cc  >> Jeanan Yasiri: They include  the UW Office of Corporate  Relations, the UW College  of Engineering for their  technical support, and financial  support that is provided by the  Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation  which is committed to academic  education in entrepreneurialism.  And additionally, we'd like to  thank our media partners,  Wisconsin Public Television, and  their University Place crew for  taping today's lecture.  I'm very pleased to introduce  our guest today, Brenda  Gonzalez.  She is deputy director of the  Robert Wood Johnson New Routes  to Community Health initiative.  New Routes is a national  initiative designed to improve  immigrants' health, work life  and civic participation by  supporting local partnerships  among immigrant organizations,  media production centers and  established community  institutions.  Before joining the Robert Wood  Johnson Foundation, Brenda  served as manager of interpreter  services and cultural outreach  at Dean Health System.  She was there for seven years,  and she became widely known for  her nationally acknowledged  expertise in delivering cultural  and linguistic services within  healthcare delivery systems.  At Dean she supervised staff and  contract interpreters who  represented over 35 different  languages.  She is active in advancing state  and national standards for  medical interpreters through her  work on the Wisconsin Coalition  for Linguistic Access to  Healthcare and the National  Council on Interpreting in  Healthcare.  She serves on the city of  Madison Affirmative Action  commission and she is an active  member of the Latino Health  Council of Wisconsin. 

 She was raised in Mexico city,  and Brenda holds a bachelor's  degree in social psychology.  I've asked her to share the  entrepreneurial initiative known  as New Routes to Community  Health, as she was part of it  from the very beginning, and how  foundations like the Robert Wood  Johnson Foundation and the  Benton Foundation play a very  important role in advancing  these kinds of social  entrepreneurial initiatives.  So please join me in welcoming  Brenda Gonzalez.  (applause)  >> Brenda Gonzalez: Thank you.  As Jeanan said, my name is  Brenda Gonzalez, and I am the  deputy director of New Routes to  Community Health.  It is a new approach for  improving the health of  immigrants through immigrant  created media.  Eight diverse immigrant led  collaborations across the United  States have received three-year  grant of about a quarter of a  million dollars from New Routes  to Community Health to create  locally focused media and  outreach campaigns that speak  directly to immigrants' health  concerns.  I am very lucky that after being  able to lead a program here in  Madison and Wisconsin I was able  to go and what I've learned in  creating partnerships locally  that I was able to take that  experience into a national  experience.  The eight locations, as you will  see today, are in all different  parts of the United States so  I'm very lucky that I'm able to  travel to different parts and  know different immigrant groups  and know their collaborations.  It is a project of the Benton  Foundation funded by the Robert  Wood Johnson Foundation, and I  made that highlight to make sure  that we understand now the role  of foundations. 

 I think that has shifted from  what traditionally we know how  foundations have actually  conducted themselves.  Now they are more involved.  They really want to be part of  the process as they fund  projects in different areas.  The national program office is  here in Madison.  That's why I'm still here and  not moved to a different  location.  Based out of MasComm Associates  which is a project and  consulting firm specializing in  media and community  collaborations.  So it is very interesting how  you bring unusual partners  together and you create a very  fascinating project that I am  very happy to share with you  today.  I would like to take about 45  minutes to share with you the  story of people across the  United States that are a part of  this project, New Routes.  I do want to leave time to  invite all of you to share your  questions, thoughts and  concerns.  Certainly some of the issues  that we're going to touch on are  certainly controversial and  require some time to explore  either with your questions or,  again, concerns or even what you  have heard out there in the  media. 

 So I think it is important to  leave some space.  Hopefully you will feel  comfortable enough to talk about  some issues like healthcare  reform, immigration and other  things that are certainly  concepts that are very important  to our project and I know that  create again a lot of  controversy.  I also ask that you are patient  with me as I try to go from the  presentation to the online  videos that I want to share with  you.  There's nothing better than hear  the experience firsthand, and  you'll see what I mean by that.  Before that, I want to tell you  a little bit of the background  before we came up with the  concept of New Routes to  Community Health.  Over the past 10 years two  foundations, the Benton  Foundation and the Robert Wood  Johnson Foundation, and a small  business helped coordinate a  national program office called  Sound Partners to Community  Health.  It is, as you can see the  similarity of the title.  It was another project which its  goal was to increase public  awareness of specific health  issues and facilitate citizen  involvement in making decisions  affecting healthcare.  They did this by fostering  partnership between public  broadcasters, community  organizations and additional  media entities.  It is really interesting because  it seems like there should be no  problem if you have a community  organization and you have, let's  say, a radio station to bring  those two together to work on a  community issue. 

 You want to pick a topic of an  issue in your community that you  think your radio station, your  local radio station, is doing a  good job in informing you.  Anyone?  Do you listen to the radio?  No.  Or any other venue.  TV?  Local, community TV?  Do you watch any of that?  Facebook?  Let's say H1N1.  So that's a topic that you know  that communities need to know  about.  So seems pretty simple to say,  of course we have a lot of  information about that topic so  that shouldn't be a problem that  let's say we want to bring that  information to the students.  So let's call a radio station  and work together.  It's not that simple.  It seems like they speak  different languages when you try  to come up with a particular  project.  And again we'll go into more  detail about how different and  how complicated a collaboration  could be but also the success  once that everything comes  together. 

 They believe that by using a  range of programming and  community engagement techniques,  the collaborative supported by  Sound Partners were going to  help prepare individuals to  participate in community problem  solving around local health  issues.  So it wasn't only to say let's  create a PSA but let's involve  the community.  Let's have, as I mentioned in my  previous example, let's have  some of the students come  together to the table and work  with us to create those  messages.  What would be a important  message for students?  How would you receive that  message?  Is it just in one type of way  that you listen to a message or  do we need to really look at  different venues?  So that's exactly what happened  with Sound Partners.  Sound Partners provided about  148 smaller grants that in total  were about $5 million.  The majority of projects work  with health and social needs of  vulnerable populations.  So very specifically working  with not people that had access  to resources but people that  actually had barriers to access  to healthcare, for example.  During this time, and I'm  talking about 2004 through 2005,  Sound Partners grantees talked  about the healthcare issues were  compounded by the inability to,  let's say, other barriers like  not able to speak English,  prejudice and cultural  differences, difficulty in  securing decent paying jobs,  housing, safety and educational  issues.  So after a period of time after  working for a few years, they  realized that there were other  issues that they need to pay  attention to, not only again  just bringing broadcasters,  community organizations and know  what the targeted community was  going to be, but also they  needed to really look at what  other barriers they were facing.  It seemed like they were coming  with the same issues. 

 It didn't matter where they  were.  They could be in Texas.  They could be in Minnesota.  They could be in Boston.  They could be in LA.  The issues were pretty much the  same in terms of the additional  barriers that they found.  In January of 2006 the managing  group, which was the national  program office that was  coordinating the effort, and  grantees met again at one of the  national conferences to talk  about the next steps and the  future of Sound Partners.  So they were already kind of  coming into 10 years of working  together.  They were convinced that focus  needed to be more specific based  on the national program office  and the supporting foundations.  Based on that the group, the  foundations and the national  program office thought that they  needed to focus on immigrants  and refugees to work on a  similar project. 

 A few months later hundreds of  thousands of immigrants marched  in cities and towns across  America in the massive May Day  demonstration.  So it was very interesting that  even a little bit before, a few  months before this happened,  people knew that something was  happening.  That a particular community or  communities in your area needed  specific attention or special  attention.  In April or May of that year the  Benton Foundation hosted four  community roundtables.  One in Chicago, Portland, Boston  and the Twin Cities.  The roundtables sought critical  perspectives and effective and  emerging practices in community  media.  So very interesting.  Also, at the same time, they  were looking at social media.  I know that for most of you you  probably grew up with already,  of course, email.  I don't even want to know what  year you were born. 

 But email with Facebook,  Twittering and all of the social  media.  So it's not that new to you but  when you look at processes and  how communities and  organizations really understand  and take in technology, it is  really a long process.  Seemed pretty easy, of course  now we are all connected, but  certainly takes a while when you  have an industry that really has  a harder time making those  changes and we know change is  hard.  So they wanted to make sure that  social media was understood and  how community media across a  variety of platforms was  explored.  How communities and adapting,  how communities were adapting  media, new technologies, to  different areas to social,  economic, educational, cultural  and information services for  their residents.  So making sure how are we going  to use all this new technology  and everybody says you have to  be on Facebook, you have to be  on Twitter.  Nonprofit organizations need to  use new technology but how to do  that, how to be effective to  really on for your mission.  The participants concluded that  a foreign language media,  commercial and noncommercial,  are at the forefront of  immigrants' new level of civil  engagement.  Again, let's just make sure that  although we're talking about  different community groups,  certainly this particular group  was focusing on immigrants and  understanding how they were  going to work with the immigrant  community.  For instance, Spanish media  issued the rally cry that took  to the streets to more than  5,000 people in Los Angeles, for  example. 

 And hundreds of thousands more  in other cities during the first  protest held in March.  So there we're seeing, again,  that the reaction that what  happened with Sound Partners,  that first project, to the  feedback that they received.  The intuition of the foundations  and the organization that was a  national program office, all of  that information came together  and then realized that actually  something was happening in the  nation.  And of course, certainly if you  were following the news, you  could see how that was actually  truly happening.  It was all over the news and we  knew that immigrant  organizations were organizing  before, but we knew at that time  that that was actually  happening.  Through the roundtables we found  examples of web-based community  media that aggregate and  distribute news from home  countries from countries like  Somalia, Laos, Mexico, as well  as local news of interest to  diverse immigrant populations.  Immigrants are creating public  spaces that provide  opportunities for information  sharing in community building.  So again very interesting then  all the sudden we realize that  that was there.  It wasn't something new that  immigrant communities were  organizing and were sharing  information.  A very simple example that I can  tell you here in Madison, we  have one radio station that is  24/7 Spanish radio station. 

 And because of the size of our  community it has been very  interesting, everyone that  speaks Spanish certainly listens  to it even though sometimes you  don't like the music, you don't  like the DJs, you don't like  this, that's our only option  really at this point in Madison.  But it's very interesting when  something happens, I can  guarantee you that the Spanish  speaking community knows about  it in a more widespread manner  than you would know, for  example, because you're watching  different things.  There are many different ways of  providing information.  So it's very interesting how  communities react again to  information.  So, again, just one of the  examples of the power of media  and community media is now the  new term.  But why focus on immigrant  health?  Why not another group?  They were already working on  vulnerable populations.  But as you know, the faces of  your community, I'm sure not  only here in Madison but where  you're from, are changing.  Over 1 million newly immigrants  and refugees arrive to the  United States each year.  New immigrants make up about 12%  of the US population and  two-thirds actually represent  the growth, two-thirds growth  between 1990 and 2000.  So we know that programs that  promote the health and  well-being of immigrants are  essential to helping immigrants  achieve self-sufficiency and  become valued members of their  broader communities. 

 We know that as immigrants  continue to play an important  social, cultural and economic  roles in the US, receiving  communities, and we're using the  term receiving communities as  established community, not  necessarily one particular  ethnic group or race but just a  community that has been in that  area for longer time.  So we know that immigrants in  receiving community must work  together to create opportunities  to promote healthy communities.  It is not simple to understand  that.  And I'm sure that some of you  are probably having some  questions about why do we need  to do this.  When I used to work at Dean and  providing information about  interpreter services, one of the  questions that often was asked  was why do we need to provide  interpreters.  Why don't they just learn  English?  And sometimes what's shocking,  sometimes it wasn't that  shocking.  I was expecting some of that.  But certainly the information  and why we need to provide some  of these types of projects, it  is important for us to  understand.  It will be very important for  you as you are interested in  becoming part of a particular  industry, for example.  If you're working for a  foundation how you would have to  make decisions and how you are  using your funds in making your  community healthy, and what does  that mean when your community is  healthy. 

 Is it just one part of your  community?  Is it just a segment of a  population that you want to make  sure is healthy?  Or is it all together?  We're all here together so why  not work together.  But certainly we'll have more  time to talk about that if you  have more questions.  Over the past decade receiving  communities have modeled a wide  range of programs that allow for  reciprocal process of  integration and understanding  between new immigrants and the  receiving communities.  So our project, New Routes,  seeks to foster more  collaborative community-building  programs using local media as a  tool.  That's the difference.  There are a lot of  collaboratives between media  partners and community  organization and maybe  foundations.  But really using media as part  of the solution has not been  used or at least widely used as  the way that we wanted to use.  Also we thought why media?  Why not do it the traditional  way?  We know that the first-voice  stories are very powerful.  And I think there's no better  example than Facebook.  The way you tell your story,  regardless if you think you're  telling your story or not, I  think it is very telling and  it's very powerful when you have  something happening or when  someone tells you that is friend  is in a particular situation. 

 We all know and have heard  stories of cancer survival, for  example, and how powerful it is  to not just listen to statistics  about how cancer affects men,  women, children but how your  friend, your neighbor, went  through that particular  situation.  So they interview immigrants and  direct service providers about  issues related to healthcare  education, legal rights,  employment and housing.  The participants confirm that  knowledge of the resources  available to them was minimal.  Service providers express  frustration with their inability  to reach immigrants, for  example.  So it was interesting to see  that each group said they're not  paying attention, I'm telling  them that they need to do this.  There's so much information  about this particular issue and  I don't understand why this  community doesn't understand it.  And on the other side it's like  we don't understand.  It's either not in our language  or it's not culturally  sensitive.  So there are a lot of barriers  in communication.  So given what you know so far in  the background of our project,  and of course knowing cultural  and ethnic groups in your area  being maybe part of one, and  thinking about your own  community, how would you get  more health information?  How do you get your health  information, for example?  Where do you look for it?  And whom do you trust?  Is that something that maybe you  haven't thought about, but  think a little bit about that. 

 So how do you get your  information?  Uh-huh?  >> I would Google it.  >> Gonzalez: Uh-huh on the news.  Could you be more specific.  Is it online or like newspaper?  >> Mostly if I'm just watching  news in the morning.  Otherwise, if I have a specific  question I would Google it.  >> Gonzalez: There's someone  that you know, for example, in a  program, a TV program, that all  of the sudden becomes familiar.  So can you name  the name of the person  that you watch in the morning?  Matt Lauer?  >> Just whoever's on CNN.  >> Gonzalez: Uh-huh, okay,  great, perfect.  And all the sudden they become  familiar to you.  Anyone else?  Any other way that you get not  only how you get your health  information but all the related  information in general. 

 Yes?  >> I get a lot of my information  from my friends and family,  people around me.  >> Gonzalez: I think that  happens more often than not.  You get the link, the obnoxious  link in an email.  How many links do we get about  whatever I think is important  for me and for you to know as my  friend and my family.  So we get a lot of information  that way, through friends and  family.  Anyone else?  I think you had your hand up.  Thank you.  >> I think family and the  medical industry, I try to get  it from them and then I can pass  it on to friends.  So that's what I usually do.  >> Gonzalez: Absolutely,  I still call my uncles  in Mexico and say, hey,  what do you know about this?  And then I start Googling and  passing it different ways,  posting it on Facebook, posting  it on Twitter. 

 So I'm that obnoxious person  that provides information.  Yes?  >> Yasiri: I just want to  interrupt for a second  and kind of keep going  with this train of thought  before you move on Brenda, what  makes you think that the  information you're getting is  credible, especially from those  of you who've been kind of  commenting on it?  And given the fact, too, that  we've talked with people who  represent the media and such,  when you listen to it on CNN or  you hear about it from a family  member, what enables you to  gauge the credibility of the  information?  I'm going to pick on you just  because you shared with us I see  it on the news.  What helps you know it's  credible?  >> I try to watch news stations  that aren't known to be biased,  first of all.  And just have trust if it's,  hopefully, most the time if it's  on the news and it's been  hopefully backed up by the  expert opinion.  >> Gonzalez: I think you have  another hand.  >> I think an important thing is  that I know, me personally, I  look at various news sites,  especially when I'm kind of  doubting something or something  seems unrealistic.  So it's that whole entire idea  of more than one place hearing  it from.  And also just looking at  established authority figures,  especially when listening to  peers or social people, it's  going to be someone who I think  that I can trust and I think  would have the authority to  determine if it's true or not.  >> Yasiri: You're using some  interesting terms here that  gauge credibility,  authority, backing it up.  And I want us to think about  that as we reflect on what  Brenda's telling us about the  immigrant experience and how  they find credibility in the  message that they're getting  about their health experience. 

 Because it's really very, very  key for those populations.  Thanks for allowing me to  interject.  >> Gonzalez: No, absolutely.  Because I think it is much the  same.  We go back to what is familiar  to us.  So our friends, our family and  language and also to the  authority that we believe.  So if it's not CNN, for me as  part of a community, an  immigrant community, it is maybe  another one.  So how can you as a healthcare  provider, let's say, make sure  that you know that I'm getting  that information, that I'm  getting that information that  every other of your patients is  getting.  It gets a little tricky as we go  along.  So how do we connect those links  that seem to be a little  disconnected that we make  certainly a lot of assumptions. 

 So that's the goal of New Routes  to Community Health is to  improve the lives of new  immigrants through media created  by and for immigrants.  So it seems like it is not very  hard to understand the concept  but believe me has taken a long  time.  So how many of you have heard  of, you read research for your  different classes and you  realize that this particular  project or this particular idea  was kind of imposed on a  community?  Does that happen in the student  community?  You think my goodness we are  doing things so much different?  If they only could listen to a  student and the student  experience they would get a lot  more reaction, a lot more  buy-in.  So in our New Routes to  Community Health media include  television, radio, features,  telenovelas, soap operas, live  theatre and internet and social  marketing campaigning.  So it was not only just to say  let's create something, let's  just translate a program.  Do you know what happens with  let's just translate a brochure  or a radio ad or whatever media  you want to choose?  Yes?  >> To the person I would stay  still it lacks the cultural  values.  Like if I was to translate  French or English directly to  the other languages it rarely  makes sense.  >> Gonzalez: Right.  Absolutely.  It doesn't matter even if you  have the best translator in the  world or the best interpreter in  the world. 

 Still the value is not there.  So you need to do a lot more  than just translate a document  and translate information.  It goes into, again, that what I  was sharing with you, if they  only had the immigrant  experience as part of the  developing of the project would  be a lot different.  So from 166 applications that we  received that groups wanted to  be part of New Routes to  Community Health, eight grants  were given to collaborations in  Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los  Angeles, Minneapolis/St.  Paul, Oakland, Philadelphia and  San Francisco.  So those were the eights sites  we provided the quarter of a  million dollars.  The full grant was about $4  million that we received.  So I want to share with you the  first video.  There's a set of videos that I  hope you can enjoy and take the  value.  They're grassroots efforts. 

 So of course if you are very  familiar and only look at the  high level creation of videos or  information, it's a little rough  sometimes to watch some of these  videos.  But if you can only see the  difference between providing a  video that is not created with  the community involved in that  creation in this video that  might not be as highly  production value, then I think  you will watch the videos with a  different set of eyes, I think.  So let's watch the first video  which is the summary of New  Routes.  So you will get a little bit  more information about who we  are and some of the different  projects, and then I want to go  over a few of the projects and  share with you some of the  things that they are doing.  So, again, there's nothing like  listening to first-voice video.  Let's see if this works.  It wasn't working for me before.  >> Video: At eight sites across  the United States New Routes  partnerships bring together  media makers, immigrant  organizations and community  leaders to create media that  empowers immigrants, educates  healthcare providers and  explores community health.  With radionovelas, English  language learning materials,  community radio and access TV,  commercial and public TV and  digital stories, New Routes  partnerships improve the health  and well-being of immigrants in  our communities.  >> My name is Susanne --. 

 I grew up in Peru but I'm from  Bolivia.  >> My name is -- .  >> My name is Elaine --,  and I'm between  second and third generation  Chinese.  >> My name is --,  originally from Somalia.  >> (speaks foreign language)  >> There are Asian women, there  are southeast Asian women, there  are American women, there are  Filipino women.  >> The Chinese Community, the  Somali community, refugees from  East Africa.  >> One of the things that  sometimes we forget is that  we're all in this.  >> (speaks foreign language)  >> One of the New Routes  projects is a partnership of the  Mexican-American Museum of Art  -- in Chicago.  >> (speaks foreign language)  >> Salud, Healing Through the  Arts presents plays written by  teens for radio and stage.  >> (speaks foreign language)  >> All eight New Routes projects  encourage immigrant families to  heal by providing opportunities  for elders, parents and teens to  tell their stories to each other  and share those stories with  their community. 

 § §  >> Healthcare in America  is not equal.  There are barriers that not  everybody has to face.  >> Immigrants, they need to  adjust to a new country, to a  new culture.  >> Figure out how to navigate  their way through an HMO or do  certain negotiating things with  a doctor or an insurance  company.  >> And when you're new here,  learning a new language and  learning a new system, that's a  big barrier.  >> People do not have the chance  to walk long distances as they  used to do in Somalia so we are  dealing with diabetes, being fat  for the first time in their  lives.  >> The incidence of violence in  Oakland is pretty high.  Intimate partner violence, other  forms of violence that include  gang violence and self-violence  like substance abuse.  >> For Haitians mental health  problem is like --.  It's like you're crazy so we  don't talk about your mental  health issue at all. 

 § §  >> In the Asian community we're  using elders as our leaders and  spokespersons.  >> We would like to see people  in the community to really take  ownership of that project.  >> It builds leadership with our  young people.  It gives them a sense of  confidence.  >> You need to be a teacher,  educator for your community.  § §  >> We'll be training our elders  how to use these media devices,  and, in doing so, we are  empowering them to actively  approach the issue of healthcare  and to bring this awareness to  their own community.  >> We can teach teens how to  find a voice and talk about the  issues of the community.  >> Stories can be used to talk  about some of the subjects that  are most difficult to talk  about.  >> The intersection between  health immigration and media, it  makes possible to break down the  boundaries between us and them.  § §  >> Egal Shidad is another New  Routes project. 

 In Somali culture Egal Shidad is  the wise fool.  His stories help the Somali  community deal with many of the  health challenges.  Egal Shidad will educate  mainstream providers about  Somali culture and help Somalis  learn a new way of life in  Minnesota.  >> (speaks foreign language)  >> All eight New Routes projects  across the United States use  local media created by  immigrants to improve community  health.  Everyone benefits when  immigrants live healthy,  productive lives.  We invite you to visit our  website, NewRoutes.org,  where you will see media  made by immigrants and find a  wealth of resources for building  healthy communities.  Log on and become and member of  our growing community, New  Routes to Community Health.  § §  >> Gonzalez: What do you think?  Is it on?  Oh, I'm sorry.  So what do you think?  Is it an interesting project?  Is it something that you already  have seen?  Anything that comes to mind as  how difficult or I would do it a  different way?  Yes?  >> (inaudible)  I've never seen  one like that before.  I think it's going to be really  hard for you guys. 

 I hope you guys find a way.  >> Gonzalez: I know.  >> Yasiri: Why do you think  it will be hard?  >> Because I would think that  most immigrants they already  have a lot of barriers to, this  is what I think, I think they  already have a lot of barriers  to life here.  Because most of the ones you aim  to reach are not really like the  ones that came here for school  or like legitimate, the ones who  came here legally really  wouldn't have any much of a  problem.  But the ones you want to reach  are the ones without paperwork  and all sorts of problems which  are just hard to document.  That's why I think it will be  difficult.  >> Gonzalez: Definitely.  There will be  some difficulties in reaching  some of the communities.  And not only that but making  sure that we are documenting our  project in a way that we can  actually continue with our work.  Our work actually ends in 2010,  the project goes through 2010. 

 So if you hear of any jobs, let  me know.  No, I'm very confident that  we'll continue.  Yes?  >> Hi, I think you made it more  generalized where maybe you  should make is personal.  Like bring it to our level like  being here in Madison.  Put it into perspective.  Do a documentary on State  Street.  So kind of just make it personal  so, oh, yeah, I never though of  it like that or hey, it's right  here in my face I never really  saw it like that.  That's my suggestion.  >> Gonzalez: Absolutely.  I think it is really interesting  and it's really difficult for me  from going local, every effort,  every thing that I was involved  was here in Madison to going  national. 

 How to present these type of  projects.  Because if you look at each of  the projects you see that of  course they are very meaningful  for the community that is from  that particular area.  And you're absolutely right.  I do have actually examples of  things that are happening here  in Madison but they are not part  of my job.  They are either volunteer or  some other ways, but you're  absolutely right I think making  that connection makes a  difference, and I think that  that's why the success of New  Routes will continue because of  those connections.  When we go to a particular  community, let's say to talk to  Southeast Asian elders,  certainly we bring that national  effort and then help the  community recreate some of the  things that we have that have  worked well nationally but  certainly taking into  consideration the details of  that community or that area.  Yes?  >> I just was going to say that  I think like that definitely  make it more personal, but I  also I thought it was pretty  interesting I guess I didn't  realize that the whole obesity  thing, we're so well versed to  that in this country but there's  a really good point that people  coming from places like Africa  and stuff never really had to  deal with any of this stuff and  don't really think about, I  guess, and such a problem here.  So good job about that.  >> Gonzalez: Thank you.  Until you hear it from firsthand  experience you don't know. 

 You assume things.  We all do.  Why not or why are they not  doing this or that.  But when you hear the reasons  and the background and the  history and many other things,  for some it's like okay, enough  if they don't get it, they don't  get if.  But I think that when you are  really trying to make your  community healthy, certainly you  have to take into account all of  those stories.  And I just wanted to mention  that of course we have created  all of that information we have  put together and created a model  really after looking at some of  the same standards that we have  throughout our eight projects we  have created what we call the  New Routes models.  New Routes partnerships bring  together, as you saw, media  makers, immigrant organizations  and community institutions to  improve the health and  well-being of immigrants.  These partnerships create media  and community engagement  activities that build leadership  and promote immigration as a  reciprocal process that benefits  immigrants and the larger  community.  And some of the very key points  of our model that we hope other  foundations and other  organizations will take as  important, an important part of  their work are concepts like, of  course, every group is creating  media, local media, multimedia  and new media.  It's important to make sure that  we know all of the different  venues will be used to create,  and it's very important to ask  what is the way that your  community receives the  information?  So it's interesting that in some  communities we assume that for  sure radio is going to work. 

 Before whatever reason in a  particular community in  Minnesota, Somali community,  they really are using  cell phones  more than listening to radio or  watching TV, and I'm not saying  they're not, but the general  information is received through  phone and whatever applications  on your phone.  Other communities are using  radio.  Creating novelas, soap operas,  drama.  Others, TV, they thought that  was the most powerful way of  using.  But not only just a way of  creating a PSA but actually  taking that product and take it  to your community.  So some of them created digital  stories, for example, but they  just didn't create just a story  about domestic violence, for  example, but they took it to a  community center where they hold  meetings and they talk about  domestic violence in their area.  So in that way was certainly  more powerful now they're on the  web and they're distributed  through other means.  Another concept is forged  partnerships.  Among immigrants, local media  makers and established  communities -- with community  health concerns.  So it is important to go back to  that difficult as it might be  collaboration or collaborative  efforts. 

 Again, if you look at the  foundations and the way the  foundations are looking at how  to choose programs and projects  to fund, it is changing.  Now they want to be involved;  now they want to be part of the  decision-making process.  So it is very interesting how  that has changed.  Now we kind of select a certain  area.  So we're going to talk or fund  projects that will help in  improving youth literacy, for  example.  And now they want to be more  specific; they want to know  who's accountable and what  they're going to get for their  buck, pretty much.  But I think it is important, not  only as that they're managing or  micromanaging, they really want  to know how else they can get  involved.  It is community that is changing  as well, the foundation  community.  Building skills of immigrant  leaders to communicate with  immigrants of larger community  about community health issues.  Our project more than anything,  more than what you see being  media or being collaboration, it  is really about leadership. 

 Creating leadership in different  communities.  I think that without community  building and all of what that's  involved, it is possible to just  kind of swipe through a say  we're going to leave different  projects here.  We're going to create actual  leaders that can think about  those projects, and they can  actually sustain whatever  efforts we have been able to  help create in their  communities.  And promote immigrant  integration.  It is a difficult concept,  integration, immigrant  integration.  A lot of people don't quite like  it.  A lot of people think why do we  really have to talk about  integration.  But in reality we're looking how  immigrants and receiving  community are working together.  We're not talking about they  have to do the same things or  they have to be assimilated.  It's certainly a word that often  comes up as I give presentations  about this. 

 But it is really about how are  we understanding each other and  how we're working together to  create, again, a healthier, more  productive community.  And of course, everything is  based on reinforced the funding  American values, including the  right to free speech and  opportunity for all.  And I think it is important to  go back to that when we talk  about immigrant issues, and  certainly I'm sure you have  heard a lot about immigrant  reform, immigration reform, I  think it is important to think  about what is our country and  what is the values that we  really want to continue to  support.  And as it relates to other  projects as well.  I am coming close to the end so  I just want to open it up for  questions.  And there's a lot more  information on our website,  NewRoutes.org.  If you want to look at the  different projects, there's a  link to the projects, there are  the eight projects, and you can  see the different updates of  videos that they're creating or  whatever it is that they're  doing.  Again, as I mentioned before, we  are coming to an end.  2010 will be the end.  We're looking at sustainability  so we're certainly looking at  how to present, now the  evaluation each of the projects  will be certainly evaluated and  we'll have enough information so  we can actually pitch our story  for success in the immigrant  community and, again, the  reciprocal process between the  receiving community and the  immigrant community. 

 >> Yasiri: Are there any  final questions for Brenda?  Well, I have had the opportunity  to certainly work with Brenda in  the past and I've seen her  through this project over the  many years that you've been  involved in it and it really has  come to a really remarkable  place.  So we thank you, so much, for  being with us, Brenda,  and for the work you're doing  with New Routes.  We're going to take a five  minute break, folks, and when we  come back we're going to be  talking with Mike Seifert of  Aidmatrix and so that will be  about 3:25.  We'll see you then.