A Letter from our Board Chair
Dear Community Members:
On behalf of the Board of Directors, I am pleased to welcome you to Howard Brown Health. I am honored and humbled to be the first Black non binary woman to serve as Howard Brown Health Board Chair, and I welcome the opportunity to build on an already strong legacy as we work together to end health disparities among LGBTQ+ communities.
In 2021 and beyond, the importance of health equity for the communities we serve has become clearer than ever. For those of us lucky enough to maintain stability in income and wellness during a global pandemic, it is very likely that we have loved ones who were not as fortunate. With your dedicated support, Howard Brown has demonstrated its vital role in our city, supporting emergent public health needs resulting from the devastating impact of COVID-19. By continuing to work together, Howard Brown will further community trust and expand the ways we care for our patients.
Serving the LGBTQ+ community since 1974, Howard Brown is uniquely positioned to work with the intersections and specific determinants of health that come with queer identity. For almost five decades, our priorities have evolved right alongside the people who come to us during their times of need, and we are embarking on some essential expansion projects to allow us to follow that evolution.
I’m thrilled to assume the helm of Howard Brown’s Board of Directors. I remember cooking and serving food at Broadway Youth Center at one of its first locations; it was those young people I worked with that solidified my name, Chef Fresh. A member of the Board since 2016, I look forward to supporting programs that further our mission as it relates to my passion for fresh food access, our presence on the South Side, supporting our LGBTQ+ youth, and family planning support for queer families. Howard Brown is a citywide organization with big plans for the future and will remain on the frontlines of healthcare in the Midwest.
I am so thankful for this opportunity. As a fellow patient receiving services at Howard Brown, I am one of your champions on the inside. I look forward to all opportunities to connect with you, both inside of Howard Brown’s clinics and out in the city we call home.
All my best,
Chef Fresh Roberson
Chair, Howard Brown Health