Building Bridges for Community Wellbeing with Julie Rusk Artwork

Spark Connection

Our world is more interconnected and interdependent than ever before, yet so many of us feel disconnected and alone. In Spark Connection, host Anna Lucas engages in conversations with friends, colleagues, researchers and leaders who each contribute their unique expertise when it comes to enhancing our wellbeing, by cultivating connection and building community, within our lives and our organizations. Please join us as together we explore themes of wellbeing, mindfulness, relationships, compassion, community, and of course, connection. Let’s build a network of conversation, learning from each other, and celebrating all it means to be human. It starts with a Spark! Theme song 'Spark' is by Connor Garvey & cover photo by Leonard Von Bibra.

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Spark Connection

Building Bridges for Community Wellbeing with Julie Rusk

October 13, 2022 • Anna Lucas with Julie Rusk • Season 1 • Episode 11

In this week's episode, I am super lucky to have the opportunity to speak with/geek out with Julie Rusk on all things related to community wellbeing. Julie has spent her career working within and between organizations, including a significant period of time within local government in Santa Monica, California. Her rich experiences anchor our conversation as we explore together the importance of partnership and collaboration for meaningful systems change. Julie broadens our perspective of wellbeing, touching on the importance of things like education, affordable housing, racial equity, and more. She highlights the critical work of building bridges between these different components to create the conditions for sustainable wellbeing for all.

Julie is a strategic leader focused on social impact partnerships leading towards equity and wellbeing for all. After three decades in local government and nonprofit leadership positions, in July 2020 Julie co-founded Civic Wellbeing Partners, a startup project designed to advance and spread wellbeing leadership and practices.

Prior to founding Civic Wellbeing Partners, Julie led the City of Santa Monica's award winning work to define, measure and actively improve community wellbeing including Santa Monica’s wellbeing index. Prior to this, Julie developed and led the City’s Human Services which included a diverse portfolio of social, health, cultural, education, affordable housing, recreation, and placemaking initiatives.

I invite you to check out Julie's website to learn more about her work with the Civic Wellbeing Partners. You may also read more about the microgrant project as well as the mapping collective wellbeing project, and stay connected with @cityofwellbeing on Instagram.