Ever wonder why the issue that you are passionate about hasn’t grabbed the public’s attention? Do you want to learn how to construct a winning platform to mobilize action and get a candidate to buy into your vision?

As our nation prepares for an important election year, the 2019 Jonas Salk Health Activist Fellowship will help emerging health activists learn how to grab the public’s attention on a major health and social issue and spur action, using medical error as a case study. Despite the horrific numbers of hundreds of thousands of deaths and various campaigns to drive change – little progress has been made to reduce preventable medical error in America.

The most effective way to mobilize action is to reach a candidate for high political office with a platform that excites broad public support. In this election year, we have a major opportunity to do just that: To build the reduction of lethal medical errors into a winning electoral strategy.

During the 9-week program (10 sessions), Fellows will interact with some of the region’s foremost leaders in developing compelling platforms and with successful politicians to learn how they select a platform. Fellows will develop new skills around social marketing and behavioral economics in order to develop appealing platforms and build public will. Fellows will also learn how to effectively pitch their ideas to different audiences. During the finale of the Fellowship, select Fellows will take the persona of a candidate and pitch their platform on medical errors to a live audience.

Applicants should include a description of their interest in being politically active, building public interest and will, and learning how to create change. In lieu of a written personal statement, applicants are also welcome to submit a video personal statement.

 

For More Information

For more information, please contact Steven Guo, guo@jhf.org.