Webinar: Conducting Outreach in the African American Community
Effective outreach is about more than sharing information — it’s about connecting with people and building meaningful relationships. To successfully engage African American families, it’s crucial to understand practical strategies that center trust, cultural relevance, and responsiveness, while keeping in mind the real-world barriers families often face.
That was part of what TaVia Wooley covered in a June 4, 2026, webinar hosted by LA Best Babies Network (watch recording below). TaVia is founder and Executive Director of The EmpowerTHEM Collective, which is based in the Antelope Valley (northern Los Angeles County). The webinar was for Welcome Baby Outreach Specialists and other staff of our network’s home visiting organizations and Welcome Baby hospitals.
In this interactive session, TaVia helped the Outreach Specialists understand best practices with respect to conducting outreach and recruiting Black/African American families to participate in home visiting programs.
Drawing on both research and lived experience, TaVia emphasized that successful outreach begins with understanding the historical, social, and structural factors that influence how families interact with service systems.
Families who miss appointments, stop responding to calls, or decline services are frequently navigating barriers that extend far beyond a lack of interest, including:
- Systemic racism and discrimination
- Historical and ongoing medical mistrust
- Negative experiences with institutions and service systems
- Transportation challenges
- Childcare responsibilities
- Housing instability
- Inflexible program schedules and service hours
TaVia emphasized that services are most effective when they reflect the language, values, experiences, and priorities of the communities they serve.
By approaching families with curiosity instead of assumptions, honoring lived experience, reducing barriers, and designing culturally relevant services, providers can create stronger relationships and more equitable outcomes.
TaVia adds that successful outreach is not about persuading families to participate. It is about creating conditions where families feel respected, understood, and supported … so they want to participate.
Watch the recording, and don’t miss the links to related resources below:
About the presenter
TaVia Wooley is a visionary leader, storyteller, and changemaker committed to building systems of equity, creativity, and belonging through community collaboration.
She is the founder and executive director of EmpowerTHEM Collective, a systems-change organization established in 2021 to address root causes of inequity such as systemic racism, economic injustice, and maternal health disparities across Los Angeles County. Under TaVia’s leadership, EmpowerTHEM Collective has become a driving force for community transformation through its five pillars, Policy, Economic Empowerment, Advocacy, Research, and Leadership (PEARL) empowering women, families, and youth to create sustainable change.
Some of TaVia’s proudest work includes co-creating a transformative model for maternal and infant health with an incredible team of women, work that has helped shape the MotherBoard and deepen community-driven solutions across Los Angeles County. As co-lead of the P&A Leadership Council, she has helped advance the role of lived experience in advocacy spaces, supporting individuals with firsthand knowledge of inequity to bring their wisdom, heartbreak, and hope into systems that too often silence them.
TaVia’s work in maternal health is deeply personal. After losing her infant son at birth, she turned her grief into purpose and power, helping to fuel the African American Infant and Maternal Mortality (AAIMM) Prevention Initiative in the Antelope Valley. Her commitment to elevating Black maternal experiences and honoring the sacredness of Black motherhood continues to drive her mission and healing-centered leadership.
In 2025, TaVia expanded her vision by launching The 661 Creators Space, a Black centering collaborative studio and cultural hub in the Antelope Valley. The space was designed to cultivate creativity, entrepreneurship, and storytelling among local artists, innovators, and social entrepreneurs. It serves as both a physical and creative home for collaboration—where art, culture, and community meet to inspire impact.
Whether she is developing programs, leading teams, or creating platforms for collective expression, TaVia’s work centers the belief that storytelling, community care, and system change are essential tools for liberation.