On September 4, community leaders, partners, and advocates gathered to celebrate a major milestone at the Alamance Wellness Summit—a decade of collaboration, innovation, and community-driven change led by the Alamance Wellness Collaborative. The Summit marked ten years of progress toward improving the health and well-being of Alamance County through shared vision and cross-sector partnership.
Over the past decade, the Collaborative has played a pivotal role in shaping policies, systems, and environments that support healthier lives for all residents. This year’s Summit served as both a celebration and a reflection—a look back at what’s been accomplished and a recommitment to the work ahead.
The Summit featured three engaging panels, each spotlighting a different focus area of the Collaborative’s impact: policy change, systems innovation, and healthy environments.
The first panel, Policy Change: Tobacco-Free Parks in Alamance County, told the story of how a simple idea—creating smoke-free public parks—evolved into a meaningful policy shift. Panelists Tony Laws, Burlington Recreation and Parks Director; Dr. Yun Boylston of Burlington Pediatrics; and former Elon Year of Service Fellow Kacie Ferguson reflected on the process of turning advocacy into action. Facilitated by Bobbi Ruffin, Burlington Recreation and Parks Superintendent, the conversation highlighted the collaborative effort between public health leaders, city officials, and residents. What emerged was a compelling example of how community voice, strategic partnerships, and a shared vision can influence local policy for the better.
The Summit then turned to systems-level innovation with a panel titled Systems in Motion: Launching the Active Alamance App. This discussion explored how seven local recreation and parks departments came together to develop a single digital platform to connect residents and visitors to parks, trails, and wellness amenities across the county. Panelists Nicole McGinty, Program Officer at Impact Alamance; Aaron Davis, Mebane Recreation and Parks Director; and Jamie Merchel, Alamance County Parks and Recreation Director, shared the behind-the-scenes planning that brought the Active Alamance App to life. Facilitator Jewel Tillman, Program Director at Impact Alamance, guided a discussion that underscored the power of shared infrastructure and cross-agency collaboration in driving lasting systems change.
The final panel, Healthy Environments: Creating Inclusive Public Spaces, brought attention to how inclusive design and community engagement have helped make parks throughout Alamance County more welcoming for all. Led by Jamie Elliot of Healthy Places by Design, the panel featured perspectives from Green Level Recreation and Parks Director Brandon Enoch, Graham Recreation and Parks Director Brian Faucette, and community resident and advocate Taylor Collier. Collier, a parent of a child with a disability, shared her experience and the importance of listening to families when designing public spaces. Together, the panelists illustrated how inclusive environments are built—not only with physical accessibility in mind, but also with empathy, feedback, and partnership at the core.
Throughout the event, the Summit celebrated the progress made over the past decade—while also serving as a powerful reminder of what’s possible when a community works together toward a shared goal. From shaping healthier policies to reimagining systems and environments, the Alamance Wellness Collaborative’s first ten years have laid a strong foundation for continued impact. As the Collaborative looks to the future, its mission remains clear: to foster a healthier, more accessible Alamance County through innovation, collaboration, and the collective power of community.
