When Samantha Hamilton tells. People She works in public.
Health. She often gets a response a.
Little like this. So you're a doctor, right?
So you're a doctor. And I'm like, no, I'm not a
doctor. But public health includes the
issues of health, but looking at a community as a whole.
So public health folks are the ones that look at regulations
and policies that impact the population we serve.
The population Samantha serves is in Springfield, MA.
She's the director of Coalition Building and Community
Engagement at the Public Health Institute of Western
Massachusetts. We're here like again, maybe
shedding a light on what the problem is and also ways to
solve it. Springfield is a community
that's contending with issues that a lot of communities are
dealing with in the face of climate change, extreme heat and
localized flooding. Looking at the topographic map,
Springfield's climate issues get more complicated.
We live in a valley where pollution, the pollution we
create, stays here. That's one factor.
And a pollution like wildfires that come from somewhere else
also settles here. Then there's the old school red
line map. That showed where certain black
and brown folks could live where other folks couldn't, and that
population division still exist now.
To Samantha, the dotted line between the two.
Is crystal. Clear.
Sometimes we're talking about the issue of climate, but we're
also talking about the issue of justice and how that the quality
of air that we breathe or the conditions that we live in are
not just determined by our choice, but by the systemic
design, right? So unpacking that is important.
Unpacking it and helping the community understand that a
whole web of interconnected issues, from air quality to
housing to food access are all part of the public health
picture too. And this is maybe even more
important. There are also things that they,
as residents, can influence and improve.
So I'll say my biggest charge is that I do this work with the
voices of the community in the design, with the voice of folks
telling us how is it looking, what is does it really look
like? And using that information to
advocate for systemic change. Because Samantha says once
people understand the issues and have a tangible connection with
them, they do join the fight. Welcome to Path Breakers, a show
about what it takes to cut through the noise and red tape
and all of the other obstacles to progress.
I'm Tracy Pearson and I work on the communications team at the
Kresge Foundation. And I'm Jamie Bennett.
I work at the intersection of arts, culture, and equitable
community development. On each episode of our show, we
talked with a different path breaker who's forging a new way
forward. Today we have the pleasure of
speaking to Samantha Hamilton about truly engaging the
community and public. Health justice work.
And what happens when you make way for residents to lead the
conversation and form the problem solving and be the
guides for change? So just to start, would you mind
sharing your name, your title in the organization that you're
with? So I'm Samantha Hamilton.
I am the director of Coalition Building and Community
Engagement at the Public Health Institute of Western Mass.
Samantha, you're the director of Coalition Building for the
Public Health Institute of Western Massachusetts.
That's a whole lot of words, but what does that mean?
What do you actually? Do yeah, yeah, it is a whole
lot, especially the organizational title too.
But my role is a convener I and my job is to bring people
together and the end that that means organizing coalition
meetings, having design team meetings, developing this
resident advisory model where we have our structural format.
So there's a lot of planning and what I, what I do, a lot of
meetings and what I do, a lot of organizing and kind of strategic
thinking in what I do. So my, my brain could go micro
and then macro on a daily basis. Thinking about the logistical
details at like planning a housing resource fair, which
we're in the middle of right now to the big macro space of
supporting the requirements of our funders.
It's a, it's a little bit of everything, but I would say I'm
a convener. My goal is to bring people
together, and I do that in every aspect of what it means for them
to come to the table. Awesome.
I know. I was talking to Jamie about
your background and I noticed that you spent a pretty
significant amount of time in Springfield.
I wanted to ask you, how did you sort of find your way in
Springfield? And for someone who's never been
there like myself, could you describe it?
Yeah. So originally from Jamaica, my
family collectively immigrated together, all six kids and my
mom emigrated while my dad was here in 1993.
Oh, that's a long time. So I do not know why the family
put the on the map to come to Massachusetts.
And lo and behold, I did not land in the warm Florida sunrise
or the California coast, but in the Blizzard winters of
Massachusetts. So my childhood experience of
what America was was like a stark reality on what you see in
the movies. So that's how my family got here
as a collective looking for a better opportunities for a
better life, just pursuing that concept of the American dream
and opportunity. So lived here ever since I was
nine years old, and I'm 40 now, so most of my life has been a
Springfield resident. So I would describe Springfield
as a place of opportunity reflected with community
struggle. I lived in a community where
there was a lot of local gang violence and crime.
And in that, still there was safe places for young people to
go, safe havens for young people to have an opportunity to
explore their talents. So in a place that again has a
lot of community based challenges, there's also these
wonderful anchor institutions and organizations that provided
opportunity. So I would describe it as that
I'm an absolute optimist and when it comes to the work that I
do because that gives me the spirit to see the possibilities.
So we don't ignore that it's a struggling community, a
predominantly African American, Latino population.
We don't ignore that majority folks are struggling with
housing, education, health disparities.
We don't ignore the fact that mobility is short, there's no
direct ladder up to success and there's there's no direct
pathway. So most folks pave their own
way, but not necessarily show others how to get there after
they've succeeded. And in living in Springfield and
learning by the history, we learned that, you know, it was
an ex. I consider it an extractive
community. It's a place where investors
come in, invest, but also take that investment elsewhere and
not repurpose it back into the community to enrich and it
enrich it. So for that, I've seen that
there's industries that are here and then there's industries that
come and go. And how within that community,
does the Public Health Institute for Western Massachusetts find
itself? Yeah, so.
The organization, again formed probably when I was in high
school years, came about as an organization that wanted to
address the issues of public health and HealthEquity and
access. So within the organization, the
focus was on research and evaluation as well as coalition
building. So when it came about, it came
as a backbone institution that could bring together more
nonprofit organizations to come together and maximize impact and
power. They did this with initiatives
like food Access, work Around, Live Well, Springfield, Go
Fresh, Mobile Market. They did this with programs
around oral health education, which our executive director
piloted when she was working there before she took on the
executive role, asthma issues. So the organization either did
community based research to understand the impact of
HealthEquity and justice around those issues that evaluation and
or convene communities to tackle those social issues that are
impacting communities. I love that.
And Samantha, Samantha, can I just ask a quick question?
Tracy and I have had a chance to talk with a couple of public
health folks. And you know, I'm someone who
when someone says health to me, I tend to think of my doctor, my
doctor's office, medicine, I'm taking thermometers, that kind
of stuff. But when we're talking with you,
when we're talking with public health colleagues, we end up
talking about housing, we end up talking about climate, we end up
talking about income inequality. Can you just for folks who
aren't familiar with public health, can you just help us
understand what's the difference between public health and
healthcare? Will you ground us in sort of
what is this public health you speak of?
Yeah, thank you for asking. And funny enough, the concept of
public health is seriously misconstrued and hard to kind of
wrap people's head around. So thinking about there is
someone in municipal government that looks at issues around
COVID and have those parameters to tell us instructions on what
to do regarding our health to get tested, to go to a screening
space or something like that. There's someone there looking at
the overall general population saying here's where you could go
to receive health and services. And those folks in those
position help keep us healthy through those through those
roles. So there's a truancy officer in
the schools, but there's also and compliance officer regarding
code enforcement or health regulations.
Those folks are in those public health fields and are regulating
and ensuring their policies are held up and that the community
whole safety is considered. So those positions are what
folks do in the work that we do in coalition and community
spaces. We look at the health of a
community and ask ourselves how can we make it better.
And the issue of health goes beyond your doctor visit, but
but what is your health at home? So when I and when I say, hey,
we're looking at housing, we're looking at the quality of your
housing that affects your health.
So whether you're at home and there is an issue of mold or
respiratory issues in your house, that's a public health
issue because we don't want you to go to sleep where you spent 8
hours taking in the the toxic mold.
But we want to make sure there's regulation in place that
requires that anywhere you live that they remediate and do not
buy or sell a home that has issues of mold.
So that protects you. So in some instances public
health support and protecting us from things that we typically
might not think about that impacts our health.
So issues again relating to awareness around quality of air.
So the organization has, is working on air sensor apps to
inform people on their power to, to lead with their own health.
So the organization is looking to put an air sensor.
There are air sensors in the state of Massachusetts.
They're on this platform collectively collecting the data
for us. And now imagine someone going on
an app looking at it and say, Hey, the, the air quality is bad
today. And because I have asthma or
COPD or any chronic health issues, I, it's recommended that
I might stay inside today so that I don't inflamed my health
issues and then caused me to then go to that doctor.
So in a sense, public health is preventative measures that helps
folks stay healthy so so that they don't run to the hospital
for care and live longer. So those are I don't know if
that is sums it up or explains what other great examples that I
have. I that explains it perfectly.
And so then my next question is, it sort of seems like you said
that in order to have true public health in Springfield, we
need all the people and all the institutions to be doing their
jobs properly for all of the people.
That if everyone, you know, if the schools were working
properly, if the system of housing transportation was
working properly, you know, we would have helped.
So what is the coalition it takes to do that?
What who are you bringing together?
What is what is the coalition that Springfield needs to make
sure that happens? Yes.
So our work is you look at sectors in different
departments. You want housing, folks,
education, you want folks in business sectors at the table.
You want residents involved, you want nonprofit organizations,
You want everyone that has a vantage point of what makes up a
city. So most of our partnerships
include grass ritual organizers, folks that works within
providing direct services or support.
So folks in mental health, folks in after school programming,
those safe havens that I was a part of that kept me safe and
also providing me with opportunities.
You want those folks involved in the conversation.
So within the organization, we seek out or put a call out to
say, hey, we're about to work on this issue around food access or
this issue around housing. Do you want to be at the table?
And if you're coming to the table, who else do you think we
should invite? The door is super wide and open
for organizations and, and individuals to come in and
provide their perspective on how we see the issue.
Because my vantage point is limited and having perspectives
from, you know, municipal government, it's important
because they are maybe in the, in the system in itself.
I frame it as you can't solve the problem outside looking in,
You know, you can't yell to the institution.
You need to fix this with a bias lens of not knowing how it's
currently functioning. So you do need to invite those
institutions, organizations to the table to understand their
limitations, their barriers, their own internal biases to
say, hey, can we collectively do something different?
Because even after we do the call and ask for someone to do
the change, it's not going to hold up if they also did not buy
into this. The narrative of the change is
important and that we that they are also part of the solution.
So we invite to the table those organizations, some which we
might not be in total alignment with because we still have to
talk it out because the problem is multidimensional.
The problem is more than just I might see a homeless person, but
I might not know that person who's homeless is biased to
institutions and have chose to be homeless because the system
has already failed them and harmed them.
So when you want to say build a shelter and everybody's going to
come in, that homeless person you still want to come in, ain't
going to come in because you didn't even ask them why did Why
are they still sitting on the park bench?
Why do they still choose to be on house in the moment?
And they might say, I've been harmed by the institution that
was set to help me. And I, I have issues of trust
before I can go back to that institution.
And we have to solve that. And also we might have to honor
some people might choose that living without housing is OK for
their current stability because it gives them freedom in other
ways. So to that end, I would say
that's the intention of bringing coalition's together to have
those diverse perspective and that all perspectives have input
on how we can solve a problem in our community.
I want to talk about something you mentioned earlier around air
quality, asthma and the impact that that has on communities.
There is a climate change initiative here at the Kresge
Foundation. She and they work a lot around
helping communities through the lens of climate change.
And as someone who lives in an area with a significant amount
of residents who deal with asthma, and that's not something
that was brought to my attention until I had children and I
started wondering, why do all these kids have asthma?
It's because of our hair. And it's not something that one
resident had something to do with it.
It it's impacting our entire community.
So I would love for you to sort of talk about the SHE
initiative, how your organization is sort of working
within that context. And I think it's so important
because climate effects everyone.
It's not something that we can get away from, as you know.
So would love for you to speak about that a little bit.
Yeah. Thank you.
So yeah, that amazing opportunity to be a chief funded
partner allowed us for our initiative to work on two
things, which was community choice energy and a race and
HealthEquity impact assessment. We bring forward in our proposal
that Springfield was once the asthma capital of the US It
meant that and the study came out of the emergency visits that
happened in our community. So that was a benchmark of
saying This is why this community had this higher
ranking, currently ranked 4th. We were, we went down the list
at one point, but now currently standing in fourth place.
We had to understand like what what makes up this variable?
We're also in a very racially divided city.
There was a highway built through the city, right?
So there was a residential neighborhood and they took over
the land and pushed out at that time a communities of color to
go live somewhere else and built in that neighborhood a big
massive Hwy. 95 highway. So there is like that whole
traffic that's comes out on a daily, daily basis in that
community and folks who now reside and live in that
community are still black and brown folks who have those
respiratory and chronic health issues.
So through the CHI funding, we had the opportunity to look at
something strategically that could help improve our quality
of air, reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, and bring some
equitable justice to community by having the power to choose.
So community choice energy, also known as community choice
aggregation, very big word. It's how you source your energy
for your for your home. So instead of getting your
electric energy from fossil fuels, you can choose that your
community, the city itself of Springfield, opt in to clean
energy from wind farms or solar farms in our community.
The decision to change this policy is a citywide change.
And we're encouraging community residents to buy into this idea
that clean energy will help us, will improve the quality of air
that we have in the future, or it might just improve our
ability to live longer over time.
So that's the work that we do it under the CHI, work that we hope
to continue to do as we embark on another grant writing process
to apply for more funding for this great work.
But the issue of climate, health and equity is intangible.
Like you can't do 1 without the other.
And sometimes people think, well, you know, the it's about
the trees. It's not about the trees.
It's another issue that I will share that we deal with in
Springfield. Springfield is issues are
extreme heat and localized flooding, right?
And again, I learned all of this.
I was not the climate expert before I started this work.
But because we live in a city, the extreme heat happens
throughout the year. And folks do not have the
ability sometimes to, to find shelter, to cool, to have the
ability to, to deal with the extreme heat.
So they just stay in it. So there's like consider like my
imagery is considered this elderly woman at home just
bearing with the heat having maybe a fan, but she also has
her COPD, she has her chronic health issues and that extreme
heat is kind of just taking over and could cause her to to have a
heat stroke. So building a community where
maybe we have requirements that require cooling in all
development prevents that or also having access to cooling
station prevents that and maybe providing cooling kits at home
prevents that. So that's one of our our dire
issues and that's how public health shows up.
That's how public health solves the health issues of the
community, with their informed consent and informed
participation. How do you get?
Residents to sort of when you come in and you have a
conversation about solar power, how do you all coalesce and get
some some like minded thinking around that?
Are you guys using a model? Are there any tables?
What are you guys using to sort of engage residents around that?
Yeah. The model that is set up is that
we have a resident advisory framework.
I love that. Let me do one other just one
quickly because resident advisor to me means that scary person on
my dorm who tells me what to do. But I think resident advisor
means something different for you.
What will you just what is a resident advisor?
Yeah. So the we call them their title,
they are residents and they are advising us so.
The residents of Spring together who lives in Spring?
Yes, residents Springfield, yes, yes, someone that lives in
Springfield that has lived or professional experience about
the issue we're going after. So whether again is housing,
food, access, climate, they're saying, hey, I want to get
involved. And we lean on their lived
experience, their residents, savvy knowledge of the community
and their ideas on how to impact change to to help us.
So they advise us on the other side of their title on how to go
about engaging the community, how to get the word out, present
Co present with us, Co facilitate with us and we also
build their capacity to trainings that we offer
throughout the year. Thank you.
In all our coalitions that we have now in in Phi, we have
residents involved in these conversations.
And for my Kreski work, for my chi work, we had a one to one
ratio for everyone partner organization voice.
We had one community resident voice.
And the idea of that is you balance power.
If I just had two folks that are from the community residents
representing us and saying, hey, tell us what's going on for
everybody. The person like I don't speak
for everybody. I can only speak for me and as I
told you before, my community is very segregated.
So depending on where you live, you have a certain perspective.
So that one to one community voice ratio allows that the
community organizations and the community residents are coming
together collectively talking about the issue.
We also collectively learn together.
So just as I was in the room taking notes, asking questions,
building my capacity, so was the residents.
And we lean on our expertise from our Pioneer Value Planning
Commission. We lean on our evaluation team
at the Public Health Institute, giving us the data and the
statistics and the impacts and the outcomes.
We lean on our community organizations, grassroots
organizations like Arise for Social Justice telling us let's
get to rally. We're going to be rallying
against biomass, going to be rallying against pipeline
expansion, but we need your current action today.
And we will lean on organizations like Way Finders
who have residents also involved in their built environment
projects or build health grants that they brought them in.
So all those folks are in the room.
We've done workshops like Flexing Your Civic Muscle that
way finders did with us and that that's us to ground us.
Like let's before we take action, let's know about the
issue. Let's talk about what it means.
Let's ask the question on like things we do not understand.
And once we have a grounding collective understanding, then
we say, what do we do next? I'm big on not leaving anybody
behind in the conversation. So somebody say I'm still stuck
over here, we're all going to move over here collectively to
understand what the person is still stuck on understanding
that we need to explain or they might have a great idea on how
to define it better for the the broader community.
So we stay as a collective team cohort learning together.
So that's how I can we build our strength and understanding and
on the why we want to act on an issue.
We lean in the experts that are at the table and collectively
after we all have the capacity and understanding say now what
right and and and move on from there.
Can I ask you just to take a step back because one of the
things that I'm fascinated by is you said like, you know, we're
going to have a rally for biomass.
How do you get anyone to show up?
Like how do you, I understand everything you said about
building knowledge, building power, working together, but how
do you get someone to show up for that first conversation?
How does that first conversation happen that someone even knows
enough to show up and sort of say, I'm willing to go on this
journey with you and eventually end up rallying for biomass?
I think that's important to consider, but also through the
through like just day-to-day challenges, we want you to focus
on this thing. But you're also, we are
acknowledging that residents are dealing with day-to-day, getting
to work, getting their kids to school, you know, but these are
still important issues. So I don't.
I can't imagine it's easy. I'm an analogy girl.
If I didn't, I should have said that in the beginning.
I love a good analogy. I, I use visual representation
to talk about how, how projects are going.
And one of a concept that I heard that helps me understand
how to get people mobilized is that, you know, you don't want
somebody to love the ocean because you'd want to go to the
beach here and there. You.
And if you want them to go on an adventure with you, you don't
want them to just love the ocean.
You want them to long for the sea.
That means that they will not just go to the ocean, They'll
get on that boat. They'll go into the middle of
nowhere because they have a longing for what you're asking
them for. So the idea is to build people
to not just see the vision that the the issue that's in front of
us, but despite the issues to still vision that there's still
something better if we continue to journey on this work
together. And the work requires us to.
My optimistic spirit is to always believe that this will
lead to our ankle in mind and encouraging people to know that
their collective imprint today will have an impact on the
future. So that's the concept of how I I
see things. How to get people involved is to
honor and love their presence is important and valued.
Put that into the writings, put that into the funding.
And also to know that most of the time they're there because
the issue touches them. Most of the time the charities
that you give to, it's because the cause was something close to
you. And so folks commit to showing
up and talking about it, or folks come and commit to other
issues that they care about. That's I first of all, thank you
because I think we need people to long for the sea.
Maybe the title of this episode. So thank you for that.
Thank you. Also, you know, I'm, I'm
guessing I'm older than you and I came up in that generation of
environment and climate work where we tried to motivate
people with fear, right? The future is burning.
It's on fire. We've got to stop it and
replacing fear with desire, with longing.
I think it's really powerful that there's something better
ahead. Not just fighting against, but
fighting for is really powerful when when you sort of think of
some of the successes that your coalitions have had, when you
think about some of the things that the residents are really
proud, where their experiences really helped change things.
What are some of the first things that come to mind for
you? Yeah.
In our early work, we had another grant around tobacco
regulations and we worked with young people.
And at that time, I was in another organization.
I was at the MLK Family Services, but the project was
funded with the Public Health Institute.
So I was their director of operations.
They're working with young people.
I'm talking about the issue of increasing the smoking age from
18 to 21. And the reason there's, there's
again, the science is there that when you prevent a young person
to start to onset, start smoking at a later age in their life,
they're less likely to become chronically addicted and then
also less likely to become chronic smokers, right?
So we want to delay. So the idea is to push out the
time that someone has access to tobacco to a later age of 21.
So in that work, working with the young people under an
agreement with the Public Health Institute, the young people had
the ability to give testimony. A young girl talked about how
even though she's not a smoker, the issue of smoking impacts her
life because her father is a chronic smoker.
He now has chronic health issues, and she's taking care of
him, and she's 16 years old. So she gave that testimony at a
local city health Commission meeting and asked the local
health Commission to pass a localized law that prevents
Springfield itself from selling to anyone under the age of 21.
So the whys for the young people were strong.
And then we went to the State House with them and he talked to
their local legislators at the state level and said pushed
again their issue of Tobacco 21. And one of the young people said
after the law was passed in the city and then at the state
level, I can't believe me, my little young self, you know,
changed my community. And that's the power of impact,
right? You know, a, a person that was,
you know, organizing with their peers talking about that they
want something healthy for their own future impacted not just a
city, but with other young people across the state coming
together to advocate for that Commonwealth of Massachusetts to
change that law. So I think about those successes
as when people affirm their power and see that their power
is clear, that no matter how old I am, I can change my community.
And you know, that young person is that testimony in our climate
work with Achieve work, working with the residents and our
community partners. Our goal was to pass Community
Choice Energy to get the municipal list, the City Council
to approve it and for the mayor to push it forward.
And we did speak out events at our jazz and roots festivals.
We did tabling at our local events, getting people to sign
our local petition, got you know, 300 plus signatures and
then had the ability to meet with City Council folks and then
they unanimously approved it. So there goes the power of the
results. So our committee, our residents
are saying we did that and those words come out, oh, we did it
because we collectively organized together.
We collectively got community buying, collectively talked
about the importance of this idea and there was that
localized wind. So success for me is that young
person affirming their power. Success to me is that collective
voice of community saying we did that.
So when I hear those things, I feel and I'm assured that I'm on
the right path of, you know, impacting change.
I would imagine through the various journeys that you all
have to, to sort of start on the various issues they're trying to
tackle. There's a lot of education, of
course, but then also when you're in community as deeply as
you are, I'm sure there are a lot of things that you learn
from residents. And so I'm just curious what
what are some things that the residents have taught you as you
sort of work sort of hand in hand with them?
I think after five years to become a family, so these
president advisors, and when they hear this, they know me,
they I know them, they're loving, but they're also candid.
And I love that about them. That we found space to be honest
and trusting with each other that when we share what's going
on, that we receive it and then we take it in and then we work
work on it together. So I've never met such honest,
activated and passionate people. And sometimes folks like that
are the ones that are not getting the awards and
accolades. They're not getting put up as
the esteemed leaders of our community.
But residents are the ones that are doing the work and having
the impact that, you know, really has meaning.
I've learned that and even in my position, the community does not
want to hear from me. And when I put the residents in
front and their voices are being told, that's where most of the
community, the broader community's ears turn up because
they could relate. The community says also, I know
you, I see you and what you're about to say is so relatable to
me. And for that they, they have a
stronger buying in the work. I also learned that I have to
manage my bias and my position as a gatekeeper.
I hold power and in position because of the title I have.
And that's why I invite other organizations and residents to
the table because if you stop at Samantha, you're missing the
picture. So that's why I I'm also saying
be mindful, humble yourself. What you say right now is a
reflection of what other people is going to believe because
they're not going to go any further than you.
So be mindful that what you say has to come from a place of take
transparency and honesty to say, and still I am not the last
person you should talk to. I recognize my positional power.
I recognize my identity as a black woman in this community.
I recognize my immigrant status. And all of this allows me to
come into a room where people be relatable, be trusted.
But I also take that that trust and say I'm not going to just
I'll be Willy nilly with if I'm going to honor what people are
saying about what they want to be done and bring that back up
to the fold. So it's being that good steward
in the process. Well, thank you for sharing with
us about your community in Springfield.
I feel like I've learned so much.
I if you're OK with it, Jamie and I like to do this sort of
session where we have a lightning round and quick
answer. There are about 10 or so
questions. We want to hear the first thing
that sort of pops into your mind.
OK, ready. Good.
All right. What is your favorite local
tradition in Springfield? It'll be the festivals that we
have every year, so we have all types of jazz and roots,
Caribbean festivals, Stone Soul. It's an opportunity for culture
to show up, community to show up.
Also my mom and I sometimes cook in those spaces.
And again, my Caribbean Jamaican descent, I I either bend with my
mom and I sell food, but that's one place that I I see my
community. Wait, this is off question, but
what's your mom's best dish? She can cook anything, I'm going
to tell you that. I'm really coming now.
I still Curry goat, jerk chicken recipes, everything.
Oh. I want Curry goat.
I'm coming for the Curry. Goat and I'm coming for the
oxtail list. Yeah.
Samantha, our producers tell us that Merriam Webster, the
dictionary people, are headquartered in Springfield,
MA. What word is most commonly used
to describe you? Stubborn.
I'm going to say I'm stubborn. So if I am that again,
chartering that boat, that ship, and I am the captain, I am
stubborn to stay on course. Awesome coffee or tea?
I'm a hot cocoa girl, OK? I love the marshmallows.
The Yeah. Even in the summer, yeah.
Yeah, I love sweating bullets. All right, so I was trying to be
cute, but the entire team told me I'm too old for this question
to work. If you were to pick between Rick
Springfield or Dusty Springfield.
I I don't even. Yeah, that's what that ruined
art. Just Tracy, go to the net.
Uncle Boomer is going to just. Keep trying.
I literally said who? What tabs do you have?
Open on your computer right now. All of them, all of them.
Am I, am I really down with that?
No, I'm just keep it open. So many e-mail tabs.
If you could come back as an animal, what animal would you
come back as? Interesting.
I think the dog because my dog gets the best life ever because
he's still spoiled his system. Friendly good life.
Amen. What's your favorite go to
karaoke song? I cannot sing.
It's not a requirement for
karaoke. That's OK.
The Dirty Dancing song. Yeah, yeah, we can do the
choreography. Jamie, will you catch?
Me, absolutely. I'll always catch you.
Samantha, what's your favorite kind of doughnut?
Glazed. Who is someone that you think of
as a path breaker? I have to say my aunt, she
passed away, but she was the one that first immigrated up and
sometimes that person has to be the first one to go ahead.
You got to say your name. Her name is Annette Blake.
She's the one that said I want a better future, so I'm going to
go ahead to make that for us and then bring us along.
I. Love that.
Thank you, Miss Blake. Samantha, thank you so much.
You, you all are doing such amazing work.
Thank you for taking the time to share some of it with us.
Thank you for spending some time having a conversation with us.
And just I really do look forward to coming and visiting
Pioneer Valley. Thank you all for having me.
I appreciate the ability to share the honor and recognition
from the Kresge Foundation. I'm truly humbled and I this is
not me. I I can I come with the
community that I serve at the table?
Samantha Hamilton is the director of Coalition building
and community Engagement at the Public Health Institute of
Western Massachusetts. We've put links to Live Well
Springfield and the CHI Initiative in the show notes.
Path Breakers is produced by the Kresge Foundation, which was
founded in 1924 with a mission to promote human progress.
Today, Kresge works to expand equity and opportunity in
America's cities. Read the stories of all of this
season's Path Breakers and learn about our grant making and
social investing work in Detroit, Memphis, New Orleans
and Fresno, and cities across the US at Kresge.
Dot org. To hear more stories from the
Path Breakers, be sure to. Subscribe to the show wherever
you listen to podcasts. Our producers are Juliet Hindley
and Zach Rosen, managing editors, Krista Yankee show art
by Rochelle Baker, and creative direction by Alejandro Herrera.
And a special thank you to my colleagues on the environment
and health programs for lifting up Samantha and speaking her
name as a truly phenomenal path. Breaker.
We'll talk to you next week.