What's Happening

By Li Lock, PhD, MEd, Research Associate, ETR, Gillian Silver, MPH, CHES, Research Dissemination Specialist, ETR  |  December 7, 2023

Resilience is the process and outcome of successfully adapting to difficult or challenging life experiences, especially through mental, emotional, and behavioral flexibility and adjustment to external and internal demands. LGBTQ+ young people, especially those holding multiple, or intersecting, marginalized identities, are often faced with situations and environments where they must develop resilience to survive and thrive. 

By Janine Driver (JD), MA | November 9, 2023
Marketing & Communications Coordinator, ETR

In this blog series, ETR experts will share best practices for hosting accessible events and centering equity in convenings. We believe in the power and possibility of cultivating accessible spaces, especially in the fight for health equity. As an organization with deep expertise in convening people from around the world for dynamic in-person and virtual events, we are committed to creating learning environments that center the diverse needs of the communities they aim to serve. 

By Sarah Han, MPH, Youth-Centered Health Designer, ETR, Nirali Chakraborty, Ph.D. Chief Strategy Officer & Director of Research, Metrics for Management (M4M), | September 18, 2023

This summer, Sarah Han, Youth Centered Health Designer at ETR, joined the Measuring Youth Sexual and Reproductive Health (MY SRH) Initiative at the Women Deliver 2023 conference in Kigali, Rwanda. Led by Metrics for Management (M4M), this global advisory group of young professionals convened to tackle the question, “How can we dismantle the barriers that hinder young people's access to respectful, high-quality SRH services?" In this conversation, Sarah is joined by Nirali Chakraborty, Chief Strategy Officer and Director of Research at M4M to learn more about this critical work in global youth SRH.

By Dina Chaerani, Elvita Trisnawati and Fatimah Huurin Jannah | September 6, 2023

Comprehensive Sexuality Education has long been a topic of contention, often fraught with misinformation, taboo, and inadequate resources. But amidst these challenges, innovators, youth-led organisations, and even NGOs are stepping up to make a difference. Who expected that one such innovation-making wave came from three Indonesian Youths who established Sexdugram, an Instagram-based initiative that revolutionised how CSE is delivered, discussed, and embraced. 

By Sarah Han, MPH | August 25, 2023
Youth-Centered Health Designer, ETR

Young people face multiple challenges in accessing sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services, with stigma from providers and staff and compromised confidentiality and privacy as key barriers. Learn more about Sarah Han's experiences as a part of a globally representative advisory group of young professionals at Women Deliver 2023 in Rwanda for the Measuring Youth Sexual and Reproductive Health (MY SRH) Initiative led by Metrics for Management.

By Lauren Ranalli, MPH | August 2, 2023
Director of Marketing & Communications, ETR

Virtual visits and telemedicine have become more readily available since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. As with in-person health care visits, the key elements of adolescent-centered care should be implemented when seeing patients remotely. By doing this successfully, we can empower young people to actively participate in their health care.

By The ETR Team | June 26, 2023

At a time when violent anti-trans rhetoric is extremely prevalent, helping trans youth foster resilience can dramatically change their health outcomes both now and later in their lives. We’re thrilled to share a few science-based tips that you can use with the trans youth you serve from the Queer and Transgender Resilience Workbook by Anneliese Singh, PhD, LPC, which is now available in the ETR Store.

By Nasbah Ben | May 22, 2023
Director of Tribal Projects, ETR

In honor of World No Tobacco Day 2023, ETR's Director of Tribal Projects Nasbah Ben shares reflections on the importance of tobacco education and prevention that is rooted in a health equity framework -- especially for the numerous recognized and unrecognized Tribes throughout the US.

By Madhuri Jha, LCSW, MPH | April 26, 2023
Vice President of Science, Equity, and Integration, ETR

Rest has not only been something we, as people of color, have always needed, but it is something we have always deserved. Breaking the negative feedback loop means we must allow ourselves to rest, to honor those before us who could not.

By The ETR Team | March 10, 2023

On December 21, 2022, Proposition 31 went into effect in California, banning the sale of most flavored tobacco products. This ended a two-year referendum of senate bill 793 (SB 793) signed into law in August 2020. The passage of this law has sparked conversation across the state as the tobacco industry adapts its product lines, and residents and public health advocates work to understand what the flavor ban will look like in practice. Let’s explore key facets of the law, and how it promotes health equity and empowers local policy efforts.

By Sarah Han, MPH and Rebecca Braun, DrPH, MPH | December 14, 2022
YTH Initiative, ETR

The INSPIRE+ project empowers and collaborates with California youth to design innovative, creative, and youth-led solutions that address unhealthy substance use and promote community healing, using ETR’s Trauma-Informed Youth-Centered Health Design framework. 

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 | October 26, 2022

Evidence-based pregnancy and STI prevention programs are programs that have been shown, in at least one program evaluation, to have a positive effect on reducing unplanned pregnancy or associated behavioral risk factors, such as delaying sexual activity, or increasing condom or contraceptive use. Providing young people with evidence-based pregnancy and STI prevention programs is one strategy to help address the disparities that persist in the United States. With schools and service organizations facing limited time and resources, these programs serve as an effective option for reducing risk behaviors.

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 ETR and Roots Community Health Center | February 24, 2022

In this conversation, ETR’s Black Family Wellness team is joined by the Roots Community Health Center (RCHC) team to discuss the need for utilizing a holistic community-led approach to address systemic racism in health care and support the holistic health of Black women who are pregnant.

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.