Maintaining the optimal health of all North Carolinians is

integral to the overall well-being of the state. It is not enough to have policies, initiatives, and reforms created and led by experts in health and health care. To move towards a culture that appreciates and promotes optimal population health, we also need assistance from other arenas. Data continue to suggest that domains such as education, housing, and income may be just as important, if not more important, than determinants that are usually associated with health outcomes. Thus North Carolina’s leaders, professionals, and policy makers need to adopt shared responsibility for our population’s health by taking a health-in-all-policies stance. Research to expand our understanding of individual and group actions that contribute to health outcomes, col-laboration of partners across diverse sectors to implement evidence-based initiatives, and creative thinking and plan