2025 IIMS Community Engagement Symposium

Welcome to the 2025 IIMS Community Engagement Symposium! Deep Roots, Resilient Voices, and Collective Action through Community-Academic Partnerships in Health Research

Join us for a day filled with insightful discussions, networking opportunities, and community building. This event will take place on Saturday, November 8, 2025 at 3014 Rivas Street, San Antonio, TX 78228. Get ready to engage with like-minded individuals who are passionate about making a positive impact in our communities.

Spanish interpretation services available onsite.

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Topic: Deep Roots, Resilient Voices, and Collective Action through Community-Academic Partnerships in Health Research

Scientific translation describes the process of taking research discoveries from basic lab science, to clinical practice, and into community interventions for public health benefit. Community engagement is essential across these stages, helping identify relevant health priorities and ensuring research is applied in ways that are practical, accepted, and effective.

Goal

Our goal is to engage the community, faculty, and students in conversations about health research, building capacity for community-campus partnerships, showcasing current projects, and fostering future collaborations.

To achieve this, the CE Symposium will support the following aims:

1. Providing spaces and tools for community members and researchers to share stories, priorities, and experiences that shape health and well-being.

2. Building and maintaining trust through open communication, mutual respect, and shared responsibility in all stages of the research process.

3. Ensuring that all partners - whether from the community or the university - have a meaningful role in shaping goals and making decisions together.

4. Supporting clear communication and transparency by sharing results, updates, and lessons learned in ways that are useful to the community. 

5. Highlighting real-world examples of how communities and researchers are working side by side to solve problems and create change. 

Audience

Community members, students, healthcare practitioners, and researchers interested in community-campus partnerships for health research

Plenary Speaking Team - 

- Carmen Valdez, PhD - Associate Dead of Research and Partnerships - UT San Antonio School of Public Health

- Marisa Oliva - Green Schoolyard Coordinator - Texas Children in Nature Network

- Regina Bocanegra - Youth Community Leader - Rio Grande Valley