Welcome to Innovation Commons at Community
A Multi-Use Space for Community Health, Research, and Transformation
Our Story
Meeting people where they are —not where the system expects them to be.
Inspired by the chaos and clarity of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Netter recognized the urgent need to create nontraditional health spaces that move beyond the clinic. She leads with humility, rigor, and radical imagination—blurring the lines between university, neighborhood, and healing space. Her leadership infuses Innovation Commons with purpose, integrity, and deep community trust.
The COVID-19 pandemic laid bare the racial, economic, and structural disparities embedded in our healthcare systems. But it also taught us how to adapt. How to meet people where they are. How to turn laundromats into pop-up clinics and riverside parks into healing spaces.
Innovation Commons is a direct response to these revelations. It was founded to reimagine what health systems can look like when academic institutions don’t simply study communities—they partner with them. We are rebuilding trust, breaking silos, and creating a new infrastructure of care grounded in presence, proximity, and justice.
Our Main Initiatives
Meeting people where they are —not where the system expects them to be.
Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR): Reimagining Science After the Storm
From crisis to collaboration—rebuilding trust in science through community voice. The COVID-19 pandemic taught us hard lessons. It exposed how fragile our systems are—and how deeply health, trust, and justice are intertwined. At Innovation Commons, we use Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) to rebuild what was broken. We do not study communities—we work with them. Together, we identify priorities, collect and interpret data, and turn research into measurable change. In a polarized world, CBPR stands as our commitment to truth, empathy, and collective progress. It is how we practice science that listens—science that heals.
Nursing and Nurse Practitioner Education: Beyond Simulations, Into the Heart of the Community
Real patients. Real stories. Real learning. Simulation labs build technical skill—but humanity is learned face-to-face. At Innovation Commons, we merge classroom rigor with the pulse of the community clinic. Our nursing and nurse practitioner students gain not only clinical precision but cultural fluency. They work in nurse-led spaces where care is collaborative, creative, and deeply personal. Each encounter teaches something a textbook cannot—the power of presence, empathy, and trust. This is where academic learning meets social purpose. We are training practitioners who not only cure illness but also mend disconnection.
Clinical Practice: Meeting People Where They Are
Health belongs everywhere people are. Even in a city full of hospitals, many still go without care. Distance, fear, or past experiences keep them away. Innovation Commons responds by bringing healthcare to them. Our nurse-led clinical practice meets people in their spaces—laundromats, barber shops, churches, and schools. These are not just sites of care—they are extensions of community trust. Each encounter allows students to practice authentic, culturally grounded medicine while communities receive meaningful, consistent care. By breaking the walls between academia and everyday life, we are proving that accessibility is not a dream—it’s a design choice.
The Goal
Our Mission
To bridge academic innovation with grassroots healing by creating accessible, responsive, and inclusive spaces that promote sexual health, community-driven research, and collaborative education—centered around the people most impacted by structural inequities.
The Outlook
Our Vision
A transformed health landscape where communities and institutions work hand in hand, creating equitable pathways to wellness, knowledge, and resilience in every neighborhood.
Founder Spotlight
Dr. Molly Kachale Netter
Innovation Commons is the vision of Dr. Molly Kachale Netter, a pioneer in community-engaged public health and Assistant Professor at DePaul University’s College of Health Sciences. Dr. Netter brings a bold academic lens and lived commitment to the idea that true innovation is collaborative, not top-down.
Inspired by the chaos and clarity of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Netter recognized the urgent need to create nontraditional health spaces that move beyond the clinic. She leads with humility, rigor, and radical imagination—blurring the lines between university, neighborhood, and healing space. Her leadership infuses Innovation Commons with purpose, integrity, and deep community trust.
Our Partners
Innovation Commons thrives through collaboration. Our work is powered by organizations and individuals who believe that health equity begins where people are—and that community care is the foundation of lasting change.
Why Your Support Matters
Your contribution sustains our nurse-led clinics, health outreach, and student learning experiences that build the next generation of compassionate practitioners. Every dollar directly funds supplies, meals, and community-based screenings for people who might otherwise go unseen. Innovation Commons at Community is a registered non-profit organization. All donations are tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.