After deliberating over an impressive pool of applicants, we are very pleased to introduce our first Benioff Community Innovator Oakland cohort! These 10 community scientists are embarking on an incredible two-year journey developing research skills through a community-based participatory action research model that charts a path toward impact.
The Innovators bring an impressive range of backgrounds and experiences across community-based advocacy and healthcare fields and share a common goal of improving birth outcomes for those most impacted by preterm birth in Oakland.
The BCI-Os are the second group of Innovators since the program began in 2017. Graduates to date have gone on to use the professional skills developed during the cohort to advance their careers in multiple organizations and academic institutions, such as UCSF. Research developed by the first Innovator cohort around the impact of housing insecurity on birth outcomes has gone on to inspire larger research projects and impact San Francisco's housing policy.
We look forward to expanding on the success of this program through our partnership with Mills College Lokey School fo Business and Public Policy.
