As a consultant helping a group of high schools in northwest Washington state address the needs of at-risk students, Jimmy Brown saw several worrying trends about a decade ago: Numerous youth felt they had no trusted adults to turn to, they felt disconnected and they felt they had no voice nor control in their lives.
When the pandemic severely curtailed his consultancy work even as the trends he saw worsened, Brown in 2020 used what he’d learned — plus additional research — to establish the Build 2 Lead nonprofit, which has a mission to “empower, engage and educate young people.” The organization’s staff of six runs programming that helps youth do well in school; learn about and pursue promising career paths; network with people who can assist them in attaining their goals; become knowledgeable about how to navigate the education, health care and criminal justice systems; and advocate for themselves and their communities.
The focus is on youth of color or those who are from marginalized populations.
Since about 2022, Tacoma, Washington-based Virginia Mason Franciscan Health has been one of Build 2 Lead’s most involved supporters. That 10-hospital system has been helping to fund Build 2 Lead’s programming. Also, Virginia Mason Franciscan’s leaders have been advising Build 2 Lead, taking part in career fairs and serving as mentors for Build 2 Lead’s clients. And some of the system’s facilities have hosted field trips for Build 2 Lead participants. Virginia Mason Franciscan also has connected Build 2 Lead to key players in the More in Common Alliance, which is a national partnership between Morehouse School of Medicine and CommonSpirit Health to increase the representation of people of color in medicine. Virginia Mason Franciscan is part of CommonSpirit.
The Build 2 Lead — Virginia Mason Franciscan partnership “shows that larger health care organizations can really build strategic pathways with smaller community organizations, lean in on what’s going well and have the ability to create innovative solutions,” says Brown. “We are showing that we can empower students, dismantle harmful systems in a positive way and create equity for all. This is a blueprint for small organizations like ours to think big.”
Youth empowerment
Over the past five years, Build 2 Lead has used grant funding from Virginia Mason Franciscan as well as city and state dollars and philanthropic contributions to develop a robust set of offerings for elementary, middle and high school students. Many of the schools are in communities in Washington state where Virginia Mason Franciscan has facilities.
Build 2 Lead programs include career fairs, conferences, workshops and training and mentoring programs around health care and other careers. It also offers various programs on entrepreneurship, financial literacy, college and career planning and leadership. And it offers community outreach and advocacy events.
According to Brown, Build 2 Lead is seeking to change systems that have harmed marginalized communities, address health disparities and inequities, and counter structural racism. “A goal is to impact systems that are having the most negative impacts on our communities,” including health care, education and criminal justice, says Brown.
‘Phenomenal partner’
Virginia Mason Franciscan’s involvement with Build 2 Lead came about around 2021 when Najmah Messiah, a radiology support services manager with a Virginia Mason Franciscan facility, became aware of the organization. She became heavily involved due to her passion for building the pipeline of minority students pursuing health care careers, says Brown. She has been involving her health system’s leadership in the organization, providing input to Build 2 Lead on evolving its programming, and helping to coordinate Virginia Mason Franciscan’s various types of support. She now works with the More in Common Alliance.
Virginia Mason Franciscan has found that its support not only greatly benefits Build 2 Lead and its participants, but also advances priorities of the health system. This includes developing and filling a pipeline of potential candidates for health care jobs and improving health care outcomes for marginalized populations.
In a release about the partnership, Michael Cox, chief mission officer of Virginia Mason Franciscan and of CommonSpirit’s northwest region, says Build 2 Lead is “a phenomenal partner.” He says the organization is “aligned in advancing our mission, our values and helping us achieve our vision for better health and a more equitable health care system for all of our communities, especially those who are vulnerable.”
In the same release, Doug Baxter-Jenkins says the partnership is increasing representation of people of color in health care, and “when our facilities reflect the communities we serve, better care is provided and better outcomes are seen.” Baxter-Jenkins is regional program director for community health at Virginia Mason Franciscan.
Life-changer
Build 2 Lead has served nearly 2,000 people since its inception, and the staff is working to increase its slate of offerings.
Brown anticipates there could be challenges to this growth. “The climate is hard now when it comes to serving the underserved,” he says. “Some feel the need to take their diversity, equity and inclusion work underground. There is a fear of the unknown for those of us doing this work. But we don’t want to miss the opportunity to help those who are reeling from the problems they are having.”
He adds, “We are trying to elevate the conversation. We will continue to do this work, but the political shift could make it harder to thrive.”
Dairyona Thompson is an assistant program manager for Build 2 Lead and Natorius Ezell is a program manager. They say it is vital that the organization’s work continues because it is serving northwestern Washington’s most vulnerable communities and having a real impact.
Ezell says many of the young people the program serves come from very low-income households. Many of the kids are so hungry that they wolf down the snacks that Build 2 Lead provides. Many are tired at school because they must take care of siblings overnight while their parents work. Some have been abused or neglected. Many of the kids already have become caught up in the criminal justice system. Thompson says many of the kids are not on track to graduate, until Build 2 Lead steps in. Many of them don’t know how to pursue school and career pathways to success, she says.
Ezell says, “We want to interrupt the prison pipeline. We are helping them connect the dots on how generational things are passed down. We want to help them break the cycle and close the gaps.”
He acknowledges, “It is sometimes hard to see when kids who love their families but see the mistakes their parents have made — they want to do better. We see these ‘aha’ and ‘wakeup moments.’”
He says after the Build 2 Lead participants learn how to set and pursue their goals, “we see the kids going into these avenues because we’ve exposed them to them. They’re on fire.”
Thompson says a big part of Build 2 Lead’s work is to help students counter the barriers they face and advocate for themselves. “We open doors they normally don’t have the opportunity to open,” she says.
She adds, “Some of the decisions they are making are life and death for some of them. For some of them, Build 2 Lead is all they have. We are saving lives, and this is really important — it can be life-changing for them and their families.”
The Build 2 Lead nonprofit has released a report on health care disparities in communities in northwest Washington state, which is the region it serves. The report has revealed that many community members have seen or experienced a lack of diversity, barriers to access, challenges with navigation, a lack of pathways to careers and problematic encounters in their interactions with health facilities.