Operation Restoration Founder and Executive Director Selected as Culture of Health Leader
Syrita Steib to focus fellowship efforts on addressing health equity in New Orleans community
New Orleans, LA (January 27, 2021) – Operation Restoration Founder and Executive Director Syrita Steib was selected as a Culture of Health Leader, a national leadership program supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). It fosters collaboration—between people from all fields and professions that have an influence on people’s health—to build just and thriving communities. Through this program, Steib and her fellow leaders will collaborate to address health equity in their individual communities.
“I’m honored to be accepted into cohort five of the Culture of Health Leaders program to address mass incarceration as a public health issue. My vision of a Culture of Health is an empathetic and caring community that recognizes trauma and social inequity as the driving forces of crime that require community-based healing,” said Steib.
Culture of Health Leaders is a program supported by RWJF, co-led by the National Collaborative for Health Equity and CommonHealth ACTION. These programs continue RWJF’s legacy of supporting the development and diversity of leaders, connecting changemakers across the country—from every profession, sector and field—to learn from and work with one another in creating more just and thriving communities.
Upon completion of the program, participants will be equipped with the tools to apply equitable leadership and collaborate across sectors, professions and disciplines; transform systems, policies, and institutions to be more equitable, diverse and inclusive; authentically engage community partners and members in building a Culture of Health; frame issues and build public support to address them; and advocate for systemic and sustainable change.
Steib founded Operation Restoration in 2016 to eradicate the roadblocks she faced when returning to society after incarceration. Since then, she has worked to help thousands of women and girls impacted by incarceration successfully re-enter society through services, such as higher education, employment training, safe housing, job placement, case management and more. As a nonprofit organization created by and for formerly incarcerated people, the team at Operation Restoration is uniquely positioned to meet the needs of the community it serves while advocating for policy change on a state and federal level.
To learn more about Culture of Health Leaders and RWJF’s other leadership programs, and to meet other participants, visit www.cultureofhealth-leaders.org.