National Nonprofit Announces New Name: ChangeLab Solutions

Creating Law and Policy Innovation for the Common Good

OAKLAND, Calif., May 17, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Public Health Law & Policy, a national nonprofit established in 1998 to create law and policy innovation for the common good, announced today that it has a new name: ChangeLab Solutions.

"Our new name better reflects the unique, transformative work we do to help make neighborhoods more livable," said Marice Ashe, JD, MPH, founder and chief executive officer of ChangeLab Solutions.

ChangeLab Solutions stands apart from other public policy organizations with a staff that includes attorneys, city planners, architects, community organizers, financial analysts, and more, providing training and one-on-one support to city and state leaders nationwide. The organization works on policies ranging from nutrition, physical activity, and tobacco control to land use, housing, transportation, and economic development.

"Improving health requires good laws and policies that link housing, education, jobs, and the environment to healthy outcomes," said Ashe. "Many communities lack these fundamental capacities. We can change that."

Some of ChangeLab Solutions' strategies include the following:

• Creating smoke-free housing and outdoor areas
• Limiting fast food, snack, and soda marketing to children
• Increasing healthy options at convenience stores and restaurants through local government policies and incentives
• Establishing land use and zoning policies to support walking and bicycling, increase use of public transit, and sustain community gardens and farmers' markets
• Requiring stricter standards for foods sold or provided by local government agencies
• Imposing state and local soda taxes to promote public health efforts

"We believe achieving the common good means everyone has safe places to live and play, clean air indoors and out, healthy food, and plenty of opportunities to bike, walk, or take transit," Ashe said. "In too many neighborhoods, residents don't have access to these possibilities, especially in communities with the fewest resources. We're working to solve that with laws and policies that ensure lasting change."

For more information, see www.changelabsolutions.org.

Contact: Genie Gratto
Communications Director
ChangeLab Solutions
(510) 302-3382
[email protected]

SOURCE ChangeLab Solutions