Page 32 - BusinessWest October 27, 2021

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OCTOBER 27, 2021
Public Health Institute of Western Massachusetts
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IMPACT
DASHH (Doorway to an Accessible, Safe and Healthy Home), a broad collaborative effort involving the PHIWM, Baystate
A PROGRAM OF BUSINESSWEST Women of Women of IMPACT
Jessica Collins Executive Director,
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She Builds Coalitions
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the 1960s, specifically the Kennedy years
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Women of essica Collins majored in history at Wellesley College.
By George O’Brien
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Her specific focus, the one she developed her thesis
and the men and women who defined them.
“I always found that time period very inspiring, and I
Women of
One of the latest engagements of this nature is called
Women of IMPACT
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Women of IMPACT IMPACT A PROGRAM OF BUSINESSWEST
Collins
Health, the Revitalize Community Development Corp., and
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think we’re still leaning from it today — there’s certainly some
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unfinished business,” she said. “I loved the oratory, the power, and the poetry of so many of the people at that time. I was always touched by it.”
So it probably shouldn’t be surprising that, upon graduating from the elite women’s school, she would heed Kennedy’s mantra of service to country and others and leave for
the Pacific Northwest to serve as a Jesuit volunteer care
“ Jessica has made impactful contributions to the local and statewide community that have had positive ripple effects throughout the nation.”
coordinator for people living with HIV and AIDS. Her next stop after that was a two-year stint in West Africa with the Peace Corps — a tour of duty that ended when a coup erupted in Guinea-Bissau.
In both cases, it was public health — and a desire to help populations in need — that prompted which direction she took, both in terms of the compass and her career. And it’s the same today as she serves as executive director of the Public Health Institute of Western Massachusetts (PHIWM), formerly Partners for a Healthier Community.
The population in need is the one living in the 413 and especially Greater Springfield, and Collins and her growing team have responded with initiatives addressing issues ranging from asthma and obesity to food insecurity and oral health.
region.
But they never address issues alone. Instead, it is in partnership with other nonprofits and healthcare providers, which illustrates what has become perhaps Collins’ strongest attribute among many — her ability to forge coalitions that can bring about meaningful change with regard to some of the most pressing, and persistent, public-health issues facing this
other players that was recently honored with BusinessWest’s
Photo by Leah Martin Photography