Saffiyah Poole, MPH, MHA

Social Impact Strategist

Saffiyah Poole is a strategic, big-picture, relationship builder with comprehensive experience in building diverse and strategic partnerships to amplify the needs of communities to promote and sustain equitable outcomes. Her history of public speaking, training and facilitation, community engagement, strategic planning, and program management, coupled with her adaptability and passion for relationship building, makes her a valuable Social Impact Strategist for Key Strategic Group. 

Saffiyah’s personal and professional passions are focused on creating equitable health and social outcomes for those at the margin.

In addition, Saffiyah has worked as a Senior Coordinator for Health, Equity, & Quality Outcomes at BJC HealthCare, where she collected, analyzed, and interpreted patient population data for potential disparities in health outcomes for the purpose of continuous quality improvement and establishment of best practices. She also collaborated on the development of policies and procedures and key initiatives related to cultural competency, health literacy, and inclusion. In addition, Saffiyah worked closely with the Marketing and Communications department to ensure cultural responsiveness and alignment with the target population. She steered cross-sector community partnership development and collaborative efforts to bring needed education, services, and resources to the internal workforce and external community members. She provided strategic insight to identify, plan, execute, and measure community and/or employee-facing events. She also developed reports and presentations for executive leadership and cross-coordinated internal employee volunteer service projects to benefit community needs.

At the Susan G. Komen Foundation, Saffiyah was a Community Programs Manager where she led community engagement and program implementation efforts in St. Louis, MO, and Chicago, IL markets to ensure efforts were aligned to support the overall program goal to reduce breast cancer disparities by 25% for Black women.

She collaborated cross-functionally to review and select RFPs for contracting services and funding opportunities. She identified cross-sector key stakeholders important to advancing breast health equity and coordinated and facilitated stakeholder meetings and collaborations to ensure alignment and achievement of project goals and outcomes. She also captured and input community outreach data into designated systems to support evaluation and implementation reporting efforts.

At Washington University in St. Louis, Saffiyah developed and implemented the strategic vision and mission of the Policy Institute, determined and solidified strategic partnerships, and was responsible for monitoring the diversity of the funding streams and incoming revenue. She provided oversight and leadership around the management of Institute partnerships and projects to ensure that work is well planned and successfully executed on time and within scope and budget. Saffiyah also contributed to the Steering Committee for Community Partnerships to support sustainable community-based initiatives and collaborated with the Assistant Dean for Community Partnerships to identify opportunities for research, policy, and practice partnerships within priority areas in greater St. Louis. She also guided and project-managed all marketing and communications content and served as a supervisor for graduate practicum students. Saffiyah led and co-developed community listening sessions to guide equitable policy agenda and recommendations.

Saffiyah’s skills include strategic planning, stakeholder engagement, project management, public speaking, training and facilitation, and program management. Her achievements include being a Focus St. Louis Emerging Leader Alumni (2019) and a St. Louis Regional Business Council Leadership 100 Inductee (2021).

KEY EXPERIENCES

St. Louis Integrated Health Network

Key Strategic Group and St. Louis Integrated Health Network (IHN) co-designed a powerful strategic plan, a cornerstone achievement in our comprehensive engagement. This transformative project encompassed a landscape analysis, a stakeholder engagement report, and the development of a robust strategic plan. The resulting plan furnishes IHN’s leadership with valuable, evidence-based insights and a clear roadmap for growth, enabling them to enhance healthcare services and make a positive impact within the community. Our partnership has positioned IHN for continued success and leadership in the dynamic healthcare landscape.

Barnes Jewish Hospital

Developed and delivered diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) adult learning programs for 10,000 BJH and BJC team members. Facilitated new employee orientation for over 1,500 team members annually. Researched and implemented best practices for DEI adult learning. Managed $75,000 multi-partnership annual Diversity Week. Cultivated relationships with diversity and inclusion professionals on the Washington University Medical Campus. Co-Chaired Operations Subcommittee for Campus Council on Equity and Inclusion. Co-Chaired Forward Through Ferguson Subcommittee to review internal policies through a racial equity lens. Served as dedicated liaison for Sexual Orientation Gender Identity workgroup to implement LGBTQ+ best practices into electronic medical records.

BJC Healthcare

Collected, analyzed, and interpreted patient population data for potential disparities in health outcomes for the purpose of continuous quality improvement and establishment of best practices. Collaborated on the development of policies and procedures and key initiatives related to cultural competency, health literacy, and inclusion. Worked closely with the Marketing and Communications department to ensure cultural responsiveness and alignment with the target population. Steered cross-sector community partnership development and collaborative efforts to bring needed education, services, and resources to the internal workforce and external community members. Provided strategic insight to identify, plan, execute, and measure community and/or employee-facing events. Developed reports and presentations for executive leadership and cross-coordinated internal employee volunteer service projects to benefit community needs.

Susan G. Komen Foundation

Led community engagement and program implementation efforts in St. Louis, MO, and Chicago, IL markets to ensure efforts were aligned to support the overall program goal to reduce breast cancer disparities by 25% for Black women. Collaborated cross-functionally to review and select RFPs for contracting services and funding opportunities. Identified cross-sector key stakeholders important to advancing breast health equity and coordinated and facilitated stakeholder meetings and collaborations to ensure alignment and achievement of project goals and outcomes. Captured and input community outreach data into designated systems to support evaluation and implementation reporting efforts.

Washington University

Developed and implemented the strategic vision and mission of the Clark-Fox Policy Institute, determined and solidified strategic partnerships, and was responsible for monitoring the diversity of the funding streams and incoming revenue. 

Provided oversight and leadership around the management of Institute partnerships and projects to ensure that work is well planned and successfully executed on time and within scope and budget. Served as a thought partner to the Steering Committee for Community Partnerships to support sustainable community-based initiatives and collaborated with the Assistant Dean for Community Partnerships to identify opportunities for research, policy, and practice partnerships within priority areas in greater St. Louis. Guided and project-managed all marketing and communications content and served as a supervisor for graduate practicum students. Saffiyah led and co-developed community listening sessions to guide equitable policy agenda and recommendations for policy recommendations regarding paid family leave. 

Washington University School of Medicine

Managed over 50 annual program activities related to Outreach and Education for the National Cancer Institute (NCI) U54 grant aimed at reducing cancer disparities among under-served, under-insured, and uninsured populations. Co-developed processes to ensure the proper delivery of evidence-based, NCI-consistent messaging in underserved communities and functioned as primary liaison between Cancer Center Outreach and National Outreach Network for project/programmatic issues. Prepared and facilitated internal and external meetings, collected and evaluated data, developed project metrics, and assisted in overseeing program finances.