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ETR Blog

Check out what our people and partners are researching, thinking, reading, writing, watching and doing! (Note: The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of ETR as an agency.)


ETR: A Family Business
August 28, 2018

ETR: A Family Business

By Shawn Del Carlo | August 28, 2018
Warehouse Senior Supervisor, ETR

ETR is a non-profit. In some ways, we’re also a sort of family business. I’ve worked here for 21 years, and during that time, we’ve hired lots of employees’ kids, nieces, nephews and friends.

Sometimes people come for temp jobs, and sometimes they’re hired in standard positions. This has been good. I think it’s built a closer sense of connection among staff.

By Shawn Del Carlo
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Tags: Healthy organization, Families, Workplace wellness, ETR staff
Sexuality Education, Seventh Edition: Now That's a Powerful Book!
August 23, 2018

Sexuality Education, Seventh Edition: Now That's a Powerful Book!

By ETR | August 23, 2018
 

Most books, even textbooks, don’t make it to a seventh edition. This one did. What’s so special about ETR’s new offering, Sexuality Education: Theory and Practice?

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Tags: Sex education, Sexual and reproductive health
California Tobacco Control Program: An Outstanding Partner Shares an Exciting Opportunity
August 16, 2018

California Tobacco Control Program: An Outstanding Partner Shares an Exciting Opportunity

By Vignetta Charles, PhD | August 16, 2018
CEO, ETR

ETR is privileged to work with outstanding partners. In fact, one of the best things about working here is the opportunity to collaborate with people and programs whose mission, like ours, is to make a genuine difference.

Today the California Tobacco Control Program (CTCP) is particularly on our minds. 

By Vignetta Charles, PhD
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Tags: Tribal communities, Tribal nations, Health equity, Tobacco prevention
When Good Things Happen to Good People: Karin Coyle Recognized by Healthy Teen Network
August 10, 2018

When Good Things Happen to Good People: Karin Coyle Recognized by Healthy Teen Network

By ETR | August 10, 2018

The planets must be aligned auspiciously. Dr. Karin Coyle, ETR’s Chief Science Officer, has just been awarded the 2018 Douglas B. Kirby Researcher of the Year award from Healthy Teen Network (HTN).This is a confluence of three extraordinary goods.

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Tags: Sexual and reproductive health, Adolescent health, ETR staff
Customer Service: A Point of Pride at ETR
August 2, 2018

Customer Service: A Point of Pride at ETR

By Karrie Bobby | August 2, 2018
Customer Service Representative, ETR

Thinking about calling ETR? You might talk to me. I’m one of the voices behind ETR’s Customer Service Department. The other day, a customer said I had a soothing voice. That was nice to hear.

By Karrie Bobby
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Tags: ETR staff, Customer service
Helen Rodriguez Trías: A Powerful Vision Continues
July 19, 2018

Helen Rodriguez Trías: A Powerful Vision Continues

By Mary Nelson, MLS | July 19, 2018
Publisher Emeritus, ETR

This July 7, the Google Doodle honored Helen Rodriguez Trías. This evoked some lovely memories and powerful reflections for those of us who had the privilege of working with this remarkable woman. She was a leader not only in her own time (she died in 2001), but for the challenging times we are facing today.

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Tags: Inspiration, Health equity
Inspiration Time: Work, Life, Pets
July 10, 2018

Inspiration Time: Work, Life, Pets

Marcia Quackenbush, MS, MFT, MCHES | July 10, 2018
Senior Editor, ETR

How do you do what you do? How do you keep going? Where do you find your inspiration?

Most of us doing mission-focused work have a range of answers. We connect with family. Read. Exercise. Stay active in a spiritual community. See friends. Take long walks on the beach.

By Marcia Quackenbush, MS, MFT, MCHES
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Tags: Pets, Life lessons, Workplace wellness
May the Fourth Be With You: Did You Feel Resistance to Change When Star Wars Changed the Resistance?
May 3, 2018

May the Fourth Be With You: Did You Feel Resistance to Change When Star Wars Changed the Resistance?

By Vignetta Charles, PhD | May 3, 2018
Chief Executive Officer, ETR

Star Wars fans—this post is for you. And anyone exploring new partnerships—this post is also for you!

When the first teaser trailers for Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens hit the internet in 2015, I was gleeful. More Star Wars! Yes, please.

But I must admit that I didn’t know how I’d feel about the new characters in the Star Wars movies.

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Tags: Community partnerships, Star Wars, Organizational development, Healthy organization
Mentors: Bill Kane, An Inspiring Encyclopedia of School & Public Health
April 26, 2018

Mentors: Bill Kane, An Inspiring Encyclopedia of School & Public Health

By Debra C. Harris, PhD, MST | April 26, 2018
Senior Instructor, OHSU-PSU School of Public Health & Adjunct Instructor, Graduate School of Education

Come take a ride with me. We’ll climb into an old BMW and drive on up from Red Lodge, Montana, to the Beartooth Pass (elevation 10,947 feet). Our chauffeur will be Dr. Bill Kane, which is why we’ll be stopping along the way to look at the beautiful fall colors, listen to the birds, hear the wind, and maybe spot some deer. Bill needed to do these things. He was that kind of person.

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Tags: Mentoring
Workplace Wellness? Step 1: Deal with Stress!
April 19, 2018

Workplace Wellness? Step 1: Deal with Stress!

By Shawn Moore, MBA | April 19, 2018
Senior Vice President for Product Management at ActiveHealth/ETR Board Member

Everyone wants a healthy workplace, right? In a healthy workplace, workers are more productive. Missions are supported. It’s a more pleasant environment for everybody.

So why are there so many challenges to establishing a healthy workplace? Especially workplaces like health organizations, service organizations and non-profits. What’s holding us back?

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Tags: Stress, Worksite wellness
Growing the Organization: Choosing a Distributed Workforce
April 3, 2018

Growing the Organization: Choosing a Distributed Workforce

By Vignetta Charles, PhD | April 3, 2018
CEO, ETR

ETR is a national organization—one with global aspirations. You might not have guessed this if you’d peeked in on one of our all-staff meetings a few years back. These were held in a single conference room, with a minority of our team joining from two smaller rooms at “satellite offices,” along with a few team members joining from home offices.

No longer!

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Tags: Organizational development, Distributed workforce
Celebrate Pi Day! Celebrate Science!
March 14, 2018

Celebrate Pi Day! Celebrate Science!

By ETR | March 14, 2018

Happy Pi Day! It’s March 14, the day when science geeks the world over revel in the stark beauty of mathematics. Pi is both one-of-a-kind (no other number like it) and part of the crowd (a member of the tribe of mathematical constants). It is irrational and transcendental. It is infinite in nature.

Pi Day resonates for ETRians.

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Tags: Science
How to Design an Effective Staff Retreat: A Lesson from Life
March 13, 2018

How to Design an Effective Staff Retreat: A Lesson from Life

By Sarah Axelson, MSW | March 18, 2018
Director of Training, ETR

When is the last time your organization held a staff retreat? Did it help you accomplish your organizational goals?

A few weeks ago, ETR held its annual staff retreat. I was genuinely inspired. The planners of this event offered some valuable lessons for any organization on how to design effective and engaging retreats.

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Tags: Staff retreat, Training design, Professional development
In Praise of the Science of Love
February 14, 2018

In Praise of the Science of Love

By Vignetta Charles, PhD | February 14, 2018
Chief Executive Officer, ETR

How’s your love life? Today is Valentine’s Day, so no surprise if your thoughts turn to romantic relationships. But I’m actually talking about a different kind of love at the moment—love related to leadership, mission and work.

By Vignetta Charles, PhD
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Tags: Leadership, Gratitude, ETR
Inspired to Do More: Joining ETR's CCAP Team
January 18, 2018

Inspired to Do More: Joining ETR's CCAP Team

By Manveer Sahota | January 18, 2018
Community Outreach and Advocacy Specialist, ETR

Inspiration is powerful. From the time I was a teen, inspiring people have come into my life at just the right moments. They’ve given me encouragement to move forward, to grow and to give back, exactly when I was ready to do so.

Today, because of those experiences, I’m working with the California Clean Air Project (CCAP). 

By Manveer Sahota
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Tags: Tobacco prevention, Second-hand smoke, Tribal communities, Tribal nations, CCAP
Celebrate! Restore! Connect!
December 19, 2017

Celebrate! Restore! Connect!

By Vignetta Charles, PhD | December 19, 2017
Chief Executive Officer, ETR

ETR values Workplace Wellness—and a way to live those values is to ensure that our incredibly hardworking team takes a well-deserved break for the holidays. We close down December 23 and open again January 2, 2018. As we come upon our annual all-staff mini-sabbatical, I’d like to share three wishes from ETR to you.

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Tags: Workplace wellness, Self care
North Carolina: Teen Health, Women's Health, Student Health and HIV Prevention
December 7, 2017

Great Work in North Carolina

By Lisa Edelman | December 7, 2017
Regional Account Manager, ETR

I’m a happy traveler. That makes me doubly-blessed when I travel for ETR. I get to spend time with very impressive people, learn about their work, and come home more inspired than ever about the work I do.

In September, I had an opportunity to meet a few of the fine people of North Carolina. 

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Tags: Mission, Customers
Far and Away: Benefits of the Distributed Workforce
November 28, 2017

Far and Away: Benefits of the Distributed Workforce

By Sue Potter, MS | November 28, 2017
Research Associate, ETR

I’m with the “away team.” For the last several years, I’ve been part of ETR’s Distributed Workforce. Roughly one in five staff are located away from our organization’s main offices in Scotts Valley, Oakland and Sacramento, California. You’ll find us in other regions of California and in other states across the country. I live in Boston.

It hasn’t always been easy being one of the remote staff. But we’re an organization that believes in continuous improvement. 

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Tags: Organizational development, ETR staff, Distributed workforce
Yes, We Are Grateful
November 20, 2017

Yes, We Are Grateful

By Vignetta Charles, PhD | November 20, 2017
Chief Executive Officer, ETR

My six-year-old son came home from school during the first week of November with an assignment to ask his family what we’re thankful for this year. I immediately rattled off the names of ten people, starting with his name.

He jumped in and clarified, “It can’t be people. You have to be grateful for a non-people thing.” I paused and then quickly gave him my heartfelt answer that couldn’t be people (I’ll tell you later what it was). 

By Vignetta Charles, PhD
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Tags: Partnerships, Gratitude, ETR
ETR Steps Forward for Weekly #WorkplaceWellness
May 17, 2017

ETR Steps Forward for Weekly #WorkplaceWellness

By Vignetta Charles, PhD | May 17, 2017
CEO, ETR

Something new is brewing here at ETR. No, I’m not talking about our new CEO (that would be me). Nor am I talking about our group of new hires, although they are all very cool (and, BTW, we do have several current openings).

I’m talking about walking. Stepping up. Living our values. It’s ETR’s very own weekly step challenge, and it’s helping us make some impressive changes within our own workplace.

By Vignetta Charles, PhD
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Tags: Workplace wellness, Physical activity, Healthy organization

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