Building Community Solutions: Owning the Narrative
Register now. Limited spots available.
Each year, HealthSpark brings community together for our annual Community of Practice - a powerful gathering where connection sparks collaboration and ideas turn into action. This is more than an event. It’s an intentional space designed to connect partners, foster learning, and shine a light on both the challenges and successes shaping our community.
In one room, you’ll find community partners, advocates, nonprofits, government representatives, business leaders, funders, and policymakers - united by a shared commitment in advancing healthy, equitable, and hopeful communities throughout Montgomery County.
Following our gatherings focused on Community Power and Community Leadership, we invite you to attend Building Community Solutions: Owning the Narrative, reflective of our third strategic goal.
Join us for a powerful day of insight as community leaders share perspectives and real-world experiences - from community safety in the wake of immigration enforcement to youth leadership to affordable housing. We’ll uplift the power of advocacy, honor lived experience, and celebrate the collective efforts shaping our community’s future.
Our Event Schedule
Opening Plenary Panel: Voices On Protecting Our Communities
We’re honored to welcome Sheriff Ceisler and Sheriff Kilkenny, joined by partners and grantees Centro de Cultura, Arte, Trabajo y Educación (CCATE) and The Welcome Project, for our opening plenary panel conversation “Voices Protecting Our Communities.” This panel will explore how nonprofit organizations and government partners can work together to promote safety and wellbeing for residents, with a particular focus on immigrant communities.
Panelists will discuss practical strategies for strengthening community safety, dispel myths, and identify concrete actions that organizations and individuals can take to support inclusive and secure neighborhoods. The conversation will also create space to share the real-life impacts that immigration enforcement has on families, communities, and local institutions, helping ground policy discussions in lived experience.
Meet the Speakers
Sheriff Danny Ceisler is an experienced public safety leader who has served our community and nation in combat zones, courtrooms, and capitols.
Danny joined the United States Army when he was 18 years old. In 2016, he earned a Bronze Star while serving with a Special Operations Counter-Terrorism Task Force in Afghanistan. He is a veteran of three Crisis Management Teams at the Pentagon, including a six-month assignment in 2020 coordinating COVID response. He currently serves as a Captain in the Army Reserve.
As an attorney, Danny focused on representing victims of corporate greed and sexual violence. In his most significant case, he successfully represented over 75 law enforcement officers who were shot by their own holstered pistols because an international firearms manufacturer failed to include a critical safety feature in their sidearms.
Danny served as senior public safety official in Governor Shapiro’s administration. In that role, he spearheaded the Governor’s strategic initiatives to improve emergency response and recovery in Pennsylvania.
An active member in the Bucks County community, Danny is a co-owner of a brewery and pub in Bristol Borough, a volunteer with Bristol’s Third District Volunteer Fire Company, and a catcher in the BuxMont Men’s Baseball League. He resides in Bristol Borough with his wonderful wife, Helen.
Sean P. Kilkenny was elected in 2015 and re-elected in 2019 and 2023 as the 67th Sheriff of Montgomery County. Since taking office in 2016, Sheriff Kilkenny modernized the office with initiatives focused on transparency, innovation, diversity and professionalism. In addition to his elected position, Sheriff Kilkenny is the managing partner of Kilkenny Law. Sheriff Kilkenny has served as a trustee at Montgomery County Community College and President of the Pennsylvania Sheriff’s Association. He was also appointed to the Juvenile Court Procedural Rules Committee by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
Sheriff Kilkenny is a graduate of the Pennsylvania State University Sheriff and Deputy Sheriff Training Program holds a master's degree in strategic studies from the U.S. Army War College. His civilian education includes a master’s degree of public administration from the University of South Carolina, a law degree from Temple University, and a bachelor’s degree from Villanova University.
Sheriff Kilkenny is a proud Veteran, having served his country as an officer on both active duty and in the Army Reserves for more than two decades, retiring as a lieutenant colonel. He began his military career as a paratrooper and federal prosecutor in the Judge Advocate General Corps. He served overseas in Bosnia, Iraq, Kosovo, and South Korea. He resides in Jenkintown with his wife and two daughters.
Obed Arango Hisijara is a Latin American citizen of Mexican origin—a photographer, film documentarian, social anthropologist, liberation theologian, social leader, and university professor. He is the founder and executive director of the Center for Culture, Art, Work, and Education (CCATE), a nonprofit organization established in 2011 and based in the greater Philadelphia area, Pennsylvania. CCATE’s mission is “to drive change and social transformation through the talents of the Latino and immigrant community, at the intersection of education, art, culture, technology, health, social justice, and environmental sciences.”
Since 2018, Obed has served as a part-time lecturer at the School of Public Policy at the University of Pennsylvania, where he teaches Qualitative Research courses and focuses on community-based action research and visual anthropology techniques. His primary anthropological research theme is “The Immigrant Village.”
Heidi Roux immigrated to the US during the civil war in her home country of El Salvador. She grew up in Washington, DC and became a US citizen after the age of 18. She holds a Master’s in Business Administration from Northern Arizona University where she explored social entrepreneurship and the importance of nonprofit work. Heidi began volunteering for Immigrant Rights Action and became its first paid Executive Director. In 2025, she oversaw the merger of Immigrant Rights Action with the larger nonprofit The Welcome Project PA. Her current role is as Director of Immigrant Justice. Heidi's lived experience as an immigrant, along with her desire to uplift others, fuels her passion and dedication to this work. Heidi and her husband Miles enjoy living in a small farm setting with their school age son. Heidi is a volunteer administrator for the Bucks County Anti-Racism Coalition and continues to volunteer for the Bucks County BookFest.
Closing Plenary Panel - From Voice to Power: Youth Leadership as a Movement
Featuring: Liyan Alkawafhah, Assistant Director, UPenn's Middle East Center & Grad Student in Social Policy at UPenn's School of Social Policy and Practice; Jojo Dalwadi, External Affairs Department, Montgomery County; and Ethan Rodriguez, Lead - PAYCE Ambassador Program, PA Youth Vote. Moderated by: Jarrett Lash, Director of Planning for Upper Merion Township and 14th U.S. Youth Observer to the UN
Youth voice is not just a moment—it’s a movement. Across communities, workplaces, and civic spaces, emerging leaders are stepping forward with clarity, purpose, and a deep commitment to change. They are not only sharing their perspectives—they are shaping conversations, influencing decisions, and redefining what leadership looks like today.
This panel explores how youth voice grows from expression into real influence. What does it take to move from being heard to having impact? How do lived experiences become a source of leadership and power?
Join us for a dynamic conversation on how youth are driving meaningful, lasting change—and what it takes to turn perspective into progress.
Explore Our Breakout Sessions
Building Bridges: Standing With Our Immigrant Neighbors
Supporting immigrant communities begins with a commitment to understanding diverse experiences. Join nonprofit leaders, community organizers, and advocates as they share strategies for strengthening community partnerships, elevating lived experiences, and fostering inclusive spaces where everyone belongs. This panel will explore how thoughtful engagement and collaboration can advance immigrant rights while building stronger, more connected communities.
Featuring: Josh Blakesley, Executive Director, The Welcome Project; Mel Lee, Executive Director, Woori Center; Ashley Ortiz Ruiz, Undergraduate Student, Ursinus College; and Nataly Torres-Miron, Undergraduate Student, Ursinus College. Moderator: TBA
Holding Space: Wellbeing, Vulnerability, and Care in Challenging Times
In a moment when so many people are feeling stretched, overwhelmed, and uncertain, conversations about wellbeing feel more important than ever. This panel creates space to reflect on what it really means to care for ourselves and one another—not just in theory, but in practice.
Together, our panelists will explore how we lean into self-care and vulnerability during difficult times. What does it look like to show up honestly when things are hard? How do we build resilience without losing our humanity? And how can care—personal, communal, and spiritual—become a source of strength rather than another task on the list?
Featuring: Mydera Robinson, Executive Director, Theatre Horizon and Councilwoman at Large, Norristown; and Sherry Wherry, CEO/Founder of Wherry Consultations, Director of Mission Initiative, YWCA TriCounty Area, and Trauma-Informed Coalition Coordinator, Bucks-Mont Collaborative.
Making Affordable Housing Work — Local Action and Cross-Sector Solutions
Addressing the need for affordable housing takes more than action from local government—it requires coordination across sectors. This session brings together perspectives from lending, consulting, and community-based development models to explore how zoning, permitting, and local policies can either support or slow progress.Panelists will share practical, real-world examples from the local level, including public-private partnerships, community-driven strategies, and innovative models such as community land trusts that preserve long-term affordability. The conversation will also examine persistent challenges—such as regulatory barriers, access to capital, and land constraints—and how stronger cross-sector collaboration can help overcome them.
Featuring: Tracy Purdy, Executive Director, Mosaic Land Trust; Angie Williamson, Executive Director, Jumpstart Germantown and Jumpstart Philly; additional speakers TBA. Moderated by: Wyatt Schroeder, Executive Director, Hemlock & Forge
Speak Up, Be Heard: How Advocacy Makes a Difference
Advocacy is more than a strategy—it’s the heartbeat of community change. Join panelists as they share how individuals and organizations can influence policies, amplify community voices, and create tangible impact. Through compelling stories and practical insights, panelists will highlight how advocacy has shaped programs and strengthened local communities.
Featuring: Douglas Eschbach, Executive Director, Generations of Indian Valley; Blessing Osazuwa, Case Manager, Family Promise Montco PA; additional speakers TBA. Moderated by: Correne Kristiansen, Collaborative Advocacy Network Coordinator, Bucks-Mont Collaborative