Laura Dammer Hess, MLS
Director, CHIP
University of MN
As the Director of the Center for Health Interprofessional Programs (CHIP) at the University of Minnesota, Laura (she/her) works with student leaders to design, implement and evaluate co-curricular interprofessional opportunities. Laura's professional experience focuses on higher education student engagement and leadership, reflection, interdisciplinary and interprofessional learning, service-learning, and community-based education. With an academic background in the arts and arts-based community development, Laura highly values bringing creativity, meaning and connection to interprofessional education.

Presenting at the Nexus Summit:

Co-curricular interprofessional engagement provides a unique informal space for future health professionals to find and make authentic connections with one another, build leadership skills through experimentation and innovation, and shape their educational experiences. Well designed and supported initiatives can both enhance student wellbeing and meet interprofessional education goals. For 50 years, the Center for Health Interprofessional Programs (CHIP) at the University of Minnesota has been supporting students across health professions to “do what matters to them, outside of the classroom…
The University of Minnesota health interprofessional well-being initiative, BeWELL, conducted a survey in 2020 to gauge interest in initiatives and programming and found that gardening was in the top three preferences expressed by health professional students. As no garden existed on the east bank campus, BeWELL, in conjunction with the Center for Health Interprofessional Programs (CHIP), established an interprofessional student-led garden. The garden aims to provide an outlet for health professional students, promoting wellness and organic relationships across disciplines. In pursuit of…