What's Happening

By Vignetta Charles, PhD | December 20, 2022
Chief Executive Officer, ETR

As we close out 2022, ETR wants to extend our gratitude to YOU for your partnership! Over the past year, we worked with you through education, training, and research to develop science-based solutions to advance health equity. Through our collective work, we ensured that science-based health information was available to schools and communities nationwide and across the globe.

By The ETR Team | December 9, 2022

ETR is thrilled to announce that Madhuri Jha, MPH, LCSW (she/hers) will join our team as the new Vice President of Science, Equity, and Integration! ETR is looking forward to Ms. Jha joining our mission-driven efforts to improve health and increase opportunities for youth, families, and communities

By Ravena Soto | November 1, 2022
Project Coordinator - Tribal Community Coordinating Center, ETR

Each November is recognized as Native American Heritage Month in the United States, marking a time to celebrate the rich cultures and diverse people descended from the original inhabitants of these lands. Native stories and contributions are plentiful, but they are often omitted or modified to fit a more acceptable narrative. Native people are inseparable from our nation's past, present, and future, and their exclusion is our collective loss. This month, and every month, provides an opportunity to learn and understand the impacts of misrepresentation and erasure.

By The ETR Team | May 5, 2022 (Updated June 24, 2022)

Access to safe, legal abortion is at critical risk. In the next few months, 26 states could vote to ban abortion, putting in place insurmountable barriers to abortion services for over 36 million women and people who can become pregnant, which can have a profound lasting impact. We’re in this fight and are prepared to be an active, engaged partner in creating a culture that mirrors our mission, vision, and values.

By Vignetta Charles, PhD | May 4, 2022
Chief Executive Officer, ETR

It’s May the Fourth again when Star Wars fans like me celebrate the franchise. This feels like a terrible time to celebrate when there are ongoing active threats to health care and human rights. And still, if we don’t pause to think strategically, we may well repeat mistakes and challenges of the past. On this day, I will still take the opportunity to think about how this prolific franchise causes me to reflect on life and leadership. This reflection is not intended to dismiss my grief and anger, but because it will help fuel my fire to continue on in this fight for health equity. Fueling me today is the newest installment in the Star Wars franchise, The Book of Boba Fett, and how it has helped me think about our past and progress toward the future.

By Michael Everett, MHS, EdD | February 9, 2022
Chief People and Culture Officer, ETR

Happy Black History Month (BHM) from ETR! Formally, this annual celebration started as Black History Week and was pioneered by Carter G. Woodson (1875-1950). A Black Virginian sharecropper turned international educator, Woodson would not have his dream fully embraced until 25 years after his death. By 1975, every US president starting with Gerald Ford would officially recognize Black History as an opportunity to celebrate a neglected part of American History. In addition, the celebration highlights the essential role of Black Americans in building the United States from its colonial beginning.

By Nasbah Ben | November 23, 2021
Director of Tribal Programs, ETR

As a non-profit organization that advances health equity, we can not address health equity among Native American Tribes in California and beyond without first acknowledging that they are the original inhabitants of the land where our offices are located.

By Vignetta Charles, PhD and Morey Riordan | October 28, 2021
CEO, ETR and Founding Director, Transgender Strategy Center

As an organization committed to advancing health equity, ETR is dedicated to honoring the contributions, history, and evolving health equity topics of LGBTQ+ communities across the globe. In honor of LGBTQ+ History Month, ETR’s CEO Vignetta Charles chats with Morey Riordan, Founding Director of the Transgender Strategy Center, on the past, present, and future of LGBTQ+ History Month in the US.

By Vignetta Charles, PhD | June 3, 2021
Chief Executive Officer, ETR

Milestone birthdays that are associated with middle age can also be associated with a youthful time of awakening. We can say the same about ETR—we’re celebrating our 40th! We are entering our middle age with the wisdom that comes from four decades, while also awakening a new phase for us with the excitement and curiosity and rapid change of adolescence.

By Vignetta Charles, PhD | May 4, 2021
Chief Executive Officer, ETR

It was a lazy Sunday, and we were watching Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. My 10-year-old, like every other kid his age, is always looking to see themselves represented in the content we consume. He turned to me and asked, “Why aren’t there that many diverse people in this Star Wars movie?”

By ETR Leadership Team | March 17, 2021

As an agency committed to advancing equity, ETR is speaking out against the increase in hate crimes targeting Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI). While these recent attacks have drawn national attention, inflammatory rhetoric and disparaging or violent acts against these communities are, unfortunately, nothing new. This surge is the latest in a long and often overlooked history of racist acts inflicted on AAPI individuals, families, and businesses—ranging from subtle, pervasive microaggressions to overt verbal and physical attacks. 

By Vignetta Charles, PhD | December 21, 2020
Chief Executive Officer, ETR

In the before time, ETR’s end of year message was usually focused on positive reflections about the year. Well, 2020 has not been a normal year. So it’s fitting that we’ve spent most of this year focused on unlearning. We’ve devoted time and energy into assessing what behaviors and patterns are not useful during a year of constant and unexpected change. We have focused on actively working to unlearn those patterns and behaviors and learn some new ones around scheduling, connection, sustaining racial justice efforts, and prioritizing wellness.

By Vignetta Charles, PhD | December 1, 2020
Chief Executive Officer, ETR

December 1st marks Worlds AIDS Day and this year’s theme is Resilience and Impact. In ETR’s nearly 40-year history addressing HIV/AIDS, we have been committed partners in the fight to end the epidemic. We have witnessed the resilience of people living with HIV as well as the impact of the work to end HIV — particularly the work that centers the voices of communities most impacted.

By Calvin Hedrick, MA | November 30, 2020
TCCC Project Coordinator, ETR

Each November marks the annual Native American Heritage Month — celebrating rich and diverse cultures, traditions, and histories as well as acknowledging the important contributions of Native people. In honor of this year's Native American Heritage Month, Calvin Hedrick shares a few of his recommendations for significant pieces of contemporary culture and art from Native artists and creatives.

By Tatyana Moaton, MBA-HRM | November 20, 2020
Consultant/Subject Matter Expert, ETR

Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) is recognized each year on November 20th. This year, Tatyana Moaton shares her reflections on the purpose of TDOR and the critical importance of uplifting trans voices, leadership, and communities.

By Spencer Spotts | August 25, 2020
ETR Marketing and Communications, ETR

Over the past few months, summer wildfires have once again ignited across the country, especially hitting areas of California with high intensity during a time with already stretched and limited resources. As a California-based organization, we are acutely aware of how deeply this impact is felt by individuals and communities across the state.

By The ETR Team | June 2, 2020

Our hearts are heavy as we have watched these recent tragic events unfold. The violent, senseless, preventable deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and Tony McDade are an all too familiar reminder of the issues that systematically and disproportionately impact Black and under-served communities across the nation.

By Vignetta Charles, PhD | May 4, 2020
Chief Executive Officer, ETR

What a year to be recognizing Star Wars Day, am I right? With so much grief in the world, it feels a little challenging to celebrate anything, including May the 4th.