Pacific Group Honored For Public Health Awareness Efforts

Pacific University’s Reproductive Justice Action Team (RJAT) was recently recognized by the Washington County Department of Health and Human Services for its efforts to educate the campus community on health issues.

The team received the department’s Emerging Public Health Leader Award, which recognizes a youth or youth-related group that promotes healthy communities and making healthy lifestyle choices. The award was presented on April 5, 2024 as part of the department’s recognition of National Public Health Week.

“It’s an honor to be celebrated during National Public Health Week,” said Adelle Monteblanco, assistant professor of public health at Pacific University and a member of RJAT. “Public health includes more than just healthcare. The students, staff and faculty that are part of RJAT work to promote a culture of health by distributing contraception, increasing access to information about STI testing, and reducing the stigma associated with abortion. I am so proud of their work.”

Comprised of about 15 undergraduate students, staff and faculty, the team works with the university’s Center for a Sustainable Society and the Center for Gender Equity to promote reproductive justice through education, outreach and action.

The team has hosted several events on the Forest Grove Campus since its formation in 2022. Their highest-profile event to date was hosting Roslyn Banish’s exhibit, “Focus On Abortion: Americans Tell Their Stories” in September 2023, which told the personal stories of abortion through photographs and personal narratives. The exhibition took place in the university’s Tim and Cathy Tran Library.