Her Story
About Kim
Kim Jay serves as a Training Manager, Consultant, and Senior Community Health Worker in Chicago, Illinois, bringing 14 years of experience in community health and healthcare. Her career began as a frontline Community Health Worker specializing in asthma education and has evolved into a multifaceted leadership role focused on preparing, developing, and supporting CHWs to thrive in the field.
In her current role, Kim leads Community Health Worker trainings, consults with partner organizations on professional development, workforce integration, and effective onboarding practices, and mentors professionals through learning collaboratives that emphasize both service to community and the importance of self-care. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she played a key role in training hundreds of community members to serve as contact tracers, helping strengthen community response efforts, increase access to trusted health information, and support vaccination awareness.
Kim attributes much of her commitment to service to her strong family roots, where ministry, education, medicine, and caring for others have long been central values. That legacy continues to shape how she leads, serves, and advocates for communities today.
Her commitment extends beyond her daily work through leadership and service with professional and community networks, including the National Association of Community Health Workers, where she serves as Co-Chair; the Chicago Asthma Consortium Advisory Board; the Illinois Community Health Workers Association; and the Mayor’s Office of Equity and Racial Justice Advisory Board.
Kim also draws inspiration from those who have profoundly influenced her personal and professional journey, including her late sister, Dr. Arnella Lewis; her former supervisor, Jessica Ramsey; and her daughter, Kamille Artis. Together, their influence, along with the foundation established by her family, continues to remind her that leadership is rooted in service, purpose, and the belief that people need people.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Kim
01What do you attribute your success to?
I have to lean into the strength of my family connection and the roots from which I come. My family is filled with ministers, educators, and healthcare professionals, so service was never something we simply talked about, it was something I grew up seeing and doing.
I remember my mom and dad always encouraging us to help somebody else. As a child, I would tag along with my dad on visits to nursing homes, handing out toiletries and other necessities to residents, while also watching my mom serve others through ministry. What felt simple at the time has since revealed itself as foundational, those moments taught me that whenever you have something to give, whether it is a resource, your time, your knowledge, or simply your presence, you give it.
More recently, the loss of my two eldest sisters just 60 days apart deepened my awareness of how I show up in the world and how I use the time I have been given. Their lives and legacies remind me that our impact is not only measured by what we accomplish, but by what we pour into others while we are here.
At the center of it all is God. My faith grounds me, guides me, and continually brings me back to my purpose. When I think about my family, my work, and the communities I serve, I realize that service is more than something I do, it is part of my inheritance. I come from people who helped people. And I want to make sure that what was poured into me continues to pour through me.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best advice I received was “don’t listen to what people say about you, believe in what you know about yourself. Because people will rather see you cry than celebrate with you!”
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
And if I can offer a piece of advice that I now live by, it is this: trust your instincts. Trust your heart. I believe wholeheartedly that we are each given an innate gift, something no one had to teach us how to carry, but something we are called to wake up and walk in every day. And if you step into this arena, know that you are the gift. You are the one bringing the joy, bringing the light.
Wherever you go, do not be afraid to take up space in it. Be proud in it. Stand fully in who you are. And whatever you do, don’t dim your light.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenge in the field of Community Health Worker is funding. And sustainability. Many programs that employ CHWs have lost funding due to government cuts. The programs that offer the most equitable care are often the first to be eliminated.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The values most important to me, both personally and professionally, are rooted in faith, family, service, equity, compassion, authenticity, and purpose.
My faith is my foundation. It guides how I show up, how I treat people, and how I make decisions, especially when the path ahead is not always clear. Family is equally important because I come from roots grounded in service, people who taught me that our lives should not only be about what we accomplish for ourselves, but also about what we contribute to the lives of others.
That foundation shapes my work. I value equity because I believe everyone deserves to be seen, heard, respected, and given access to what they need to thrive, not simply offered the same thing as everyone else. I value compassion because people are more than numbers, titles, diagnoses, or tasks on a list. Every person carries a story, and how we respond to that story matters.
I value authenticity because I want the person people encounter professionally to be consistent with who I am personally. I lead with warmth, accountability, lived experience, and a willingness to listen and learn. I believe leadership is not simply about being in front; sometimes it means standing beside someone, making room for another voice, or helping someone recognize the power they already possess.
Most importantly, I value purpose and legacy. I want to be intentional with my time and leave people, organizations, and communities better because our paths crossed. My measure of success is not simply what I achieve, but who I helped, what I changed, what I gave, and what continues because I was willing to serve.
At the center of it all is a simple belief that guides both my work and my life:
People need people. And when we show up for one another with faith, compassion, equity, and intention, we can create hope, healing, opportunity, and lasting change.
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