Forty public health leaders who have transformed the role of public health departments in their communities graduated from The Kresge Foundation’s Emerging Leaders in Public Health (ELPH) program on October 10, 2019. More than 100 leaders have participated in the program since it began in 2014.

Kresge’s Emerging Leaders in Public Health curriculum helps teams from county and local health departments become stronger leaders and encourages them to think beyond the traditional role of a public health agency to change how each organization functions in its community. Collectively, the 20 health departments represented by these cohort members serve nearly 10 million people in cities across the country.

In addition to grant funding, coaching and technical assistance, teams challenged and supported each other while they built new skills and tackled issues they faced in their communities over the course of the 18-month program.

Leaders in the third cohort include:

• Nicki Britten and Courtney Davis, Berrien County Health Department
• Nafissa Cisse-Egbuonye and Eileen Daley, Black Hawk County Health Department
• Julie Pryde and Awais Vaid, Champaign-Urbana Public Health District
• Layton Long and Michael Zelek, Chatham County Public Health Department
• Katherine Wells and Madeline Geeslin, City of Lubbock – City of Lubbock Health Department
• Bobbie D. Bagley and Heidi Peek-Kukulka, City of Nashua Division of Public Health and Community Services
• Merle Gordon and Brian Kimball, Cleveland Department of Public Health
• Wilma Wooten and Sayone Thihalolipavan, County of San Diego HHS Agency, Public Health Services
• Joneigh Khaldun and Valentina Djelaj, Detroit Health Department
• Paul Pettit and Brenden Bedard, Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments
• Bridgette Casey and Ray Dlugolecki, Jackson County Health Department
• Stacey Flanagan and Linda Ivory-Green, Jersey City Department of Health and Human Services
• Kim Gonzales and Jennifer Sanchez McDonald, Las Animas – Huerfano Counties District Health Department
• Patricia Sweeney and Michelle Edison, Mahoning County District Board Health
• Anne Barry and Kathy Hedin, Saint Paul – Ramsey County Public Health
• Gary Edwards and Dorothy Adams, Salt Lake County Health Department
• Jeff Ketchel and Nicole Thomsen, Snohomish Health District
• Denise Bonds and Rebecca Schmidt, Thomas Jefferson Health District
• Frank Kruppa and Samantha Hillson, Tompkins County Health Department
• Andre Fresco and Lillian Bravo, Yakima Health District

“In this changing health care environment, ELPH has equipped these teams of visionary leaders with the knowledge and skills to strengthen and transform the role of their local departments and improve the health and well-being of people in their communities,” Phyllis Meadows, senior fellow, Kresge Health Program, said.

To learn more about the ELPH program, click here.