Hello! My name is Jalah Clayton and I serve as the Director of Innovation and Capacity Building here at Care Share. The second Friday of the month are some of my favorite days as I get to come together with our group of partners in the NC Collaborative for Medicaid Transformation meetings, an initiative that I support organizing at Care Share.
After a little over a year with the organization, one thing I can say I appreciate about serving a statewide nonprofit is that working remotely allows our organization to have a broad reach across the state and gives me the opportunity to work in a location that is close to my family and loved ones. Charlotte, North Carolina is my hometown, so I’m grateful to be near family and many of the communities that raised me.
7:30 am – My alarm goes off and I start my morning with a 5-10 minute mindfulness meditation on gratitude, and prayer. I do some light stretches to wake up my body and mind for the day.
8:30 am – After answering any quick emails from my phone while I get breakfast ready (today breakfast is ginger tea, a clementine, a bagel with cream cheese and a protein shake), I get set up at my work spot.
10:00 am – It’s time to begin the NC COMeT meeting! In today’s meeting, we’re hearing from Quantified Ventures. We’re excited to learn from this group and discover if there are ways that our partners can collaborate!
11:30 am – Start the process of uploading the meeting recording, notes and highlights from the discussion on our website, where we have a designated page for NC COMeT. I also then send a thank you and follow up email to our guests before quickly jumping onto an introduction call with a CBO.
12:00 pm – The call went great and I’m excited to explore ways to support our new CBO partners’ ability to serve their community through our Equity+ Network. Now it’s time for lunch!
Usually I try to cook something quick for a midday mindfulness and screen break. This allows me to be more present when I’m returning from lunch. Today it’s Friday though so I had lunch while I caught an episode of a show on Netflix. I bring my brain back to get ready for the next meeting with a brisk 5 minute walk outside.
1:00 pm – I join the NC Get Covered meeting. The presenter, Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy, talked about improper Medicaid terminations, so it’s helpful information to make sure I’m aware of to direct our partners to the right resources.
2:30 pm – I join our internal strategic plan check-in meeting. Our organization developed a new strategic plan last year and since we’ve officially adopted it this year, we check in on our measures to see how we’re reaching our targets and adjust if necessary.
3:30 pm – I use my tablet to tune in to the live stream for the hooding ceremony of one of my sorority sisters, while I work on a one-pager document to accompany a program proposal for a future initiative of Care Share.
4:30 pm – Off to the weekend! I’m kicking it off with a run since it’s sunny and warm outside.
Want to hear more from Jalah? Listen to the first episode of our Equity+ Podcast, where she and the rest of our staff discuss about how our lived experiences with equitable healthcare and White supremacy culture affects our work.
