Sac-town

The field trip to Sacramento on Friday to visit some of the top dogs in public health was a great experience.

We saw:
Pat Fry, President and CEO of Sutter Health
Dr Mark Horton, Director of CA Dept of PH
Phyllis Bramson, Director of Nutrition Services Division CDE
Kim Belshé, Secretary of Dept of Health and Human Services.

It was really a privilege to not only get time from these very busy and important leaders, but to also have the opportunity to ask them questions and have direct conversations with them. With so much on their respective plates, I was surprised to get so much focused time from them!

The overlaps in their characteristics was surprising, yet they each clearly had different leadership styles. All were optimistic, passionate, confident and committed and knew that they weren't necessarily the expert for everything. Pat Fry had a no BS, tell-it-like-it-is type of personality, whereas Dr Horton sounded like he would be a little more compassionate of a leader. Phyllis Bramson demonstrated a real understanding of effective advocacy and Kim Belshé knew how to prioritize in ambiguous and challenging times.

I look forward to another field trip in the Spring, it is such a treat to do this as part of the Fellows program.

Individual Action Learning Project.... Cooking School Food!

My Individual Action Learning Project (IALP) is one of my many work projects at California Food Policy Advocates (CFPA), where I am continuing my summer internship part-time this fall semester. The director and I came up with this project as it is something that CFPA is very interested in. I will be doing a fact-finding research mission on the state of scratch cooking in school nutrition services in California. We define scratch cooking as the cooking, preparing or assembly of whole or minimally processed foods. What does scratch cooking look like in different districts across the state? How do the nutrition services departments make it work? What are the impacts of scratch cooking school lunch and breakfast?

I will be working with some of the senior advocates and directors at CFPA for this project, as well as nutrition services directors across the state. I'll interview non-profit organizations that are invested in this transformation (or maintenance) of school food.

This topic I am really excited about because it definitely blends my back ground as a chef with my current training in public health. I really hope that my initial research will provide enough evidence for CFPA to invest further into scratch cooking school food.

This project is great because it is quite flexible, and that's also what makes it difficult. I have other projects at work that can take precedence, so I need to be diligent about setting time to work on this.

I know my first step is to talk to those senior colleagues and get an action plan for first steps going. Then I'll know what to do from there, and the path will be more clear.

And summer turns to fall...

Well, I'm wrapping up my full time work at CFPA, squeezing in some vacations and getting ready to start up what is sure to be a crazy fall semester!

CFPA has asked me to stay on as a part-timer during the fall, which I am very excited about. I can continue on a project that I can hopefully turn into my individual leadership project for the fellows program too. I'm looking into the impact that scratch cooking (preparing and cooking whole ingredients) in school kitchens has on nutritional quailty of the food, the cost of the meal, and student participation rates. There are a few districts I hope to work with, and I'll really get to lead this project, which is of course exciting!

On a personal note, I was in Alaska last week with my sister. We visited our uncle who lives up in North Pole and spent some time playing outside, including backpacking in Denali National Park. We saw a bear, but he was far away on the other side of the river!

I'm at work this week (past the 12 week mark - but working full time still since school hasn't started yet...) and then off to Kentucky next week for my boyfriend's family vacation. We'll be on a houseboat for a week, which I'm very much looking forward too. We also get to do a layover in either end in Nashville (where I'm from), so that's going to be fun to see family and friends.

Looking forward to catching up soon!

Markell

Working away - 5 weeks down!

Hi y'all!

So my summer internship is going really well, working on many different projects, and actually feeling like I'm contributing. Check out BreakfastFirst.org and look at the Benefits of Breakfast section. You'll see a fact sheet under the Breakfast & Brain Power or Breakfast & Nutrition pages. I wrote it! :)

Hope everyone is doing well and working hard, but remembering what it's like to relax!

Video

So, I was struggling to figure out what to do for my video blog.... and here's what I came up with.

My sister sent me home with a guitar last week, when I was visiting her in Michigan. She's packing up from law school and moving doesn't bode well for guitars. I've always wanted to learn the guitar, and now I have a beautiful Ukrainian guitar, and some free time this summer.

So my post, not so much 'leadership' focused, but hopefully entertaining.

Here's my attempt at Clapton's "Wonderful Tonight" after a week of fooling around with youtube clips to teach me how to play.

Hope you can suffer through!

Thanks for listening,
Markell

Summer Internship Time!

Hey Fellow Fellows,
It's been a while. I apologize.

This semester has been packed to the gills, but I'm still loving it (check back in the week of May 3rd, when everything is due... I might have a different story)

This summer, I'll be interning at California Food Policy Advocates in Oakland. I learned about them in the fall, and really was swept away after an informational interview with a recent grad who is a Nutrition Policy Advocate there. I survived the hectic summer internship search, and secured my internship with them last week. Phew!

From their website http://cfpa.net a little about their mission and work:

California Food Policy Advocates is a statewide public policy and advocacy organization dedicated to improving the health and well being of low-income Californians by increasing their access to nutritious and affordable food.

As California's only statewide anti-poverty program with a focus on hunger and malnutrition among low-income people, CFPA employs a variety of strategies to develop and implement public policies that recognize the value of adequate nutrition and its fundamental contribution to good health and development, education and productivity. These strategies include:

• Research that demonstrates the scope and nature of hunger in California and the efficacy of public and private food programs in mitigating it.
• Development and promotion of strategies and programs to meet the nutrition needs of low-income communities and individuals.
• Public education and advocacy to ensure the inclusion of nutrition in the formation and implementation of sound public policy.
• Technical assistance, training and support to low-income communities in their efforts to identify and overcome hunger and hunger-related deficiencies.
• Collaboration, through conferences, communication and coalition-building, among food program providers and other community-based organizations throughout California to facilitate their working together to mitigate hunger and poverty.

I don't know exactly what project I'll be working on this summer, but most likely it will be related to School Lunch, School Breakfast or any of the programs affected by the Child Nutrition Re-authorization.

As for leadership skills and competencies I hope to work on, I always appreciate developing and strengthening my communication skills. Powerful written communication will be essential for policy advocacy, and I will be able to practice different writing styles this summer.

I also am looking forward to learning more about the state and federal government, and the awareness when working with them that is required for effective policy advocacy leadership. I will be able to observe and hopefully participate with some experienced advocates, and I am eager to learn the process.

Finally, one skill I hope to work on this summer, which I believe is particularly necessary when fighting for policy changes, is predicting how change affects others. Being able to successfully predetermine the different objections that groups and individuals might have, gives you a leg up in being fully prepared to fight, compromise or convince them that you understand their concern.

Should be an exciting summer!

The Power of Food

How have you used food in a professional or personal situation to get something done or achieve a goal? THEN, share with us with a recipe or dish!

So, since I used to be a pastry chef, everything involved food! As some one who loves food, I love feeding people. Starting four years ago, before my sister moved from SF to Michigan, we started what has now become an annual tradition. The Pre-Thanksgiving Thanksgiving. That's right, a Thanksgiving feast before Thanksgiving! About two weeks before to be exact (what?! no one would come if I had the dinner after T-day!). This year my roommates and I served three turkeys and countless dishes to over 60 people. Having grown up with a large family, I wanted to show my friends how awesome a large Thanksgiving can be, surrounded by loved ones and good food. We took care of most of the food, some people brought a few pies (and with the 5 I made, it looked like a state fair when we were all set up) and the rest of the guests brought plenty of wine. My Dad had grown up in Texas and was a big fan of sweet potato pie, which is what I grew up eating. Of course I ultimately decided it is far superior to the heavy gummy pumpkin stuff, and honestly - I've converted quite a few folks over the years. I just have to make sure I have plenty of sweet potato pie!

The Far Superior Sweet Potato Pie

Here's the recipe for 2 (9" approx) pies. Sorry if I explain too much, I find it easier to over explain so you'll know what to do! And trust me... you'll want two pies.

Pie Dough (for 2 pies - single crust)
2.5 cups All-purpose Flour
1 tsp Salt
2 Tbsp Sugar
14 Tbsp Butter (1 3/4 sticks), cut into 1/2" cubes and put back in fridge to stay cold!
8-10 Tbsp Ice Water

In food processor, pulse flour, sugar and salt until combined. Add half the cold butter, pulse until the mixture is like coarse sand. Add the remaining cold butter, and pulse until the butter is in pieces no larger than small peas, about 10 1-second pulses.

Dump mixture in medium bowl. Sprinkle 8 Tbsp Ice Water (but don't add the ice to the mixture) over the mixture, and with a rubber spatula, use a folding motion to mix. Press down on the dough with the broad side of the spatula until the dough sticks together, adding up to 2 Tbsp more ice water if the dough will not come together.

Flatten the dough into two 4-inch disks. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to 2 days before rolling.

Remove the dough from the fridge, and let sit for maybe 20-30 minutes, until not brittle, but still chilled! It'll soften up as you start to roll it out, and it's much easier to handle if it's cool. Roll out on lightly floured surface to about 12 inch diameter.

Ease the dough into the pan, taking care not to stretch it (it'll shrink if you do!). Cut off the over hang, leaving about 1/2 inch, fold it over, crimp edge together, make a pretty pattern. (you can probably find a video about this).

Put dough lined pan in freezer for at least 30 min - chilled hard! Then line pan with foil, and fill with beans, pennies or pie weights. Bake 375 deg for 23 min until dough looks dry. Then remove foil, and bake a few more minutes until light golden! (you can always cover edge with foil if it looks like it's getting too dark brown...

the fillin' for sweet potato pie (2 pies)
3 # sweet potatoes (just weigh at the store! and get a little extra to account for the skins..)
3 Tbsp butter, room temp
5 Eggs
3 Yolks
1.5 cups Sugar
3/4 tsp Nutmeg
1/2 tsp Cardamom
1/2 tsp Salt
3 Tbsp Bourbon
1.5 Tbsp Molasses
1.5 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 c Whole Milk (yes whole - just buy a pint)

Start this while the pie dough is freezing....but don't forget to throw the pie dough in the oven at some point so you have it cooked when the filling is ready. timing's not critical, but if you overlap it right, it goes much faster!

Prick the sweet potatoes well, and microwave covered with a wet paper towel (the steam helps them cook faster i find) for 10 minutes, about 50% power. Keep cooking a few minutes at a time until a knife goes in easily and they are completely cooked! Then let sit a few minutes, slice open, careful, they're really hot!!! Then as soon as you can pick them up, scrape out the flesh, or cut off the skin however you prefer. I press the sweet potatoes through a potato ricer to help smooth out the texture, but you can mash them with a fork (this is better than using a mixer or processor which will make them gummy..) The hot potato mash will melt the butter easily.

In a separate bowl, mix the eggs, yolks, sugar, nutmeg, cardamom and salt. Add in the bourbon, then molasses, then vanilla extract, and finally whisk in the milk. Gradually add in the liquid mixture a little at a time at first to the sweet potatoes, whisk gently until combined well.

Pour into the two pre-baked - lightly golden - shells. Bake at 350 (preheated!) for about 45 minutes, until the center is no longer liquid, but still a little jiggly. Watch the edge of the crust, and you can cover it with a little foil if necessary. Let the pie cool on the stove top or wire rack until room temperature (about 2 hours)

Some Advice to Give

This week's prompt:
What advice would you give a younger person who wanted to know how to become a successful leader and professional?
The most important thing that I try to remember is that every opportunity, and every interaction is a chance to lead. Your actions are powerful whether you are with classmates, the lowest member on the totem pole, or managing an important project. Remember that you are always watching yourself, and you know if you are living and performing up to your potential.

What would you tell them about how to get the most out of school experiences?

You're only in school a limited amount of time, and I say get your money's worth. Granted you need to have excellent time management skills, and maybe some extra energy, but take a full class load, get to know professors, get a graduate student research position or graduate student instructor position. Seek out opportunities that others might not know about. Be proactive! No one is going to hand you an education full of experiences.

About how to stay healthy and sane?

Schedule it in the calender. Seriously.

About personal/work-life balance?
Take time to be with friends, and when you set work down, set it down. Prioritize relationships with friends and loved ones, and make time for them, not just by waiting to see when you have the time. Commit to spending one on one time with people close with you, and even if you see them not as frequently as you would like, they will appreciate the sincerity of your efforts.

About finding their own path?

Listen to what interests you, and don't be afraid of creating a winding path. Not everyone can pick a career at 18, and the importance of forging a path is tying in all the places you've been with your interests and skills.

About pursuing their dreams?

You must remember that you don't know if you can do something unless you try. Yes we fail, but we learn and keep going, and can only surprise ourselves if we give it a go!

About finding and learning from mentors?

Notice who you are fascinated by, good chance they'll be interested in you too. See who likes talking with you and has an interest in what you do.

About what to watch out for?
Listen to your mind. Don't get sucked into someone else's idea of your career or interests. Listen to your body. Take a break if you get stressed or burnt out.
Listen to your spirit. Make sure you are driven and passionate about the work you are doing. If that isn't there, you won't last long.

Say What!?

So this week, we are allowed to write about any topic leadership related but it needs to be controversial, and thought provoking!

My question to you is why do successful leaders often fail in government? We are certainly at a critical point in US History to see if Obama can overcome the barriers to effective leadership in government, and and advocate for the changes he wants to make. Robert Reich talked about some of the errors and successes that past Presidents have made, particularly with Health Care Reform attempts, and gave examples all across the spectrum; Johnson was successful in passing Medicare, although his economic advisors tried to dissuade him, because he left the details up to Congress. Clinton on the other hand, made some critical errors; he took too long (allowing big pharma and insurance to form an opposition), and he handed Congress a finished bill with a bow on it leaving them feeling like they didn't contribute.

So how can Obama be a successful leader? How can he make progress with Health Care Reform? Should he lower the bar, and settle for something that is an easier win? Should he be advocating more for the explicit changes he wants? How, in such a bipartisan country, can we be united in change?

This week, I am asking a lot of questions. I can't type this pretending I know the errors of past politicians or solutions to ensure future success. Robert Reich talked about how successful leaders prevent their team from making the Four Fatal Work Avoidance Mechanisms (although I don't think he titled it so dramatically). These work avoidance mechanisms don't take much energy from the opposition and are powerful impediments to progress. Here they are, and corresponding rebuttals:
Denial - you can't just ignore the problem, it exists and is real.
Escapism - it IS your problem, and affects you.
Blame - it is no one else's fault, lets look at the root of the problem.
Cynicism - we CAN do something about it. we CAN make progress.

Are these the holes that political leaders get trapped in? How can leaders, in politics or otherwise, overcome these barriers?

I'll keep you posted if I figure anything out!

Essential Leadership Skills

What do you think are the key skills leaders in public health need in order to be successful, and why?

Public Health Leaders need to have the skills that make all leaders successful; being driven and organized with the ability to unite, motivate and inspire people. Successful leaders show empathy and humility which breeds trust within the group or organization. In addition Public Health Leaders need the knowledge base to know whom to partner with, and which resources to value. Public Health endeavors are becomingly increasingly interdisciplinary, and current leaders need to be in touch with the other disciplines and their perspectives.


What skills are you most interested in developing over the course of the fellows program?

I am interested in developing my ability to establish personal relationships with those I work with and lead. I often prioritize efficiency; however, I understand that people like to feel that they are valued and interpersonal skills are extremely valuable for establishing that rapport.

The Art of Storytelling

by Markell Lewis

"The Great Stories are the ones you have heard and want to hear again.
The ones you can enter anywhere and inhabit comfortably.
They don't deceive you with thrills and trick endings.
They don't surprise you with the unforeseen"...

"You know how they end, yet you listen as though you don't.
In the way that although you know that one day you will die, you lives as though won't.
In the Great Stories you know who lives, who dies, who finds love, who doesn't.
And yet you want to know again.
That is their mystery and their magic."
- excerpt from "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy

The ability to tell a capitvating story is a powerful tool. It is both a way with words and cadence, as well as with editing. Not telling too much, just enough, leaving the audience guessing, wanting, waiting, and being a part of the story itself.

I've never mastered this, never even really conciously attempted to unfortunately, but the art of storytelling is a powerful tool for leaders. Captivating your audience, drawing them into your cause, plucking a string in their heart. As I move forward on my journey to becoming a Public Health leader, I hope to make a conscious effort to work on my storytelling. How to frame an issue and connect with my team or community. I've always loved telling stories, recounting a funny moment at the store to my friends, and I would like to think of myself as rather adept at engaging the listener. However, I will now think of storytelling as a powerful leadership tool as well.

I was able to be a part of an amazing day and half workshop on digital storytelling, put together for the Public Health Leadership Fellows, and taught by the Center for Digital Storytelling. We all found our stories and our voice, in a circle of trust and affirmation, and these stories came to life as we learned the software and edited our videos. It was truly an amazing experience and would encourage others to learn more about this fascinating and powerful medium. Not only did I get to see my fellow fellows' final products, I was able to be there with them, along their journeys, as their stories grew.

There are many reasons for why I am here today, and sometimes a single memory can illuminate it all. I hope you watch my video below, and get a glimpse into why I am here as a fellow, why I'm interested in Public Health Nutrition, and why I want to change how people eat.

Taking the first steps

Well, it's been a whirlwind winter break. I've been up to so much that I almost forget I'm heading back to school this week. I was able to travel home to Nashville for Christmas, drive up to Minnesota with my sisters for a cousin's wedding, and then hop on a plane for China. I just returned home to San Francisco after two weeks in Southern China, visiting a friend living and working in Guangzhou.

This was my first trip to Asia, and an amazing one at that. I am fortunate to have been able to spend so much time in Guangzhou. A city most western tourists wouldn't go to, let alone most Americans haven't heard of. I was able to see the 'real China' as my friend said. At least 10 million Chinese, working hard, shopping, living, developing and not acting up. One of the most notable things about being in China, is how safe it is. There is virtually no threat of violent crime there, and although I watched my bag carefully, I felt no danger walking down a dark street, or that I would be harassed in the metro station. This made for a pleasant trip, despite the pollution and language barrier! The food was amazing to say the least, and most of our exploring was food related. (In my opinion the best way to get to know another city and its culture is through its food)

Now that I am working on this first entry and thinking about starting back up at Berkeley, I am eager to see how this semester goes. I definitely piled more on my plate this semester as I know I work more efficiently and effectively when I have more to do. Despite knowing this, I am a little anxious to see how I settle into my new full schedule. Devoting time to the leadership fellows program, working with my peers, mentors and also alone, will be a great compliment to the academic work I have ahead of me this semester. Who's signed up for more stats!?

The leadership prompt of the week:

Bring to mind an example of leadership that inspires you. What is it, and what's the lesson for your own leadership?

The most consistently inspiring form of leadership for me is working with those that lead by doing. "Role modeling" as I've heard it referred to. Those leaders, official and unofficial, whose actions inspire and push me to change my behavior. However, I would place equal importance on the leader's ability to invest in my development and growth. I've look back highly on those managers that were able to not only get down in the trenches and do the dirty work with everyone, but also took the time to mentor me and invest in my growth. Feeling like you are supported and valued makes for a highly rewarding experience in my book. Looking forward to continuing working on this as well as being exposed to other forms and styles of leadership.