JustChurch welcomes Ms. Aloha Wilks as our guest this week. Aloha Wilks is a native New Yorker, mother and grandmother. She has worked for the University of Iowa for almost a decade and is a health equity community researcher at the University of Iowa. She is currently coordinating a research project, Equity in Health Science and Practice E-HSP that is focused on identifying gaps for non-healthcare frontline workers during COVID and creating community level interventions to address those needs. This program is a 3-year university initiative to build infrastructure for a health equity institute at University of Iowa.

In addition, she works with UI Health Care senior leadership to help recreate the systems/structures surrounding diversity, equity, and inclusion. She is member of the UI Health Care DEI Task Force which was formed to develop a strategic plan of action to address cultural and racial issues. She was part of the senior leadership team who recreated UI Health Care core values, shifted from ICARE to WECARE. Aloha worked with senior leadership to create a new patient-initiated harassment policy that better protected providers of color from racism. Aloha also co-founded the DEI Committee for the UI Health Care Support Services building and is the sitting vice president. A recent success of the DEI committee that she is super excited about is the creation of new hire DEI training for hospital staff with a 90-person waitlist!

Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with family/friends, watching basketball and documentaries, and vintage/thrift shop shopping nationwide. A strong belief of God and belief in the power of positive thinking, Aloha navigates her personal and professional life on a transmission of love.

Our belief in the resurrection has consequences and implications for us as followers of Jesus. What does it mean for us, as Easter people, to bear witness to the way of Jesus’ love and the power of the resurrection in light of our legacies of white supremacy and colonialism, increasing discrimination against LGBTQIA people, and the devastation of our planet? How do we embody liberation?

During our worship this Eastertide, following our scripture readings, we will be hearing from community and faith leaders of color in our community about how their faith informs their work for justice and ways we might be accomplices in that work of living into libration.

Email us for the Zoom link to connect online.