Voices of Real Life
Meet the alumni whose lived experiences helped shape our approach to health care reform.
Real Experiences at the Heart of Health Care Reform
Voices of Real Life (VoRL) brought together individuals from across the country to share their lived experiences and help ground USofCare’s work in the realities of the health care system. Through their insight, partnership, and generosity, VoRL members helped inform policy development, research, and advocacy efforts, laying an important foundation for how we center community voices in our work today.
Over the years, VoRL members (now alumni) contributed to federal briefings, internal initiatives, and national conversations on health care and emerging policy issues. Their perspectives helped shape USofCare’s approach to reform and reinforced our belief that those closest to the challenges in health care are essential to designing better solutions.
As our community engagement strategy has evolved, we are building on this foundation through new models that deepen state-level partnerships and more equitably integrate lived experience into policy and advocacy. We remain deeply grateful for the VoRL community and the role they played in advancing a health system that works for every person.
Alumni
Alumni are listed alphabetically.
Operations Manager
Millennial Caregiver
Husband, Dad & Teacher
Health Equity Integration Project Manager for HealthPartners
Infectious Disease Physician; Founder, Grapevine Health
Advocate
Pennsylvania State President, AARP
Technologist
Health Fellow
Options Counselor, Disability Hub MN
Missouri Volunteer State President, AARP
Director of Programs at Health DesignED, Co-Founder at BLKHLTH
Community Advocate
Artist
Administrative Professional
Physical Therapist
Professional Midwife; Family Counselor; Executive Director, Mamatoto Village
Full-time Mom & Student
Hair Stylist
Federal Policy Analyst and Patient Advocacy Blogger
Health Equity Innovator & Disruptor
Charity Ambassador, T1International
Writer & Teacher
Clinical Site Director, Central Washington Family Medicine Residency Program
Artist, Writer & Disability Advocate
Filmmaker
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Questions?
To learn more about the legacy of Voices of Real Life, please contact Lowell Hamilton, PhD, to learn more.
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