This is the final article in our series recognizing each awardee of our new Spark Prize.
The Spark Prize is a $200,000 award for individuals with outstanding vision, commitment, and promise to improve health and well-being in Missouri. The award is an investment in future impact, giving recipients the freedom to use the funding in whatever way best supports them.
Ciearra “CJ” Walker
“I’m a builder of ideas, a community catalyst, and an individual filled with faith.”
That’s how Ciearra “CJ” Walker introduces herself. It’s not just a title, it’s a mission. As the CEO of the Community Health Worker Coalition (CHWCo), CJ is reshaping how health systems and entire communities function in Missouri. Through her work, she is making sure that health isn’t just about hospital visits or clinic outcomes, but about economic opportunity, systems navigation, joy, and justice.
Rooted in Experience
CJ’s journey began in Detroit, Michigan, where she grew up surrounded by strong communities, but also came to understand the systems that often failed them. Her lived experience has shaped a deep understanding of health as something far broader than health care: something that’s built through food access, education, relationships, and dignity.
“When I started to travel outside of Detroit, I began to realize the disparities in health and opportunity,” she says. “I saw there was so much we could do—outside of the traditional health system—to bring those things together.”
She came to Missouri for her husband’s job, and in 2018, under the leadership of nine CHWs, she supported the founding of CHWCo “The Coalition” – a social enterprise that now reaches over 45 organizations and a network of more than 350 leaders.
CHWs – Your Neighborhood Best Friend
The backbone of CJ’s work is the Community Health Worker (CHW), a trained, certified leader who uses lived experience to help others navigate systems and solve problems.
“Think of a CHW as your neighborhood best friend,” CJ says. “Someone who’s been through the system, and can walk alongside you to help make sense of it. They can be found in hospitals, schools, jails, libraries, any place you need someone to help connect the dots.”
The Coalition offers training and certification, but also something more radical: it supports CHWs in becoming owners of their intellectual property, entrepreneurs, and decision-makers in their fields. It’s a shift from simply hiring trusted messengers to building trusted institutions.
Innovation and Impact
Over the past five years, The Coalition has supported the training of more than 370 CHWs in the St. Louis region, with over 600 active across Missouri. The organization has reinvested more than $30,000 directly into its members, supporting professional development, direct compensation, and capacity-building.
“We’ve had CHWs who didn’t realize this could be a profession,” CJ says. “One went from having a GED to becoming the Senior Vice President of a major Missouri nonprofit. That’s what this model unlocks.”
The innovation doesn’t stop at workforce development. The Coalition helps CHWs build passive income streams, serve on paid boards, and embrace social entrepreneurship—all within what CJ calls a “regenerative economy” that reinvests in the people doing the work.
CJ is now a doctoral student in Public Health Leadership at the University of Illinois-Chicago. Her dissertation will publish the innovative CHW workforce model developed in Missouri, making it a blueprint for others across the country.
“I want this work to be transferable,” she says. “Not just for CHWs, but for all community-facing workforces. I want someone to read this, apply it, and say: ‘We can do this too.’”
Being Awarded The Spark Prize
CJ describes The Spark Prize as a “breath of fresh air”, a moment of recognition that fuels both her leadership and her creativity. “It reminds us that our work matters, and that people are watching,” she says. “It’s about consistency, faith, and staying the course.”
She plans to approach the funding with intention. In the short term, she’s allowing space for rest, something she admits she’s still learning how to do sustainably. She also sees the award as an opportunity to invest in her team, helping alleviate some of the financial pressure on the organization while continuing to build a culture of care and stewardship. Longer term, CJ hopes The Spark Prize will support the formalization of CHWCo’s social enterprise model, ensuring the organization’s longevity and positioning it as a national leader in workforce innovation.
Beyond the financial support, CJ looks forward to the expanded visibility, partnerships, and learning community the Spark Prize makes possible.
A Vision for Missouri
Looking ahead, CJ wants to spark more than organizational growth – she wants to spark statewide joy.
“I want Missouri to feel happy,” she says. “I want us to embrace the innovation we already have, and bridge divides – rural and urban, North and South. The work we’re doing transcends geography, and Missouri is uniquely positioned to lead.”
Her advice to other leaders?
“Spend as much time with yourself as you do with others. Never stop learning. Leadership is like a muscle; it has to be trained. And even when it’s uncomfortable, insert yourself into the spaces where change needs to happen. It pays off.”
“Constraints are what we make them. And we get to show people how to remove them.”
