GEAR Groups

Generate, Educate, Activate, Respond (GEAR) Groups are peer-to-peer learning events for state, territorial, and tribal chronic disease professionals. Join the next GEAR Group to expand your knowledge, get ideas for your public health work, develop leadership skills, and network with your peers.

About GEAR Groups

Generate, Educate, Activate, Respond (GEAR) Groups are topic-based virtual communities of practice that use an all teach, all learn approach to professional development. This approach encourages participants to share their own knowledge and get new ideas from other participants.

Take Your Project to the Next Level

Whether your work is focused on diabetes, nutrition, brain health, or cancer, GEAR Groups are a great way to advance your work. GEAR Groups provide participants with dedicated time to focus on a project of their choice

Participants benefit from peer networking, cross-functional learning, and expert advice. Over the course of four weeks, you will get feedback from a captive audience and share your knowledge with other participants. Each Group includes didactic presentations that will help you refine your approach to your work.

Upcoming GEAR Groups

Effective Communication and Messaging in
Chronic Disease Programming
Clearly conveying important information about or within public health programming is critical to impacting health outcomes. Whether promoting a program, communicating with participants, or building buy-in among key stakeholders, packaging and storytelling are paramount to the overall success of programs. The cases that participants will bring to this group will feature ongoing or planned efforts around chronic disease program communication and messaging.
Group Meetings: August 2025
Registration: Open

Check back for fall Groups.

“The GEAR Group experience is of course a great opportunity to learn about and from other states and their work. More than that, however, it is an exciting environment in which to drive each other to push the thought and action boundaries. Having dedicated time and atmosphere in which to do some critical thinking is invaluable.”
Jennica Allen, MPH
Community Health Planning and Engagement Specialist, Massachusetts Department of Public Health

GEAR Group Format

Participants prepare for their first GEAR Group meeting by completing a questionnaire about their own work. During Group meetings, participants will present their questionnaire, receive feedback from other participants, and provide feedback on their peers’ work. These group discussions require pre-meeting work and active participation.

Each Group is led by two NACDD representatives who help participants explore important chronic disease topics. Up to ten people can participate in a GEAR Group. Participants will meet four times: one 90-minute meeting per week for four weeks. 

New Groups are offered throughout the year. Past GRAR Groups have explored topics like:

  • Strategies to advance rural health
  • Building partnerships to address chronic disease
  • Prevention through early care and education centers

Careers at NACDD

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