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PHI’s Ruth Thomas-Squance Celebrated as Black Leader and Champion for Health Equity
PHI’s Ruth Thomas Squance, Co-Executive Director of Building Healthy Places Network, was among seven Black leaders who were recognized during Black History Month by the International WELL Building Institute. Squance is celebrated as a Black leader who is advancing “better buildings and thriving communities” through championing health equity.
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“Black Americans have played a vital role in helping to advance America’s economic, political and cultural landscape. In 1976, President Gerald Ford declared the first Black History Month, saying it was “the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of Black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.” And every U.S. president since Ford has designated the month of February as Black History Month to honor the achievements, contributions and resilience of the Black community.
To help honor and celebrate Black history, the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) is kicking off the month by shining a light on seven Black leaders who are driving the movement and helping advance better buildings and thriving communities through their distinguished work in sustainability, health, well-being and equity.
Ruth Thomas-Squance, a Champion for Health Equity
Dr. Ruth Thomas-Squance, PhD, MPH, is a distinguished national leader on healthy equity, bringing an interdisciplinary lens and systems change mindset to the promotion of health and social equity. Her passion for health equity has taken her from a successful career in biomedical research to management in the non-profit and public sectors. As Co-Executive Director at the Build Healthy Places Network, she leads a national center positioning cross-sector partnerships from community development, public health and healthcare sectors to leverage community-centered investments across the country to address the drivers of health and advance racial equity. She brings 15 years of experience working in multi-sector collaborations with diverse partners. She is also Vice Chair of the Board of Directors at the U.S. Green Building Council and serves on the Multi-Sector Partner Group of the Center for Health Justice at the American Association of Medical Colleges and the American Public Health Association’s Alliance for Disease Prevention and Response.”
As we seek to redress patterns of disinvestment that have deprived too many of our communities, often along racial and ethnic lines, how can we think about the infrastructure that supports health and well-being? What role can we imagine for those shaping our built environment? While we continue to make advances in the quality of buildings internally, we can challenge the expansion to consider the broader role of the built environment for influencing the vital conditions [for well-being].Ruth Thomas-Squance
— Co-Executive Director, Building Healthy Places Network, Public Health Institute
Click below to read the full article.
Originally published by 3BL CSRwire
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