Communities across the country are changing the way we address health in the United States. They are working together to support community-centered decision making and shift the systems that hold back our collective potential.
At The BUILD Health Challenge® (BUILD), we have spent more than a decade investing in community-based, cross-sector collaboratives who are demonstrating what it looks like to put communities at the center of health. We’ve met – and learned from – some pretty incredible people along the way.
BUILD practitioners embody what it means to be:
Now, that decade of learning is advancing something bigger: the BUILD National Network. Launched in 2025, the Network is a growing community of experienced practitioners driving collective impact on health equity across the country.
What is the BUILD National Network?
The BUILD National Network drives impact by convening experienced leaders who are advancing health through community-centered, collaborative practice. It serves as a clearinghouse and connection point for the field: expanding learning, activating relationships, distributing resources, and amplifying community power.
The Network supports practitioners doing this work in their communities every day, providing the infrastructure, relationships, and tools they need to keep going and to grow.
Who is part of the Network?
The National Network draws from our alumni and partners across the country – advanced practitioners who have lived and led this work. Network members represent:
- Community-based organizations advancing health equity
- Residents & community leaders with lived experience
- Public health departments navigating systems change
- Health systems committed to community-centered practice
- Other key stakeholders committed to creating healthier communities
What does the Network do?
The BUILD National Network is designed to strengthen the field and the people in it:
- Leadership Development: Resources for emerging leaders across sectors to build power, voice, and national visibility.
- Network Building:Relationship-building woven into every engagement to connect members and partners across issue areas, regions, and sectors.
- Capacity Building: Skill-building workshops with national experts to strengthen organizational resilience and cross-sector collaboration.
- Peer Learning: Practitioner-led exchange embedded throughout to lift up what works, what doesn’t, and why it matters.
- Amplifying: Intentional design to connect a national movement to experienced champions on the ground in dozens of communities around the country.
At its core, the BUILD National Network exists because the work of building healthier, more equitable communities is not done alone. It takes networks, trust, shared knowledge, and the courage to keep showing up together.
Let’s BUILD Together
Whether you’re a former BUILD awardee ready to reconnect, a potential partner looking to get involved, or simply someone who wants to learn more – we’d love to hear from you. Reach out to info@buildhealthchallenge.org!
