Contacts
Carmenlita Chief
Alexandra Samarron Longorio
Fairness First Campaign
What is Fairness First?
Every person deserves to have a fair and just opportunity to be as healthy as possible. This is health equity. The Fairness First Campaign was established to support inclusive and meaningful conversations in our communities about health equity, fairness, and justice. Every community’s path to achieving health equity and fairness is unique, but we can focus on the systemic, structural, and historical factors of health that impact us all.
The Fairness First Campaign offers four different opportunities to engage in, learn about, and connect around the various types of community and academic work being done in the Southwest to build healthier and more equitable communities for everyone.
We welcome you to become a part of our Fairness First Campaign, connect with others, and be involved in shaping how NAU and communities can work together to advance health equity for all in the Southwest.
Recorded past events
2021 Sept. 29 Health Justice Futures: Visual Art & Indigenous Health Accordion Closed
(Recorded on Sept. 29, 2021)
Guests: Liva’ndrea Knoki & Garrett Etsitty
Watch the recording Visual Art & Indigenous Health
Indigenous visual artists Liva’ndrea Knoki and Garrett Etsitty discuss the necessity of art in the mobilization of Indigenous communities for health justice, the power of visibility, and what health justice means in the context of Indigenous sovereignty, settler colonialism, and community-engaged research.
2021, Oct. 22 Fairness Firstx Talk: Possibilities for Community Action Research Among the Incarcerated Accordion Closed

(Recorded on October 22, 2021)
Guest: Emily Schneider, PhD
Watch the recording How can incarcerated individuals be active participants in research that directly impacts them?
Dr. Emily Schneider discusses her ideas surrounding the necessity of engaging incarcerated individuals in research design, implementation and analysis.
2021, Dec. 3 Fairness FirstX Talk: Can we predict the risk of West Nile Virus like we predict weather? Accordion Closed
(Recorded on December 3, 2021)
Guest: Joseph Mihaljevic, PhD
Watch the recording Fairness FirstX Talk: Can we Predict the Risk of West Nile Virus like we Predict Weather?
This virtual, interactive discussion with guest speaker and NAU Health Equity researcher, Dr. Joseph R. Mihaljevic, addresses the efforts he is involved in to build models that attempt to predict areas in Maricopa County, Arizona, that will have high risk of West Nile virus infections on a week-to-week basis. Dr. Mihaljevic also highlights his use of mathematical modeling and climate data in this endeavor.
2021, Dec. 7 Health Justice Futures: The Power of Art for Communities with Disabilities Accordion Closed
(Recorded on December 7, 2021)
Guest: Cody Kelly
Watch the recording Health Justice Futures: The Power of Art for Communities with Disabilities
Join us for an online conversation with visual and mixed media artists who will discuss the role of art in supporting and sustaining the well-being of communities with disabilities and creating communities of care.
2022, Feb. 18 Fairness Firstx Talk: Using a Health Equity Lens to Expand Postpartum Care for Women in Underserved Communities Accordion Closed
(Recorded on February 18, 2022)
Guest: Beth McManis, PhD
Watch the recording Using a Health Equity Lens to Expand Postpartum Care for Women in Underserved Communities
Join us for an online conversation with visual and mixed media artists who will discuss the role of art in supporting and sustaining the well-being of communities with disabilities and creating communities of care.
2022, April 6 Health Justice Futures: Emergence: Indigenous Feminisms, Environmental Justice and Health Equity Accordion Closed
Guest: Jihan Gearon
Watch the recording Health Justice Futures: Emergence: Indigenous Feminisms, Environmental Justice and Health Equity
Join the Fairness First Campaign and Jihan Gearon for a discussion on how “Health equity means prioritizing the health of our full selves – mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual – and all of our relationships, including those with our homelands and Mother Earth herself. Prevailing values of recent history – patriarchy, colonialism, capitalism, racism – have made full healthiness all but impossible. Yet solving the challenges of today requires that very thing. Practices of reflection and connection, such as art, are tools to bring ourselves and our collective home into healthy balance.” – Jihan Gearon
2022, April 27 Health Justice Futures: Nuestras Historias: Belonging in a Time of Displacement and Immigrant Health Accordion Closed
Guest: Josue Saldivar
Watch the Health Justice Futures recording Nuestras Historias: Belonging in a Time of Displacement and Immigrant Health
During this event, guest speaker Josue Saldivar discusses how immigrants find a sense of belonging in the arts, using creative writing as a vehicle to explore the intersection of immigration status, race, gender, and sexuality. This session will unpack what it means to live on the borderlines of identity, and how geographical borders and anti-immigration policy impact the wellbeing of immigrant communities in Arizona.
Josue Saldivar is an immigrant, LGBTQIA+ community organizer, and a DACA recipient from Tucson, Arizona. Josue has used the power of creative writing to tell stories about immigration, gender, and sexuality. Josue is currently a Program Organizer with Borderlinks, an educational nonprofit in Tucson.