5 minute read
Brianna Chesteen
Story By: C. M. Schmidlkofer
While most 8-year-old girls were hosting tea parties for their dolls, Brianna Chesteen had already made a very grown-up commitment to help others achieve and maintain good health in her community.
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Noticing her family members struggle with chronic health issues such as diabetes, high blood pressure and breast cancer, she had become impassioned with the idea of providing a health education center for minorities – and told her mother about her desire one day on the way to school.
“I wanted to know why, and if I can help my family maintain a healthier lifestyle,” she said.
“That one question sparked my interest in pursuing a career in public health and education.”
-Brianna Chesteen
She held to her dream, moving from her hometown in Ocala at age 17 to Gainesville to attend Santa Fe College, achieving her Associate’s Degree in Health Science in 2013, followed by a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Health in 2015 at the University of South Florida in Tampa.
To better understand the relationship between health and behavior and how psychology might be applied to effective health education and wellness programs using a holistic health approach, Chesteen obtained a Master’s Degree in Health Education and Behavior from the University of Florida in Gainesville in 2017.
At that point she worked within the Eastside of Gainesville community as a volunteer on research projects specializing in HIV. Her goal was to learn first-hand of the struggles Alachua County residents faced in order to create health education programs specific to their unique needs.
In August 2019, her dream of opening a non-profit holistic center, specifically for minorities, came to fruition when
ONE OF OUR GOALS AT THE CENTER IS TO
-Brianna Chesteen
she founded the Health Education and Training Center of Gainesville, Inc. which serves those in East Gainesville. This is an area, Chesteen says, that experiences limited transportation, health education and healthier food option resources.
“One of our goals at the center is to educate the community on how to maintain a healthier lifestyle through overall holistic health, which focuses on the mind, body, and spirit,” she said.
“All of our classes are geared toward recognizing the different elements of health, and how to experience health holistically.”
Chesteen’s team started teaching health and wellness classes out of the Library Partnership and the Headquarters Library in Gainesville, but today online learnings are the norm.
H.E.A.T. is designed to help bridge the gap between health education and accessibility to resources within the rural side of the community, offering live-streaming and pre-recorded classes online during convenient afterwork hours taught remotely by volunteer instructors from all over the world at affordable prices for individual and group rates. Some offerings are free.
Wellness planning, cooking classes, group grocery shopping events, exercise plans, nutritional goal setting, yoga and meditation are some of the many offerings. Guest speakers are invited from within the community they serve to provide discussionbased classes on sexual health, physical and mental health as well as diabetes/ high blood pressure management, resume writing, career planning and more. New topics are offered each week.
“The goals that we have set are individual and tailored to each class we teach,” she said.
“However, our company’s goals are tailored to the center. The goals we have set for the center have influenced me to create leadership goals. I have goals that include sponsorship, maintaining relationship with our sponsors, and team management goals. These goals that I have set have encouraged me to maintain structure within our organization and team management.”
Flexibility, adaptability and the ability to engage stakeholders are the most vital skills she found necessary in her role as founder and CEO.
“In order to maintain any non- profit organization, managing stakeholders and engaging them within the decision-making process is the most valuable aspect of maintaining a non-profit and building a solid relationship with the community,” she said.
Her journey has taught her perseverance, patience and dedication are the keys to resolving problems and achieving success. “I would advise anyone who would like to start a non-profit to thoroughly engage stakeholders, and to conduct a needs assessment to examine the needs of the population that you are serving, which will allow you to tailor your program or services you are offering toward your target population.”
The goals she has set for the center include creating leadership and team management roles and maintaining relationship with sponsors. “I believe this year has been my saving grace, which has molded me into stepping fully into the leadership role. I have taken a leap of faith and have decided to fully support the center as a full-time staff member. This year has taught me to step out of my comfort zone and to take calculated risks to make room for transformation. This year has changed my perspective on how I see the world in terms of change within my environment. I have learned to embrace change and to understand that without change I would not be able to grow.”
Chesteen believes her greatest accomplishment is knowing H.E.A.T. has touched many lives over the course of a year. This is evident by the company’s popularity on Instagram and Facebook and the number of participants in its offerings.
“We are accomplishing our marketing goals that we had planned for three years in less than one year, and that has been a blessing and accomplishment for the center. By accomplishing this goal, it has encouraged me to continue to collaborate with other small businesses to help bridge the gap between health education and the accessibility of community resources.”
Chesteen says none of this would have been possible without the support and inspiration of her mother, Shannon Williams, a single mother of three who is currently furthering her own education by pursuing a Master’s Degree while working full-time and raising Chesteen’s younger siblings.
It was her mother to whom she confided her childhood dreams of serving minorities in her community by offering health services and it was her mother who Chesteen says paved the way for success with encouragement and setting an example for her to follow.
“I am truly inspired by her resiliency and her motivation to strive for success no matter her circumstances,” she said.
“My mother has shown resiliency amongst the adversaries she has faced and has maintained professionalism. My mother is a great example of resiliency, motivation and determination.”
