Pastors at Risk: A Wind of Change in the Culture of Health for the United Methodist Clergy in North Carolina

Speakers:  Cathleen E. Crain,  Nathaniel Tashima, and  Reiko Ishihara-Brito    

Date: Tuesday, 2 Feb 2016
Time: 7:00 pm
Location: Sumner School

Detail:  

LTG’s multiyear evaluation work for The Duke Endowment (TDE) focused on the Duke Divinity School’s Clergy Health Initiative (CHI). The CHI sought to improve the health of 2,500 United Methodist pastors in North Carolina. LTG’s use of anthropological methods and engagement allowed us to provide critical information that informed the shape and functioning of the CHI. LTG also documented individual improvements in health, but more importantly, witnessed and documented positive shifts in the culture of health in the United Methodist Church in North Carolina.

Speakers:

Cathleen E. Crain, Managing Partner, LTG Associates, Inc.

Cathleen Crain is one of the two founding and Managing Partners of LTG Associates, Inc., and has been engaged for more than 35 years in projects that have focused on ethnographic research, evaluation studies and policy development in health and human services with clients ranging from community-based organizations and foundations, to international agencies. She is frequently called upon to develop research and evaluation strategies in complex settings. Cathleen believes that anthropological tools and approaches are essential in addressing “wicked” problems which have been the focus of her professional work.

The use of ethnography to provide nuanced understandings of and actionable information regarding group behavior has been at the center of Cathleen’s professional work. She has designed and led many projects focused on understanding organizational structures and functioning as well as the behavior of consumers and providers. Cathleen and others at LTG have been termed “organizational therapists” by some clients for the ability to understand the internal workings of an organization and support adoption of behaviors and structures that strengthen their workings and their products. In addition to her work with LTG, Cathleen teaches and mentors new and young professional and practicing anthropologists.

Nathaniel Tashima, Managing Partner, LTG Associates, Inc.

Nathaniel (Niel) Tashima is one of the two founding and Managing Partners of LTG Associates, Inc., and has been engaged for more than 35 years in projects that have focused on ethnographic research, evaluation and policy development for local communities, organizations and agencies to State, Federal, and international agencies.  Niel’s work has taken him from local neighborhoods in the most distressed parts of the U.S. to the international space station.

Recently Niel has co-led a team of anthropologists engaged in exploring child health and nutrition in five Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Island communities. In each of these communities there are traditional values, language and leadership that must be heard in order to develop responses to the basic research questions. Employing a rapid ethnographic assessment method, the team has worked to understand complex culture processes, language, and leadership in order to suggest how effective engagement with each of the communities might be accomplished. These cultural problems are manifested across a variety of contexts and the ability to engage stakeholders in meaningful discussions about their sense of organizational development, leadership identification, and processes have been critical to the success of this project. 

Reiko Ishihara-Brito, Research Associate, LTG Associates, Inc.

Reiko Ishihara-Brito is a social scientist with an anthropological background and extensive experience working with historically and socially underrepresented communities and groups including women and racial and ethnic minorities. Through her involvement with international governmental and community-based organizations, university research institutes and a labor union, she has significant experience in research design and planning, policy analysis and assessment, and program development in areas such as community and cultural access to human services and rights as well as assessments of community related to cultural heritage, educational quality, maternal-child health, nutrition, and climate change. She has designed and supervised field-based projects and led multidisciplinary, international teams to conduct qualitative and mixed methods research on understanding the perspectives and needs of vulnerable populations, making their voices heard to relevant policymakers. She currently serves as project coordinator for an initiative funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to develop advocacy networks for childhood obesity prevention in Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities. In this capacity, she has prepared a literature review, developed interview instruments, and initiated communication with community stakeholders, conducted interviews and focus groups. She also provides technical assistance in program evaluation to the Asian Women’s Shelter and Migrant Health Network.

Meeting:  Charles Sumner School, corner of 17th St and M St NW, Washington, DC

How to get there:  The Sumner School is located at 1201 17th St NW (corner of 17th St and M St NW).  The entrance to the meeting area is on 17th St under the black metal stairway. Directions from Metro Red Line: From Farragut North station, take either L St exit, walk one block east to 17th St, turn left and walk 2 blocks north.  Enter through the double doors under the black metal staircase. Check with security for the meeting room.

Pre-meeting: Dukes Grocery (Please RSVP so that we can guarantee you a seat)

Address: 1513 17th St NW, Washington, DC.
Menu: https://www.facebook.com/DukesGrocery/
Website: http://dukesgrocery.com