Hosted in partnership with the Indiana University Indianapolis Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health, this hybrid event brings together community members, students, faculty, and public health leaders for a shared conversation about what it truly takes to build trust, share power, and create meaningful impact through community-engaged public health. 

This Listening Tour stop centers on one guiding principle: the community is our teacher. The conversation will focus on lived experiences and lessons learned from community-engaged work in Indianapolis and beyond, highlighting what has strengthened partnerships, what has fallen short, and what can be done differently moving forward. 

Insights from this event will help inform ASPPH’s Renewing the Vision initiative, aligned with the ASPPH Strategic Plan 2030, and will contribute to a broader national conversation about how academic public health can become more responsive, trustworthy, and community-centered. 

What to Expect

This 90-minute public panel will feature a facilitated conversation with individuals who are deeply engaged in community-centered public health work, including: 

• Community partners and advocates
• Public health students
• Faculty engaged in community-based research and practice
• Other local voices actively working at the intersection of public health and community priorities 

Panelists will share candid reflections on what strengthens and strains relationships between communities and academic institutions, with an emphasis on listening, learning, and mutual accountability rather than debate. 

Following the structured panel discussion and audience Q&A, in-person participants may have opportunities for more informal conversation and reflection.