OurHealth

Last updated on Feb 18, 2009


OUR STORY

OurHealth, LLC is a digital health media company.  As a company created by women of color, for women if color, OurHealth strives to provide products, services, and programs that appeal to women in a voice and format that resonates and motivates.

The company is a source for black women, organizations and private companies seeking culturally relevant health information that is comprehensive, reliable, and easy to understand. 

 

Despite the advances made in medicine, African-American women still suffer from higher rates of mortality from diseases- such as breast cancer and heart disease- more than any other group of women. This does not have to be our burden. We, as the founders, consider ourselves social entrepreneurs and believe that health disparities can be decreased, if not eliminated, if women of color have a platform to voice their concerns, share their challenges and benefit from the health experiences of others. 

And so, ourhealthourlives.com, the health and wellness network for black women, was born. The web site is best described as "WebMD meets FaceBook" and is a forum for women to discuss questions, concerns, and triumphs related to health and wellness. Health information provided on the site is created or edited by the OurHealth Writing Team which is comprised of the founders of OurHealth, LLC. Comments and discussions, however, are generated by the members of the web community. Recognizing that it takes a village to accomplish the most rewarding of goals, our hope is that the virtual village created on ourhealthourlives.com will be a start in the goal to improve the health status of women of color everywhere.


OUR FOUNDERS

Erika Evans-Weaver, MA: Erika brings a wealth of knowledge and understanding of psychology and human behavior to her work at OurHealth. She currently has a private practice in Marriage and Family Therapy and serves as an Adjunct Professor at local Universities in Pennsylvania. A well respected mental health professional, Erika has been employed as a Marriage and Family Therapist, Quality Assurance Director, and Clinical Specialist for a number of social service agencies in the Philadelphia area and is pursuing her doctoral degree at Widener University for Human Sexuality. In these positions, Erika has found her passion for helping others become more aware of who they are as well as who they want to become. This occurs via individual/couples/group counseling modalities. Erika is excited to work with diverse populations in a multitude of professional settings as an educator, a clinician and an advocate for positive change, positive sexual habits, and a healthy life. Her passion for living life is as infectious as her passion for identifying what would help others to become their best selves.
Email Erika at eweaver@ourhealthourlives.com


Nicole Farmer, MD: Nicole brings to OurHealth her wealth of knowledge in the fields of medicine and clinical research. Her commitment to a career in community health began as a teenage community HIV awareness and Health Education Counselor. She went on to obtain a bachelors degree in Genetics and Molecular Biology from the University of Maryland and then proudly completed her medical degree at Howard University College of Medicine. As a clinical research fellow at The National Institutes of Health she conducted research on diabetes and cardiovascular health in African-Americans and has been published in major scientific journals. Her interest in clinical medicine brought her to complete her residency in internal medicine at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, in Philadelphia, PA the town where she was born and raised. Dr. Farmer is now a resident of the Washington, DC area and currently holds a coveted faculty position at one of the nation’s leading medical institutions. Her passion for her family and friends is as strong as her passion for improving the health of communities of color.
Email Nicole at nfarmer@ourhealthourlives.com

Karen Cherfils, MPH: With a Bachelor’s degree in Biology, and a Master’s degree in Public Health, Karen brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in health, and health disparities as well as an understanding of cultural competency to her work at OurHealth. Karen Cherfils has a gift for distilling the essence of a thought into clear, crisp, and concise prose, which she utilizes as a New York-based freelance copy editor for a variety of health-related projects; including the Brooklyn Community Resource Directory she designed, edited, and published for New York City’s Department of Health, Healthy Start Program. Prior to starting her freelance career, Karen partnered with Planned Parenthood Southeastern Pennsylvania (PPSP) to provide them with critical data about the sexual health risks and needs of system-involved youth in Pennsylvania, and the capability of juvenile justice professionals to respond, in order to assist PPSP in its efforts to provide sexuality training to professionals in the juvenile justice system in Pennsylvania. Her passion for salsa (the dance and the sauce) is as infectious as her passion for creating perfect prose. 

Email Karen at kcherfils@ourhealthourlives.com