We’re pleased to announce that Jodi Pickering is the new WeTHRIVE! neighborhood navigator for Mt. Healthy.
“I love Mt. Healthy and I love the work WeTHRIVE! does,” said Jodi. “I got to know the community while serving as an AmeriCorps volunteer at Tikkun Farm.”
A lifelong educator, Jodi has a passion for youth and helped to start Tikkun Farm’s afterschool program for Mt. Healthy students. She currently works as the Notre Dame AmeriCorps Site Director for the Cincinnati area.
Mary Laymon runs Tikkun Farm and is a member of Mt. Healthy’s WeTHRIVE! team.
“I got to know Jodi during her time at the farm,” Mary said. “She was amazing and beautifully engaged with our families. I recommended her for the navigator role, knowing she is familiar with the community and would really help us.”
What is a neighborhood navigator?
“Every WeTHRIVE! community has a health educator from Hamilton County Public Health (HCPH) who supports that community’s WeTHRIVE! team,” said Mary Ellen Knaebel, director of health promotion and education with HCPH. “Neighborhood navigators are seen as extensions of these WeTHRIVE! health educators.”
Navigators build the WeTHRIVE! brand within their community, identify and recruit individuals to join WeTHRIVE!, facilitate WeTHRIVE! team meetings, and help the team decide on areas of focus.
“Many communities have thrived thanks to the amazing neighborhood navigators that help guide and excite other community members,” said Cristie Iwasko, senior health educator with HCPH. “These navigators are driving innovative and fun work to help improve health outcomes in their community. We’re confident that Jodi will do the same for Mt. Healthy.”
Navigating Mt. Healthy
Jodi has been working with the Mt. Healthy WeTHRIVE! team on initiatives they want to focus on. Plans include art installations or murals, pop-up farmer’s markets to get healthy food to residents who don’t have transportation, support for Clovernook Apartments, and connecting with new business owners in the city.
“Overall, I want to highlight the goodness of Mt. Healthy, as it’s an area in need of programs like WeTHRIVE!,” Jodi said.
Contact Jodi Pickering at jbmpickering@gmail.com.
Learn more about WeTHRIVE! in Mt. Healthy here. The team also has a Facebook page.