A6.02 - Oral Session: From Classrooms to Community Impact: Training the Next Generation of CHWs

Brief Abstract Summary: Gain insights into how structured Community Health Worker (CHW) education advances equity, builds confidence, and strengthens the public health workforce. This session presents findings from a mixed-methods evaluation of a Southern California community college CHW certificate program offered through Adult Education at no cost to students. Participants will learn how student reflections revealed growth in advocacy, communication, and cultural humility, while supervisor feedback confirmed leadership potential and professional effectiveness. Discover how free, accessible training not only equips CHWs with workforce-ready skills but also transforms their view of public health from clinical to systemic and equity-focused. Recognize how program design, mentorship, and digital credentials created through partnerships with regional organizations provide a scalable model for strengthening the next generation of CHWs.

Detailed abstract description: Discover how structured Community Health Worker (CHW) education transforms individuals and strengthens the public health workforce. This session presents findings from a mixed-methods evaluation of a Southern California community college CHW Certificate Program offered through Adult Education at no cost to students. Attendees will learn how the program equips students with competencies, builds leadership capacity, and creates a scalable model for workforce sustainability.
As the lead instructor and program director, I collected and analyzed 18 in-depth student reflections and survey responses from the third cohort, aggregated Qualtrics survey data from all program interns since inception, and supervisor evaluations from 63 students across multiple cohorts. These findings offer both qualitative and quantitative evidence of the program’s impact.
Students consistently reported motivations rooted in lived experience, such as supporting immigrant families, raising children with disabilities, or growing up in under-resourced communities. Attendees will hear how these narratives shaped student engagement and led to the development of critical skills including motivational interviewing, cultural humility, resource navigation, communication, and advocacy. Participants will also gain insight into how training built confidence, clarified career trajectories, and transformed students’ perspectives of public health from narrowly clinical to systemic, relational, and equity-driven.
Supervisor evaluations reinforced these findings, with overwhelmingly high ratings for student effectiveness. Supervisors praised interns’ professionalism, trust-building, and initiative while highlighting their leadership potential. Attendees will learn how program design that integrates supervisor feedback creates stronger accountability and mentorship structures.
This session also highlights program innovations: collaboration with regional partners such as CalOptima and First Five to create digital credentials that validate competencies, enhance employability, and provide students with long-term professional recognition. The program was recognized as one of the strongest in the region and became a blueprint for other community colleges, demonstrating scalability and adaptability.
You will hear how evaluation findings demonstrate that properly structured training—customized to both student needs and industry demands—can serve as a powerful entry point for individuals passionate about working as community representatives. You will discover how this approach builds confidence and prepares students to apply skills immediately in the field. This session will provide evidence that community-college–based programs, when aligned with workforce expectations, can transform lived experience into professional capacity, legitimize CHWs through digital credentials, and create sustainable career pathways.