator at Cabarrus Public Health Interest and a major lead in developing the CHASM Summit, which is an incredible, incredible equity center regional summit. So Keon, thank you so much for being here and taking the time to talk with us today.
Keon Lewis (Guest) (00:49): Thank you, Dr. Ashley. I appreciate it. And just thank you for the opportunity to be on this platform and to be able to share my experiences with you.
Ashley (00:57): Awesome. Can we get started with you telling us a little bit about yourself and your role at the Cabarrus Public Health Interest?
Keon (01:06): In my role, I do a combination of things. First being what are we doing as an organization to advance equity, assessing the dynamics in the community, looking at community needs, health assessment data, and also working collaboratively with all of our different departments to develop those strategies to support those needs. And then outside of that, we’re trying to develop different programs and different initiatives like the CHASM Summit in which we’re raising awareness around the public health needs, but also taking those funds and those proceeds being raised in these different events and investing it in grassroots organizations and different local nonprofits that supports those public health needs.
Ashley (01:48): Ooh, that’s so exciting. I can’t wait to dive into that. Especially, there’s a particular part of this about community engagement that I just cannot wait to dive into. But before we get there, I think viewers might want to know a little bit about why you chose the name CHASM for the summit and what does that mean and how did that really draw folks in?
Keon (02:08): Truth be told, it was actually something that I pitched in the interview process. So it was bold. It was bold because one of the prompts that they gave to us as candidates was, what could you bring to our organization that’s different from others, and how would you leave your footprint? So of course, I talked about some ideas of how I’d collaborate with different departments and do some different initiatives. But then I said, “Well, have you ever hosted a conference before?” And so the room kind of got quiet and everybody kind of looked around and said, “Is he really saying?” I said, “Well, I’ll be the one to bring a conference to this organization.” And so that was my first selling point.
(02:44): But the idea for calling it the CHASM Summit was I wanted it to be a play on words with the CHA and Cabarrus Health Alliance, who we did the partnership with, but I also pulled it from the reference of the poem, The Bridge Builder. And in the poem by William A. Dromgoole, it talks about a traveler coming to a chasm and having to cross it to continue his journey. But when he crossed over that chasm, instead of just leaving it, he built a bridge so that the individuals coming after him will be able to overcome that hurdle and overcome that barrier and be able to proceed in their journey. So it was a dual meaning, but I knew that it was significant, something catchy and will really resonate with our audience.
Ashley (03:27): Ooh, that’s so good. I’m so glad I asked that question. And my goodness, what kind of footprint will you leave? What a great one to establish to say, I’m going to come in and do this summit and then do it, and then do it. Now, I may be a little biased. I did have the opportunity to attend, and my goodness was it phenomenal, and one of the things that was particularly striking to me was who the audience was for this CHASM Summit. I mean, you all invited physicians, advanced practitioners, public health professionals, municipal professionals, case managers, social workers, psychologists, licensed professional counselors, educators, school personnel, mental health providers and professionals, clinicians, nurses, health and human service practitioners, other health professionals and members of the community. And that was something that really stood out to me. You had all of these amazing professionals and community members really bridging that gap that you’re talking about. Tell me a little bit about the community engagement process and how you all got there.
Keon (04:27): Yeah, definitely. So it was actually a three-tiered process. During the initial planning of it, the first thing I did was I tapped into the different departments within the agency, and I just simply asked them, I said, “Well, if we were to put on this conference, what are some topics that you would want to hear about? What would you want to learn about best practices? And who are some of the professionals, some of the subject matter experts that you would recommend to share these details and these experiences with us?” So that was the first part.
(04:54): The second part was engaging the community. So we have different coalitions, different municipal coalitions, different affiliations and collaborative partners that have worked with us over the course of these last 10 years. And so I tapped into those resources and asked them those questions and “Hey, what are some things that is impacting your community? What’s impacting you directly? And what would you like to gain from participating in a conference of this nature?”
(05:20): And then lastly, just utilizing a survey method, putting it out there to the community as a whole to say, “This is what we’re planning to bring. These are the topics we’re planning to have discussions around. What are your thoughts? Are we in the right direction? Are we in the right ballpark?”
(05:34) And so by taking this three-tiered approach and talking and having conversations with other professionals within the organization, outside of the organization, community stakeholders, it made it a very equitable conference because we were getting feedback from everyone across the board. And so that’s why you saw such a diverse group of individuals who attended this conference in so many different fields of professions and lived experiences because we intentionally on purpose and with purpose, reached out to them in the development process.
Ashley (06:05): That’s so good. That’s so good. It is. It’s so thoughtful, it’s so intentional. There’s so much equity that is woven into the fabrics of it, not something that’s sprinkled on top, not something that’s an additive. It’s not something you’re just dashing on there, a little equity here and there. I mean, equity was really thoughtfully part of this whole process. So can you talk a little bit about why equity is so essential and what does equity mean in this context or for you all with the CHASM Summit?
Keon (06:30): Anytime I get asked the question about why do we want to talk about equity, and we always talk about the twin pandemics, we talk about the dynamics of social injustices that’s going on in our communities and what we were seeing happening, everything from the George Floyd murder to all of the things that was taking place with police brutality and unfair policies that was being passed around the country as well as within our state. But then we also looked at what COVID-19 has exacerbated within our lives and within the community. So we knew and we understood that equity had to be the foundation of this conference. We had to make sure we talked about fairness, we had to make sure we talked about justice, and we had to communicate it in a way so that people would understand who were in attendance, that this wasn’t just solely about healthcare.
(07:20): It was about everything from healthcare to business, to finance, education, even library resources. What are we doing to address these needs? What are we doing to address these concerns? What are some of the significant factors that have led to them and how can we come together collectively to provide some really good solutions to it? And so that’s why it had to be at the base of it because we’ve seen and we experienced firsthand what happens when we have these outside factors that come in and expose those things and exposes that truth. And so we felt that the timing was right, we felt that it was necessary, but then we also felt that we did it and we built it up in such a way so that when people attended, they felt like they had some immediate buy-in to it because they contributed to the very topics that was discussed in it.
Ashley (08:09): Yes, meaningful engagement of people. Not just saying, “I want your feedback and I’ll never tell you what we did with it.” Not saying, “We’re going to collect this information and then we’re going to do something that makes profit off it without returning it to the community.” But people being able to actually see that’s that trust and that transparency that I think a lot of times we miss when we try to engage with the concept of equity, looking at those gaps that exist and persist. But not just analyzing, not just talking about them, but taking actionable steps to address them. That’s something that I particularly love about the intentionality behind the summit.
(08:48): Now, I think a lot of times folks who might be listening to this podcast might be doing similar initiatives to this, and language is really an intentional part of it. One of the things that stood out to me was the language about how it was described, and there’s meaning in words. And so I thought we might be able to break some parts of it down together so that folks could really process through what does it mean to have equitable language. So you talked about how the CHASM Summit is intended to highlight the importance of incorporating equity best practice into public, private, and nonprofit sectors to address disparities that are faced by communities both physically and systemically. So let’s start with that physically and systemically part. What does that look like and what does that look like at Kannapolis?
Keon (09:35): From the physical standpoint, one of the things that immediately came to my mind in developing this process and developing the summit in general was looking at it from accessibility. What are the physical barriers that people are experiencing or the lack of access that they are experiencing? So for example, one of the things and one of the projects we’re working on is we’re making sure that departments are asking the key questions, when you’re hosting a function, when you’re providing services, do we have adequate handicap parking? Do we have an accessible ramp in which someone who is wheelchair bound can be able to get into your facilities? Do we have enough toilets? Do we have those where the sink is reachable and things of that nature? Do we have signage that’s in multiple language that can communicate the needs and communicate the services that we provide?
(10:21): So that was the physical aspect that we took into consideration. What are the things that we’re seeing in our community? What are the things that we’re seeing with our services and so on? We thought about that from a county and a municipality standpoint. We thought about what are some of the laws and policies that’s being passed to address the concerns of where people can smoke, how close can they get in proximity to a building? Do we have enough adequate parking spaces? And if not, what are the funding that’s available so that we can add these additional spaces? So those are the things that’s happening just on a small micro level in Kannapolis.
(10:55): But then when we talk about systemically, we’re talking about policies. What are we doing when these decisions are being made? Are we taking into account if once this policy is being passed, if it’s going to disproportionately impact a specific population or an ethnicity group? And so all collectively, when we’re looking at these things, we’re looking at it from an enormous scale, we’re looking at it from the policies that are being developed, who are involved in the policy development process? Are they taking into consideration, just as you stated, engaging our community? Are they asking the right questions before making these decisions? And so we wanted to write the language for the summit. We wanted to make sure that it was reflective of not only the physical barriers that people are experiencing, but also the systemic ones that they’re seeing from a policy, from a municipal standpoint, and what can we do to better adhere and to be more aware of our decisions that we’re making and the people that it’s impacted in the process.
Ashley (11:55): And that multi-level, multi-tier approach that I am hearing you talk about too across, we’re looking at it through a practitioner lens, we’re looking at it through a policy lens, we’re looking at it through a culture lens. And then in addition to that, bringing together all of these professionals that share a common interest, which is to integrate equity. What was it like bringing in so many different professionals and what were some of the topics that were covered at the summit?
Keon (12:25): Yeah, it was amazing. And I think there’s a quote that I saw in a conference before and it just really resonated with me afterwards. And it says, “Anything about us without us is not for us.” And so we wanted to make sure that this summit was reflective of that. And so to be able to bring in professionals from everything from the local healthcare institutions, to some local teachers and educators, superintendents, mental health clinicians, licensed clinical social workers. We even brought in a film producer and a director. And so I thought it was just real amazing because everyone brought their own unique perspective on what equity meant to them, but most importantly, what were they doing to address the inequities that they were seeing and experiencing in their respective communities.
(13:14): So to be able to hear that, to learn from that is what made the conference so unique. And so we talked about everything from equity focus, leadership to education, equity and resource, accessibility, to culture sustainability, but also collaborative partnerships. And it was just very unique, it was very impactful, but it was just also very cool to be able to speak with these different subject matter experts and to hear about their lived experiences and how they’re able to translate that into equitable systemic change.
Ashley (13:45): Yeah. And you have all of these different lens and perspectives about equity and how to apply equitable practices, policies, procedures, et cetera. But there was also the central thread about what equity is and being intentional and thoughtful and speaking specifically to the issues that the community members and individuals with lived expertise who are experiencing. And I think that that is so dynamic and so important. Would you mind sharing with us, what was your favorite part of planning a summit?
Keon (14:20): The part that really stood out to me most was seeing the growth of the planning committee in the process. Because coming into it, no one knew what this was going to grow into. We didn’t know what it was going to … we didn’t even know what the response was going to be. And I think taking that journey with the members of the planning committee coming from different backgrounds, different ethnicities, different experiences, and seeing it grow and seeing it build up, seeing the reaction when that first registration came in and was like, “Oh, we got a response. This is what’s happening. It is real now.” Seeing it mentioned on the news and seeing staff members come back to the office like, “Hey, they talked about us on the news. This is real. It’s happening.”
(15:03): I think that was the thing that I enjoyed most was seeing the vision come to fruition and seeing the planning committee realizing that they’re a part of that. And when it actually happened, and then we were able to sit back after the room had finally cleared and after all the subject matter experts left, and after all the registrants left, we looked at a once filled space and it was empty again to say, “Man, we actually did it. We pulled it off, and it was worthwhile.”
Ashley (15:32): It was so worthwhile. I mean, you had such a dynamic lineup of folks, but I also think about this is a region-wide, but it also had much greater reach than region because you also had it in a hybrid version too. Talk to me, what were some of the challenges that you all experienced?
Keon (15:54): Of course, you have the dynamics of the facilities, you’ve got to make sure that you have certain amenities in place. And then of course, the technology. You’ve got to make sure that the bandwidth can take in that capacity to be able to put forth a great production. You’ve got to deal with those things where your sound may go out or the screen may go out and adjusting to that. And there’s a funny story behind it. It’s like there was a moment what the planning committee came to me like, “Hey, Keon, what do we do in the event this occurs and that occurs?” And so it was so cool because we had our IT team there, had our planning committee members there, and I told them, I said, “Outside of the building burning down, I trust you in being able to make a decision in those moments to support whoever needs something, whether it’s letting them know where the restrooms are located, about food, helping out one of our presenters.”
(16:49): And I think once I was able to get that trust from them, it was great, it was fine. And of course it came with a fair share of hiccups, but aside from a few technological glitches, I think it went well, I think it was very impactful, and everyone left with an incredible experience.
Ashley (17:07): There’s such a gem that I’m hoping that folks heard, the secret sauce, if you will. They’re building trust, the empowering people to see this as much of their product as it is part of the team. And so building people’s capacity, their enthusiasm for the work itself, but also seeing themselves as leaders. Part of this work and process is so, so important. Let’s say that some of our listeners are like, these issues are absolutely impacting our community, our regions too, or they’re already doing summits. As you think about what you’ve learned and having a very successful summit focused on equity and inclusion and bringing together multiple professions and community members, what’s one piece of advice or a couple of pieces of advice that you would offer to our listeners?
Keon (17:59): The first piece of advice, just as you stated earlier, build trust. There is power in relationships and being proactive in that process. Don’t develop a summit, a conference, an initiative, an idea and then look to go back. Include people, include the community in the earliest possible development process. That’s the first thing that really helped to make this conference a success.
(18:23): And the second thing is give yourself space for improvement. It is not going to be perfect. There’s going to be glitches. There’s going to be moments that it’s not going to work out, and that’s a part of the growth of this, especially for something that is as huge an undertaking as this. And the first time there’s going to be mistakes, there’s going to be hiccups. So give yourself grace and know and understanding that everything is not going to go perfect the first time. Everything may not go well the second time. But be able to have a team that you trust into build into and really support and help them realize and understand that what they’re doing serves a higher purpose and a greater purpose than themselves and everything else will take care of itself.
Ashley (19:06): My goodness. That is great advice. Thank you so much. And if folks wanted to learn more about the CHASM Summit, how might they do that?
Keon (19:15): So they can reach out to me directly at my email at kenyato.lewis@cabarrus.org. That’s K-E-N-Y-A-T-O.L-E-W-I-S@cabarrushealth.org. Or they can actually look us up. We still have our link available from the first time we host it. So if you type in the CHASM Summit, you’ll see our details and our credentials come up. And then we’re also in the process of launching our CPHI website, so that’s www.cphi-nc.org, cphi-nc.org. And that’s where they can learn more details about the upcoming summit and our topics.
Ashley (19:54): Amazing. And we’ll be sure to include all of that information in the show notes as well for our listeners. Keon, thank you so much for taking the time to be here with us today. And thank you so much for the amazing work that you and your team and your community have done in developing and having a successful CHASM Summit that increased opportunities to promote equity, to get thought partnership, to get the excitement of practices and hopes and exchanges of ideas. That is really the bed of what the CHASM Summit hoped to do.
Keon (20:27): Thank you, Dr. Ashley. I really appreciate it.
Ashley (20:28): And to our listeners, join us next time on Changing the Conversation.
Erika Simon (Producer) (20:33): Visit c4innovates.com and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube for more resources to grow your impact. Thank you for joining us. This episode was produced by Erika Simon and Christina Murphy. Our theme song was written and performed by Peter Hanlon. Join us next time on Changing the Conversation.
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