Health Forward Foundation

01/09/2026

Celebrating 20 Years of Stronger Tomorrows! 🎉 We're highlighting our amazing partners who have been with us on our mission to advance health equity.

Here’s how Emily Brown is building stronger tomorrows. A former member of Health Forward’s Healthy Communities Leadership Academy, Emily started the Food Equality Initiative. Today, she’s advancing system-level change with Attane Health. Drawing on her lived experience as a mom managing her child’s food allergy, Emily has helped to create an integrated, personalized “food as medicine” solution that supports access to nutrient-dense foods, nutrition education, and telehealth coaching.

We are so proud of the work we’ve accomplished together to improve lives in our community!

01/09/2026

Thank you to the advocacy partners, movement makers, and community members who joined us for our 2026 Policy Forum! As the legislative sessions kick off in Kansas and Missouri, we have a unique opportunity to make our communities more inclusive, powerful, and healthy.

The work ahead is clear: we must unify, strategize, and mobilize to protect the issues critical for our communities to thrive. Every person deserves a quality of life defined by the people who live in our communities. And we all have a role to play. Let’s raise our voices and influence the policies that promote well-being for all.

01/02/2026

Celebrating 20 Years of Stronger Tomorrows! 🎉. Building stronger tomorrows requires us to use our voice and our power. Advocacy has always been the lifeblood of Health Forward Foundation. Here's how our partnership with the Missouri Budget Project has created stronger tomorrows.

As their Vice President, Public Policy, Brian Colby, said, “We believe that policy change is real change. We believe that it has a great return on investment, that leveraging federal dollars to Missouri is critical to improving the life and the health, and well-being of the citizens of Missouri, and Health Forward has been a partner in that endeavor for 20 years, and all the wins that we have are really wins with Health Forward as a partner. We believe that we can rely on Health Forward in good times and in bad. We envision a world in which everyone in the state of Missouri can thrive, and that's what we work towards."

We're so proud of the work we've accomplished together to improve lives in our community!

12/26/2025

Celebrating 20 Years of Stronger Tomorrows! 🎉 We're highlighting our amazing partners who have been with us on our mission to advance health equity. Here's how our partnership with HCC Network has created stronger tomorrows in our rural communities.

As their CEO, Toniann Richard, said, “We had an opportunity to assume two rural health clinics that were not going to be sustainable under the rural health clinic model. We successfully assumed those clinics and were able to not only retain all of the employees to keep them employed, but we were able to keep clinics in those communities and grow them.

I think Health Forward is doing a lot as it relates to building a stronger tomorrow, but also just building stronger communities, building stronger leaders, and building people up.”

We're so proud of the work we've accomplished together to improve lives in our community!

12/22/2025

We are filled with gratitude for our community partners who share our path toward health equity. We wish you much joy and comfort this holiday season.

Health Forward's office will be closed starting Monday, Dec. 22, and will reopen on Friday, Jan. 2, so our team can recharge and spend the holidays with their families and friends.

We hope your holidays bring you joy, comfort, and cherished moments.

12/19/2025

Celebrating 20 Years of Stronger Tomorrows! 🎉 We're amplifying the power of community leaders who are advancing health equity with us.

Since the beginning days of Health Forward, our Board has centered us on a mission to eliminate barriers to health for people and communities. Our board member and Executive Director of Revolucion Educativa - RevEd, Edgar Palacios, said: “I think something that I hear talked a lot about in board meetings is this idea of collective impact. My experience with Health Forward has been that they're always looking for ways to deeply connect organizations to other organizations. So the work is happening on a collective level, and that impact is collective. That we all, as organizations, understand our role, but that overall, we are part of a larger group of people and community and organizations that are doing the work to really improve the health in our community. It's just really cool to be a part of those conversations to see an organization take such bold and courageous steps and stances that allow for their work to move forward.”

We're so proud of the work we've accomplished together to improve lives in our community!

12/12/2025

We’re still feeling the excitement from our 20th Anniversary & Holiday Celebration! A packed house, powerful moments celebrating two decades of partnership, and so many moments that reminded us why health equity is essential to building Stronger Tomorrows.

We were inspired by the insightful remarks from our President/CEO, Qiana Thomason, and thrilled to unveil our anniversary video 👉🏾 youtu.be/0zugItrjpHw, which not only celebrates our journey over the last 20 years but also looks ahead to the bold future we’re building together. From these inspiring moments to the recognition of our outgoing Board Chair, Lynette Wheeler, and CAC Chair, Carey Spain, to the lively energy on the dance floor, you all helped turn this year's celebration at The Cascade Hotel into something truly special.

We were thrilled to celebrate the collective impact we've made over the past two decades and look ahead to a stronger, more equitable future. A huge thank you to everyone who made the night unforgettable:

⭐ Pure Sweetness Entertainment for the amazing music that got everyone dancing!

⭐ Up, Up & Away! for the beautiful decor.

⭐ Live Line Entertainment for capturing all the fun with the photobooth and printed photos.

⭐ Our event and administration associate, Marylou, planned this event!

Check out the event photo album, and thank you all for bringing your energy, your leadership, and your commitment to a healthier community to this milestone celebration!

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1403779618422241&type=3

12/12/2025

Celebrating 20 Years of Stronger Tomorrows! 🎉 We're highlighting our amazing partners who have been with us on our mission to advance health equity. Here's how our partnership with Black Health Care Coalition () has created stronger tomorrows.

As their executive director, Melissa Robinson, said, “We have, for the past 20 years, been in a relationship with Health Forward. It's just more than a check. It is really that champion, that partner, that organization that's going to be there with you through thick and thin, and you can innovate together.”

We're so proud of the work we've accomplished together to improve lives in our community!

12/12/2025

12/09/2025

Health Forward puts people power at the center of everything we do. When communities have access, opportunity, and accurate information, they vote and advocate for policies that support health and well-being. A fair and representative government is essential to the self-determination promised in our democracy – and that principle is threatened when congressional district lines are redrawn without putting people first.

We proudly stand with the people of Missouri and People Not Politicians MO in defending individual rights. Despite misinformation, intimidation, and attempts to undermine the signature-gathering process, more than 300,000 signatures make it clear what Missourians want: a free, fair, and healthy democracy.

We urge the Secretary of State and Attorney General to honor the will of the people and place fair redistricting on the ballot for voters to decide - as they should.

12/02/2025

Join the Health Forward team! We're looking for a Policy - Impact Strategist to join our team and contribute to our mission of achieving health equity and securing a fair and just region. This position engages with the community, policymakers, and funded partners to advance the systems change needed to build inclusive, powerful, and healthy communities. Learn more and apply today ⏩ healthforward.org/careers

11/27/2025

Health Forward Foundation will be closed in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday. 🍂

We are giving thanks for our many community partners who commit each day to building and supporting inclusive, powerful, and healthy communities. Your work is what makes our communities so unique. Happy Thanksgiving, all!