Kelsey Lyles Email and Phone Number

The Bay Area Regional Health Inequities Initiative (BARHII) is a nationally recognized public health research and advocacy organization that advances health equity, economic opportunity, and racial justice through policy and systems change. Current priorities include 1) strengthening the capacity of health and racial equity champions across the nation through training, community of practice learning cohorts, and technical assistance, 2) advocating for structural change and improved health equity infrastructure at the federal level, 3) and prioritizing a BIPOC lens to close the racial health and wealth gap for Black families. At BARHII, Kelsey is the Director of Health Equity and Repair. She develops strategies with a network of partners to make reparations and economic justice a reality for Black families through power building, policy advocacy, and institutional change.

For the State Bar of California, Kelsey led complex systems change and equity initiatives with a focus on proactive regulation and public protection. Key projects included the implementation of a new regulatory program that prevents misappropriation of client funds by attorneys. Notably, Kelsey also managed and led the development of the State Bar’s 2022-2027 strategic plan, which included diversity, equity, and inclusion as a core competency across all institutional functions. Essential duties included policy and program management, legislative program advocacy, engagement with the State Bar Board of Trustees, and streamlining internal business processes to maximize efficiency across departments.

At The Greenlining Institute, Kelsey led policy and advocacy efforts related to integrating health and racial equity into State policy and systems change. In her role, she developed cross sector relationships and partnerships with advocates to support statewide policy solutions. Notably, she successfully led and worked with coalition partners to develop and pass a resolution (i.e., HR 39- Gipson) that encourages the California Assembly to integrate equity impact statements into bill analysis to prevent unintended consequences of legislation that exacerbate health and economic inequities in the wake of COVID-19. Kelsey also led the development of a reparations advocacy coalition to develop race conscious and structural change policy proposals for the California Reparations Task Force. Using a social justice lens, she led work groups, wrote and analyzed policies and legislation, educated elected officials on community issues, and supported coalitions of stakeholders on solutions that promoted racial and economic justice.

Kelsey served as an Equity Specialist and Program Manager at the Public Health Institute (PHI) and staff team member of the California Health in All Policies (HiAP) Program at the California Strategic Growth Council (SGC). She managed and led implementation of the HiAP Equity in Government Practices Action Plan and served as staff lead for the Government Alliance on Race and Equity 2018 Capitol Cohort pilot program, a collaborative State department racial equity capacity-building program facilitated by PHI, SGC, and Race Forward. The Capitol Cohort prepared 19 State departments and agencies to transform their internal practices to promote racial equity. Essential duties entailed providing technical assistance to State departments in the creation of racial equity action plans, developing program training curriculum, leading multi sector workgroups, providing critical analysis and feedback on department racial equity work plans, building a support network of state employees, coordinating trainings, engaging with funders and executive leadership, building political will across departments to promote racial equity, and creating communications and evaluation products.

In partnership with the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) and the Public Health Institute, Ms. Lyles staffed the Health in All Policies Task Force to promote health, equity, and environmental sustainability across State policies and practices. This unique and cutting-edge program was housed within the CDPH Office of Health Equity. As an internal champion and strategic advocate for collaboration, essential duties entailed coordinating and facilitating multi-sector work groups, building relationships with stakeholders within government to normalize analyzing the health impacts of their work on marginalized communities, conducting qualitative research and report writing, creating cross sector implementation plans, and conducting workshops and trainings on health equity and the Health in All Policies approach for local health departments and State government staff. Specific topical areas included violence prevention, racial equity, community resilience strategies, the social determinants of health, and institutionalizing an equity lens into government functions to promote justice and inspire a cultural shift within government.

For the Public Health Research Department, Ms. Lyles conducted qualitative research assignments for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) Program among other special projects. Duties entailed conducting literature reviews and data analysis, providing technical assistance to partners, database maintenance, program site visits, and survey development. Ms. Lyles provided project management support to senior research staff across all program activities including managing project schedules and timelines of deliverables.

Ms. Lyles supported research and stakeholder engagement strategies for senior staff at The Urban Institute on the intersections of health, housing, and place-based initiatives. Duties entailed representing the organization at the DC Promise Neighborhoods Initiative community meetings and coordinating community member feedback into the design of outreach materials, conducting literature reviews on the emerging issues in inner city housing and education policy, and providing administrative and research support for IMPACT DC, a multi-site asthma prevention initiative.