Media advocacy training for National Association of Latino Elected Officials (NALEO)
In 2005, the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) launched the NALEO California Health Leadership Program (NCHLP) to support Latino policymakers in creating healthy food and activity environments in their districts.
Together with the Prevention Institute and NALEO staff, BMSG developed a year-long NCHLP training curriculum and delivered it to selected NCHLP leaders to help them build their advocacy skills. Over the course of the year, the NCHLP leaders learned the importance of primary prevention policies in improving community health, built the skills needed to make an effective public case for this approach, and explored governance strategies to help their chosen policies become political reality.
Over the years, the NCHLP program has included mayors, city council members, city clerks, and school board members from districts across California. Most importantly, these NCHLP leaders are putting their ideas into practice by introducing public policies that will improve community health including: implementing school wellness policies, working to create a park in a new affordable housing development, building health elements into transit and land use plans, securing funds to improve safety at a city park, and requiring that the contents of vending machines in county facilities meet nutritional standards. The media advocacy portion of the curriculum helped NALEO staff and NCHLP leaders make the case for improving community environments for better health across the various policy issues they continue to pursue.