The Daily Bulletin

The Wellness Institute of Greater Buffalo announces a free health promotion forum on Thursday, October 18, at 7:00 p.m. in Bulger Communication Center 423 (formerly South 2). National speakers Michael O’Donnell and Jake Williams will discuss improving health by developing and refining aggressive comprehensive community health promotion strategies for sustainable environments, programs, policies, community capacity building, and communication.

Michael O’Donnell is the CEO of the Art & Science of Health Promotion Institute. His work with health-care organizations, government agencies, foundations, insurance companies, and health promotion providers has developed and refined health promotion programs, products, and policies and has served major roles in health systems, including the Cleveland Clinic. He is the founder of the American Journal of Health Promotion and the founder and former chair of Health Promotion Advocates. Dr. O’Donnell has presented more than 300 keynote and workshop presentations and has received 15 national awards.

Jake Williams is the founding executive director of Healthier Colorado, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization dedicated to broadening citizen participation in the public policy process to improve the health of the state’s residents. He has worked as a consultant to the Walton Family Foundation on environmental policy campaigns, as well as to the Gill Foundation to support its work on LGBT legal equality across the nation. At the Service Employees International Union, he led teams on legislative, electoral, and health-care advocacy campaigns. He also published "The Voice Our Health Deserves" (PDF, 2 MB), a white paper that argues for the creation of a national movement and political apparatus to advance health.

Please call the Wellness Institute at 851-4052 to register.