Feminist Health Practice in Reproductive Rights and Eating Disorders with COLOR Latina and Nourished Colorado

Dr. Alena Wolflink received a Community-Engaged (CE) Teaching grant to support her winter 2026 class, Feminist Political Thought, which partnered with the nonprofit organizations COLOR Latina and Nourished Colorado. COLOR is a Denver-based reproductive justice organization focused on cultivating political power among Latina communities, while Nourished Colorado is an outpatient eating disorder treatment center that takes a weight-inclusive, justice-oriented approach to health. The course explored questions about gender, embodiment, autonomy, and political agency.

I designed this community-engaged project to guide students in putting questions about gender and health equity into conversation with community engagement and advocacy. Feminist political thought often emphasizes how power affects individual and community health, and students are eager to connect their experiences of gendered oppression with the political theories they read in this course. But I also wanted them to think more deeply about how gendered cultural norms interact with medical care and discourses about health and bodies, and to connect with perspective on these intersections outside of their personal experiences. 

Our community-engaged work consisted of in-class workshops and practice in political advocacy. First, representatives from both organizations visited the class to lead interactive workshops. With COLOR, an organization focused on cultivating opportunity and defending reproductive rights, by and for Latinas in Colorado, students learned about direct political advocacy. Students learned about the history of reproductive justice organizing in Colorado, as well as ongoing legislative efforts around immigrant healthcare access and reproductive rights. Students also developed practical advocacy skills, including how to write testimony and communicate effectively with policymakers. With Nourished Colorado, an outpatient eating disorder treatment and nutritional information center, students examined the political dimensions of eating disorders and diet culture, including how ideas about health and body size are shaped by racism, gender norms, and economic inequality. These sessions introduced students to intuitive eating and weight-inclusive approaches to care, while also encouraging them to think about the broader social determinants of health.

After these workshops, students completed a community-engaged project in partnership with one of the two organizations. Students working with COLOR designed and carried out lobbying campaigns related to immigrant rights and healthcare access. Some participated in lobbying meetings with policymakers, while others submitted verbal or written testimony to support bills aimed at protecting immigrant healthcare access. Some students also produced op-eds and advocacy letters addressing state healthcare programs such as “Cover All Coloradans.” Several students drew on personal experience to craft testimony in support of immigrant communities, translating the course’s emphasis on structural analysis into compelling and accessible public arguments.

Students partnering with Nourished Colorado developed campus-based public awareness campaigns focused on eating disorders. These projects took a range of forms, from informational flyers and tabling events to more interactive installations designed to engage peers in conversation. One student, for instance, created an interactive mirror installation that invited students to write affirmations while engaging with materials challenging the assumption that health is visible or reducible to body size. Other groups hosted panels or tabled on campus to distribute resources and facilitate conversations, inviting passersby to reflect on how everyday language about bodies can reinforce stigma. Across these projects, students worked to correct misinformation, broaden awareness about who is affected by eating disorders, and provide accessible resources for support.

Across both tracks, students produced work that they described as transformative and exciting, contributed to their partner organizations by sharing insights about campus culture, offering perspectives on how students understand health, body image, and political participation. By the end of the quarter, many students expressed a stronger sense of political efficacy and empathy, and a clearer understanding of practical progress can be made on feminist projects.