The latest OCE news for you.

ENGAGEMENT MATTERS

Quarterly News from the Office of Community Engagement

2024 Q3

KEELER'S KORNER

A message from the OCE leadership desk....

Greetings!

Summer may include a break for many, but we are always busy in the OCE! Over the past six months, we have watched many units either start or expand their community engagement efforts. This is so exciting for all involved! Thank you to each faculty, staff, and student who has used their precious time to ensure that our campus is more and more engaged. This newsletter will walk you through some of the highlights.

One of the more exciting developments includes work on the UNMC Promotion and Tenure guidelines. This effort to include community engagement efforts within the guidelines has been a multi-year, collaborative effort. Thank you to all who have worked on this effort.

Work continues to ensure that UNMC is ready to reapply for the Carnegie Community Engaged Campus designation, now hosted by the American Council of Education (ACE). To achieve this designation, we must show that UNMC is committed to and provides centralized support for building reciprocal and mutually beneficial partnerships with our community members. One way we are supporting this effort is by improving access to training and resources, so those who wish to engage can do so in an informed and connected manner. Look for opportunities to contribute to this effort, which will include creating better methods of identifying collaborators, sharing trainings, accessing resources, and learning about engagement opportunities.

In October, the OCE and Faculty Development are teaming up to bring national community engagement expert, Dr. Marisol Morales, to Omaha on October 23. This event will address community engagement best practice and how you can advance engagement in your sphere of influence.

Our UNMC Nebraska Medicine Community Wellness Collaborative.” The space, located at 29^th and Patrick, one block south of 30^th and Lake, is dedicated to partnership with the local community to address health and equity issues. If you are interested in booking the space as a UNMC faculty staff or student, please reach out to the OCE at oce@unmc.edu or any one of our team members.

Thank you to all who participated in the Individual Community Engagement Survey! We will provide an overview of the data analysis in our next issue. Be sure to review the articles below highlighting the amazing community engagement work in progress from your colleagues and community friends.

Do you have community engagement events or achievements to share? We would love to feature you in this newsletter and beyond! If you have received an award, published, presented, advocated for, or if you are involved in any other amazing community engagement action, let us know! We love to promote and support your efforts. Your achievements are an inspiration to others as well.

Stay Engaged!

Heidi Keeler, PhD, MSN/MBA, RN

Assistant Vice Chancellor

UNMC Office of Community Engagement

Annual Afro Fest Omaha

Sept 1, 2024

Heartland of America Park on the Riverfront

The Afro Fest Omaha is a city-wide cultural festival UNMC of Community Engagement (OCE) has co-sponsored for 6 years. Afro Fest works with those from the community, who are working every day to connect with others, create a vision for themselves and their community, and inspire others to join them in their efforts. The event showcases live music, dance, arts and crafts, authentic African cuisine, a children's activities area, an art exhibition section as well as a variety of organizations, businesses, and student groups.

This year, House Officer Chydubem Nwaiwu, MD approached the OCE to assist with organizing a health screening initiative at Afro Fest, focusing on hypertension awareness and early detection. With Dr. Nwaiwu's passion in mind, we worked with our partners and Afro Fest Omaha to ensure this initiative was possible. For the success of the health initiative, sponsorships, and contributors included the Office of Community Engagement, UNMC Internal Medicine Department, Nebraska Medicine Engagement, and Belonging office, Employee Resource Group-African American Black Alliance, UNMC Campus Engagement, and Nebraska Medicine Heart and Vascular Center. Also, UNMC Internal Medicine Office of Equity and Inclusive Excellence Co-Chair, Dr. Natalie Crump, distributed Community Health-Seeking Behavior Survey, and 25 attendees completed the surveys.

With the invaluable aid of volunteers, including physicians, medical students, and other members of the healthcare team, we successfully screened over 80 individuals for elevated blood pressure. Dr. Nwaiwu states, "I’m incredibly grateful to my mentors, the volunteers, members of ABBA, and the Office of Community Engagement for their support in making this event a success."

It was a delight to work with Dr. Chydubem Nwaiwu throughout the planning process. His enthusiasm is contagious. Dr. Nwaiwu aka "Bemz" is a US-born internal medicine resident at Nebraska Medicine, who was raised in Nigeria. He moved to Omaha with aspirations of becoming a cardiologist. Throughout his medical training, he has been deeply committed to addressing health disparities and inequities, particularly in minority populations where conditions like hypertension are disproportionately prevalent. Recognizing hypertension is a major driver of cardiovascular disease, especially among underserved communities, he felt compelled to contribute to primary prevention efforts and make a tangible difference at the grassroots level.

We thank Dr. Nwaiwu for his passion and enthusiasm to contribute to community engagement and look forward to partnering again in preventative efforts and addressing health inequities.

OCE Collaboration

The Office of Community Engagement recently partnered with the Midlands African Chamber (MAC) to host a "Suit Up!" Event at the Community Wellness Collaborative (CWC) at the Highlander.

The Suit Up program provides local area youth with a network of support, professional attire, headshots, and job readiness workforce preparation. The event drew a large crowd of local area students, including many of our own UNMC students, looking to sharpen their professional skills and receive professional advice on building their brand, mastering interview techniques, and the importance of first impressions in professional settings.

Make-up artists were available who offered mini makeovers at the event, which was a popular station. Attendees were able to walk away with blazers, suits, dress shirts/skirts, and ties – clothing items appropriate for potential career opportunities.

We thank the Midlands African Chamber for partnering with us on this event, and all of the vendors, volunteers, and attendees for participating and bringing such great energy to the event!

We also want to send a big thank you to the UNMC Office of Global Engagement for promoting the event and coordinating shuttle trips between campus and the CWC giving many UNMC students the opportunity to attend.

Check out the KMTV news story HERE on the event featuring one of our very own UNMC students, Brias Acsaryi! We hope this will be the first of many Suit Up events we host in partnership with the MAC.

Visit Our ENGAGE Page

VOICES FROM THE COMMUNITY

Midlands African Chamber

The Midlands African Chamber (MAC), founded by attorney and entrepreneur Karine Sokpoh in 2020, began as a collective of nine small business owners and has since grown to over 260 members. Karine, an immigrant from Togo and UNO 2004 graduate, saw a need for a black chamber of commerce in Nebraska.

MAC was established to empower, connect, and champion Black entrepreneurs, equipping them with the tools and networks necessary to thrive.

One of MAC’s flagship events is the annual Pitch-Black conference and competition, which has become a premier platform for Black, immigrants, refugees and minority entrepreneurs to engage with national speakers, gain knowledge and showcase their innovative ideas. Participants in the competition gain access to funding, coaching, and invaluable business exposure. Through Pitch Black and similar initiatives, MAC levels the playing field for minority entrepreneurs by offering them critical resources for success.

MAC’s Rising CEOs and Suit Up pipeline programs, are at the heart of its mission. Rising CEOs empowers adolescents aged 14 to 19, particularly from African immigrant and BIPOC communities, by fostering entrepreneurship, leadership, and technological skills. Meanwhile, Suit Up provides professional attire and job readiness training to young people from at-risk populations, ensuring they are equipped to succeed in the workforce.

The chamber’s partnerships with organizations like InternNE, IgniteNE, AIFS, Casa for Douglas County, Baird Holm, Women’s Fund of Omaha, and local educational institutions such as UNMC have already impacted over 400 youths and young adults in 2024 alone. These collaborations have been instrumental in broadening MAC’s reach and deepening its impact.

With ongoing local, national, and global collaborations—including with Goldman Sachs’ One Million Black Women initiative, the upcoming Go Global Conference, and partnership with the GITEX trade expos in Nigeria, Europe, and Dubai—MAC is poised to create even greater opportunities for its members and the community, paving the way for a future of increased economic empowerment and innovation.

Karine E. Sokpoh

Midlands African Chamber

Chief Executive Officer

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STUDENT ORGANIZATION FEATURE

Fostering the Future

The OCE wants to congratulate SEVEN student leaders from its Legacy Group, Fostering the Future (FTF), on being recent recipients of the UNMC College of Medicine Service-Learning Leadership and Service-Learning Community Engagement Awards!

The Service-Learning Leadership Award is presented to individuals who exhibit outstanding civic commitment, community awareness, and personal development. Awardees demonstrate incorporation of their experiences into their personal goals, perspectives, and values. The FTF recipients of this award are:

Molly Antonson

Jacob Owens

Max Regester

Currey Zalman

The Service-Learning Community Engagement Award is presented to individuals who exhibit active leadership in service learning with clear vision, innovation, and creativity. Awardees demonstrate strong initiative with a clear impact, motivate others, and demonstrate a high standard of integrity. The FTF recipients of this award are:

Grace Kelly

Joe Kleinsmith

Katie Weaver

Please join us in extending congratulations to these Class of 2025 Service-Learning Award recipients! The students’ hard work, passion, and perseverance inspire us each and every day and have made a positive impact in our community! Thank you, Molly, Jacob, Max, Currey, Grace, Katie, and Joe, for all that you have done and will continue to do for our community in your future medical careers.

Fostering the Future (FTF) is a student-led, faculty-supported, interprofessional organization at UNMC. Our mission is to improve the quality of life for at-risk youth and the overall health of our community by providing a continuum of resources, education, leadership opportunities, and impactful personal experiences to create healthy, positive, and sustainable futures for all involved.