Health Leads Launches Next Chapter Tackling the Caregiving Crisis

New Strategic Direction Strengthens the Community Caregivers Essential to Health and Well-Being 

As Health Leads marks its 30th anniversary, the national nonprofit is launching a new strategic direction focused on strengthening the community caregivers, workforces, and organizations that help families navigate care, resources, and systems every day.

Building on three decades of advancing health equity, Health Leads will focus on supporting community health workers, doulas, peer specialists, school based health coordinators, promotoras, navigators, and other trusted caregivers who serve as a critical bridge between communities and systems of care. These caregivers help people access services, navigate benefits, connect to resources, and improve health outcomes across every stage of life—from childbirth and childhood through aging.

Today, roughly 700,000 community-based caregivers support families across the country — and the U.S. will need 1.2 million by 2035. The evidence is clear that their work improves health outcomes and lowers costs. Yet the caregivers and community-based organizations delivering it remain under-resourced and too often shut out of the decisions that shape their work.

“We cannot keep asking caregivers and community-based organizations to hold systems together without investing in the conditions that allow them to do that work with dignity, power, and sustainability,” said Alexandra Quinn, CEO of Health Leads. “Health Leads’ next chapter is not about inventing something from scratch. It is about building on 30 years of learning and partnership, and backing the caregivers, community-based organizations, and communities who already know what works.”

Over the next five years, Health Leads will work with partners to strengthen the infrastructure that community-based care requires, including sustainable financing pathways, stronger support for community-based organizations, improved coordination across a fragmented field, and community-governed data systems that protect privacy while expanding access to critical services.

“For 30 years, Health Leads has shown that lasting health equity solutions are strongest when they are designed with and led by communities,” said Dominique Morgan, Chief Operating Officer of Health Leads. “This strategy brings our experience, partnerships, and resources together to strengthen the caregivers and organizations that communities rely upon most.”

Two New Board Members Join to Support Next Chapter

Health Leads is also pleased to announce the appointment of two new members to its Board of Directors: Tekisha Dwan Everette, MA, MPH, and Michael Tang, MD, MBA. Their expertise in health policy, health equity, integrated care, and community-centered systems strengthens the board’s capacity to guide the organization through its next strategic phase.

“Health Leads has a legacy of impact. It created critical health and social needs programs that continue in hospitals and communities across the country. It brought new workforces into addressing health inequities, from volunteers like me to community health workers,” said Tang. “Our country is in a unique moment, and I’m excited that Health Leads’ work continues to meet the challenges of today.”

“I am thrilled to be a part of the Health Leads board. This organization really works to address health inequities through a community-involved and community-directed approach,” said Everette. “This is desperately important if we ever hope to advance to a health system that truly addresses the health needs and desires of the people. Being a member of this board ensures I am a part of the journey to move this forward.”

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About Health Leads
Health Leads is a national nonprofit dedicated to advancing racial health equity through community-designed and led solutions. Founded in 1996, the organization works at the intersection of health care, community health, and public systems to ensure that the people most affected by health inequity have the power, resources, and infrastructure to achieve health, well-being and dignity. For more information, visit www.healthleadsusa.org.