Emily Kujawa is the Director of Partner Engagement at WNC Health Network, where she supports local and regional efforts to improve community health through facilitation, research, training, and strategic consultation. With more than 15 years of experience in community health improvement, systems transformation, and public health policy, Emily’s approach incorporates principles of co-design, complexity theory and practice, mediation, and participatory facilitation and research. Prior to joining WNC Health Network, she served as an independent consultant in community health systems transformation, coordinated national school health policy programs, held leadership roles with local and national nonprofits, and worked as an EMT. Emily holds Master of Public Health degrees in Nutrition from UNC–Chapel Hill and in Health Promotion from the George Washington University.
WNC Health Network is a regional nonprofit dedicated to improving community health and well-being across western North Carolina. We partner with local and regional organizations, coalitions, and health systems to strengthen their ability to assess, plan, implement, and evaluate meaningful community health improvement efforts.
Through our contract-based consulting program, we help nonprofits and community partners learn, design, implement, and evaluate strategies together to address pressing community health issues. Our experience includes:
Collaborative Learning and Planning: Co-designing and facilitating collaborative meetings; guiding community assessment and strategic planning processes that engage multiple stakeholders; and supporting implementation of shared strategies.
Data and Evaluation: Coaching and support to develop evaluation plans; compiling tailored, quantitative “data workbooks;” co-designing and facilitating qualitative data collection and analysis using methods such as Participatory Narrative Inquiry and listening sessions; and training in Results-Based Accountability™.
Health Communications: Developing strategic communication plans that connect data, stories, and messaging to effectively engage communities.
Because we are rooted in western North Carolina and guided by strong relationships, we bring both regional perspective and local understanding to every project. Across all of our work, we use approaches that are person-centered, emphasize co-design and building (rather than simply being) capacity, and intentionally engage people with diverse perspectives and experiences with respect and dignity.
When you partner with WNC Health Network, the funds you invest in our services not only support your organization’s goals, but also fuel our nonprofit mission to improve community health across western North Carolina.
To learn more, visit www.wnchn.org.
Facilitation
MANNA FoodBank
Jenn Lutz
Chief Community Impact Officer
828-774-5747
[email protected]
Emily Kujawa facilitated a collaborative effort with MANNA and WNCHN team members to strengthen MANNA FoodBank’s data-driven decision-making and community engagement across their 16-county service region. The process involved conversations with MANNA Network Partners to understand their data needs, metrics, and barriers, and the development of a customized data workbook with regional maps visualizing key population health indicators. WNCHN also facilitated a participatory process with MANNA staff and leadership to identify geographic areas of focus. WNCHN also created local profiles, a Results-Based Accountability (RBA)-infused roadmap and interview guide. These tools equipped MANNA to continue to engage local partners and communities to inform planning efforts to focus and direct MANNA’s services within the identified geographic areas of focus.
Facilitation
Transylvania Public Health
Elaine Russell
Health Director
828.884.1747
[email protected]
A team from WNC Health Network (including Erin Braasch and Emily Kujawa) provided strategic facilitation, assessment and planning support to the NC Public Health Region 1 Health Directors to strengthen local public health capacity through workforce development and cross-county collaboration. The team guided a collaborative assessment and planning process to explore current conditions, identify shared opportunities, and co-design initial strategies for regional partnerships and shared resources. Support included co-designing and facilitating multiple in-person and virtual sessions with the Health Directors, reviewing and synthesizing existing data and plans, compiling reviewed information, insights and strategies into draft and final strategic plans (in collaboration with project leaders) and coordinating with design professionals to produce polished final reports. This work helped lay the foundation for action plans and sustainable cross-county public health strategies.
Participatory Program Design
Appalachian Mountain Community Health Centers
Sarah Richey
828-776-5956
[email protected]
A team from WNC Health Network, led by Emily Kujawa, supported a regional consortium, convened by Appalachian Mountain Community Health Centers, through a year-long collaborative assessment and planning process to address substance use in Cherokee, Clay, and Graham Counties. After facilitating conversations to clarify the group’s goals, WNCHN conducted an in-depth assessment to understand the current context, by developing a customized data “workbook” of primary and secondary quantitative data, as well as inviting insights from people most affected by substance use and key informants to uncover the story behind the data. Using these insights, WNCHN facilitated a Results-Based Accountability (RBA)-infused strategic planning process, guiding the consortium through a series of meetings to develop a plan grounded in local context. The consortium’s commitment to thoughtful process design ultimately resulted in a robust plan and additional federal funding for implementation.
Participatory Program Design
Highlands Cashiers Health Foundation
Rhonda Oakley
Director of Operations
(828) 482-6512
[email protected]
A team hosted by WNC Health Network and led by Emily Kujawa supported Highlands Cashiers Health Foundation (HCHF) in a community listening and learning process to help inform the foundation’s strategic priorities. Through collaboration with HCHF staff, the team co-designed and facilitated six listening sessions with community partners, organizations, donors, and others across HCHF’s service area. WNCHN then facilitated a three-hour in-person “sensemaking” session with HCHF staff and board members to review insights and learnings from the sessions and identify key themes to inform HCHF’s strategic prioritization process. WNCHN also produced a tailored summary report of the learnings to support HCHF’s future planning and decision-making.
Western North Carolina Nonprofit Pathways
P.O. Box 7667
Asheville, NC 28802
Phone: 828-242-9028
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