Mission

To align community resources so everyone is empowered to achieve success.

Vision

To dramatically improve outcomes for learners of all ages on their journey from cradle to career by building the capacity of communities to address the social determinants of health, education and well-being across the Pensacola metropolitan area.

Equity & Collective Impact at the Center

We bring people together to advocate for significant improvements in key cradle to career outcomes. We support people in their efforts to close equity gaps by equipping them with the knowledge and mindsets to change systems and outcomes for their programs, services and organizations. Equity exists when race and income are no longer predictors of success, and when systems work to ensure individuals receive what they need when they need it, to develop to their fullest potential.

Connector.
Convener.
Catalyst for change.

Achieve Escambia is a collective impact partnership that organizes parents, educators, business owners, health providers, faith-based leaders, community organizers, residents, philanthropists, government employees, first responders (both civilian and military) and elected officials.

To do this, Achieve Escambia creates the space to have authentic dialogue, rooted in data and action, where the needs of children, students, families and adults are prioritized. We see equity as the recognition that the barriers marginalized people face are due to deliberate actions and biases and therefore require us to dedicate a greater amount of resources to dismantle them.

We are grateful to steward this work on behalf of the community. And we are proud of our unique role in fostering collaboration across sectors to make lasting change countywide.

How we influence change is both innovative and research-based.

We maintain a strong leadership structure that brings senior community leaders together regularly to support the work on the ground where practices must improve. We emphasize data- sharing, relationship-building, shared learning, conflict resolution, commitment to action, follow-through and continuous improvement. The alignment we build daily between practitioners, leaders and investors is built on best practices from our national partnership with StriveTogether and our state partnership with the Florida College Access Network.

We know this is not easy; if it were it would have been done a long time ago. It takes a strong, independent organization to bridge systems together, challenge the status quo and create lasting change. Achieve Escambia is building the trust to drive momentum and accelerate action in our community.

How change happens.

Data and Continuous Improvement

Achieve Escambia is building a common agenda for the future of doing good in our community by using data as a flashlight and continuous improvement as a roadmap.

Our partners at StriveTogether, the Florida College Access Network and locally are committed to learning to improve - and to get better at getting better.

Collective Action Networks organize partners around aligned goals, strategies and a common agenda, while our smaller teams target impact and improvement on the ground as they drive action toward change.

Our teams include dozens of partners from early learning through college and career training who come together with a single goal: improving the education outcomes and long-term career prospects for everyone. Together, teams:

Work with early childhood screening providers and pediatricians to ensure all infants, toddlers and children are screened for developmental milestones at every well child visit.
Organize a cross-sector group of early childhood educators, businesses and community organization on effective approaches to preparing children for school.
Tackle ways to help more students and adults access and complete the FAFSA, the No. 1 priority in affording education beyond high school.

Dear Friends,

I am honored to greet you as the new chair of the Achieve Escambia Leadership Council.

I’d like to begin by reflecting on “Achieving Equity,” the theme of this year’s community report. While the coronavirus pandemic is frequently described as unprecedented, its disproportionate toll on communities of color is no surprise. Well before COVID-19, we have known that there are long-standing racial inequities in the social determinants of health including poverty, healthcare access, nutrition, housing conditions, and more. Resulting education and health disparities date to our nation’s beginning and they impact everything from infant mortality to life expectancy. Across schools, jobs, housing, transportation, criminal justice – and certainly health care – institutional and structural racism has shaped systems that underserved people of color.

Since its inception, Achieve Escambia has stood for access and excellence. Achieve Escambia advocates for opportunities to advance individual prosperity, economic mobility, and quality of life. Having lived and worked in this area practically my entire life, I know well what Achieve Escambia desires for our community: A pathway to opportunity paved by the values of equity, inclusion, student success and innovation; to drive regional

prosperity and be a force in progress for all. Today, Achieve Escambia is being called upon to deepen and expand our commitment to the community. But more than that, to lead. Our history and these times call us to that role. We face the challenges of a worldwide pandemic, an uncertain economic climate, and the continuing reality of racial discrimination and inequitable treatment. We are in an uncharted world, where we, as leaders, have a significant responsibility to be thoughtful listeners and unwavering in our actions.

We have a responsibility to act on our pledges for equity and opportunity

Members of the Leadership Council understand that our mission connects us to a greater purpose. We have a responsibility to act on our pledges for equity and opportunity. As this report shows, we have much work to do. It will not be easy. But the silver lining of this moment is that it has made the social inequalities in our community, our region and our country so starkly visible in ways that are very difficult to deny.

There’s no simple plan that can solve the problem. This report represents a pivotal moment for Escambia County and will require commitments of staff, resources and infrastructure to foster continued momentum.

We need to dedicate the necessary resources to put equity into practice and to continue the foundational and transformative work that has been developed across the Achieve Escambia partnership.

In closing, I write this letter fully conscious that leadership organizations like Achieve Escambia cannot be neutral players in difficult discussions. As Leadership Council chair, the opportunity to steward a process that engages all sectors in our community including business, education, government, non-profits, law enforcement, judiciary, military, parents, community stakeholders, faith leaders, advocates and activists is a powerful reminder of democracy and participatory action at its inclusive best. Please join us in this journey.

I look forward to listening, learning, and growing with you as we work together to write the next chapter of impact in the story of Achieve Escambia and this community we all love.

Sincerely,

Mark T. Faulkner
Leadership Council Chair, 2020-2022
President & CEO, Baptist Health Care

Staff

Achieve Escambia is experiencing a transition phase. Please check back for updates.