News

Eighteen Detroit Health Department staffers graduated this week after completing a 14-week certificate program in public health policy, health and human services integration, program evaluation, community coalition-building, and more. This was the second cohort of Detroit Health Department staff members to complete the curriculum. The pilot training program, made possible with funding from U-M Poverty Solutions and the DMC Foundation, was designed and launched in collaboration with Detroit Health Department administrators. 

While many public health training programs focus on specific concerns–the effects of lead exposure, the importance of trauma-informed care, etc.–the Center for Health and Research Transformation (CHRT) was tasked with designing a program that would help DHD personnel build knowledge in systems thinking, data analytics, public policy, and communications. The interactive sessions covered a broad range of topics including the connections between social and medical needs, the history of public health in the United States, the challenges of providing holistic care in a siloed social service system, the structure of political systems, the value of communications, and the power of policy. 

Spring 2019 graduates

• Janae Ashford, lead poisoning advocate
• Antoinette Bell, immunization advocate
• Lisa Clark Jones, environmental safety coordinator, Environmental Safety Department
• Jabolli Cook, customer service representative, Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women Infants and Children
• Brittani Cross, housing coordinator
• Alia Ellison, childhood outreach specialist, Vision and Hearing Division
• Tamika Estes, customer service representative, 961-BABY Resource Hotline
• G. Bomani Gray, coordinator, Fatherhood Program
• Kara Green, environmental health specialist, Environmental Safety Department
• Maxine Guy, administrative support specialist, Child Health Services Division
• Briana Hill, medical biller
• Lateef D. Hudson, specialist, Linkage
• Paul Jones, emergency planner, Office of Emergency Preparedness
• Stephanie McCalister, screening specialist, Vision and Hearing Division
• Jacquelyn McFadden, customer service representative, Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women Infants and Children
• Kyndal Moss, community health worker, SisterFriends Program
• Clarence Peeples, community outreach specialist, HIV prevention program
• Angela Ware, medical assistant, iDecide Teen Health Center
• Nikita Womack, executive administrative assistant

Fall 2019 graduates

• Veronica Benjamin, operations coordinator
• Inger Blair, community health worker and lead poisoning advocate
• Karen Glenn, customer service
• Undrea Goodwin, public health project lead, Southeastern Michigan HIV/AIDS Council
• Ameenah Green, advocate, Children’s Special Health Care Services
• Paris Hutchinson, customer and technology specialist, Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women Infants and Children
• Elgena Lyles, immunization advocate
• Joan Morris Buchanan, customer service representative, Food Safety Division
• Ifeakandu Okoye, environmental health specialist, Food Safety Division
• Jessica Pettas, child outreach specialist, Vision and Hearing Division
• Angel Reed, administrative assistant, Community Health Division
• Marlene Rodriguez, medical biller
• Natalie Sommerville, technician, Vision and Hearing Division
• Jeremy Thomas, communications and digital marketing coordinator
• Joseph Twomey, customer service representative, Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women Infants and Children
• Shanay Watson-Whittaker, executive administrative assistant
• Austin Williams, office coordinator, Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS
• Peter Williams, program coordinator, Fathers Forward Initiative