Office of Public Health Practice and Outreach

The SPHHS Office for Public Health Practice and Outreach (OPHPO) builds and sustains campus and community partnerships that advance the community’s health, students’ education, and faculty research and service efforts.

The Western MA Health Equity Network, part of OPHPO, is a multi-sectoral coalition of health equity-focused organizations and individuals sponsored by the UMass Amherst School of Public Health and Health Sciences.

In 2022, the ASPPH awarded SPHHS with the Harrison C. Spencer Award for Outstanding Community Service.

When the WMHEN held its inaugural health equity summit in 2014, it sparked so much interest in health equity, it allowed for SPHHS to seek campus funding to found the Center for Community Health Equity Research.

OPHPO brings students to the statehouse and to meet with federal representatives, support special events including the recent important conversation on “Medicaid Cuts Affecting Western MA,” and provides ongoing connection between our students, faculty, staff and our surrounding communities. OPHPO also founded the Western MA Health Equity Network, now 11 years strong!

Contact: Risa Silverman, MPH, Director of OPHPO at risa [at] umass [dot] edu (risa[at]umass[dot]edu).