Page 11 - Sankofa News Fall Qtr Issue 5

ALUMNI CORNER

L EAH FORD

Leah Ford is a mother of 2 and received her undergrad from The
Evergreen State College with an emphasis on Social Justice and
Public Health. Graduating in 2018, she is currently working
towards her M.Ed at Eastern Washington University.

Leah is a Health Promotion Coordinator for the Tacoma-Pierce
County Health Department (TPCHD) and will be presenting at this
years American Public Health Associations annual expo. The
APHA Annual Meeting and Expo is the largest and most influential
yearly gathering of public health professionals, bringing the
public health community together to experience robust scientific
programming, networking, social events, poster sessions and
more. She is a board member of the Tacoma Women of Color
Collective, and is a member of The Pierce County Community
Engagement Task Force, Leader?s in Womens Health and the
Washington State Maternal Morbidity Review Panel. She is part of
the Maternal Child Outreach Team and supports the Black Infant Health Program with a goal of
improving African American/Black infant and maternal health. Her work aims to decrease
health inequities and social inequities for women and infants of color.

Leah is also part of a Human Milk Work group aiding hospitals, birthing centers, clinicians, and
employers who want to support chest/breastfeeding and nursing in their community. She
collaborates with local and state coalitions, hospitals, midwives, nurses, doulas and community
partners to develop a network of integrated community-based services that support the
well-being of children and families in Pierce County. She is a lactation advocate and works to
support families realize and protect their right to chest/breastfeed, a basic human right of
excellent health.
Due to the pandemic, Leah has been activated for work supporting COVID-19 response. In May,
following horrific police brutality and widening racial health gaps due to COVID-19,
Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department stood up the Racism and Resilience Action Response
Team to address racism as a public health crisis which Leah is a member of. In her free time
she enjoys spending time with friends and family, hiking and karaoke.