City of Lubbock Health Department to participate in The Kresge Foundation’s Emerging Leaders in Public Health initiative

The City of Lubbock Health Department is one of only 20 departments selected to participate in the Kresge Foundation’s third training for Emerging Leaders in Public Health. This initiative equips local, public health officers with knowledge and skills to lead in today’s changing health care environment.

The initiative is designed to develop local, public health leaders in pairs. Each pair includes the health officer and a future leader from the public health agency. Katherine Wells, Director of Public Health, and Madeline Geeslin, Health Education Facilitator will take part in the 18-month program. As a team, Wells and Geeslin will be asked to challenge and support each other while building skills and competencies together.

“Public health leaders are valuable assets to our communities,” said Dr. Phyllis Meadows, senior advisor to The Kresge Foundation’s Health Program and the Emerging Leaders in Public Health lead. “Leaders in this program will have the opportunity to create meaningful and lasting change in their agencies that will positively impact those they serve.”  

During the program, Wells and Geeslin will participate in an action-oriented program focused on the design and implementation of a transformative concept that shifts or expands the capacity of their local department. They will also receive a grant up to $125,000 as well as coaching and technical assistance to evolve their ideas into action. 

Wells and Geeslin join 19 other teams from across the country selected to participate in the program. Collectively, the 20 health departments serve nearly 10 million people.

The team joins a growing community of public health leaders supported by The Kresge Foundation. Since 2015, 64 public health leaders have been trained through the Emerging Leaders in Public Health initiative. The addition of these new teams allows Kresge to meet its goal of providing leadership development and resources to more than 100 local, public health leaders across the country so that they can approach public health in a new way. 

About The Kresge Foundation 

The Kresge Foundation was founded in 1924 to promote human progress. Today, Kresge fulfills that mission by building and strengthening pathways to opportunity for low-income people in America’s cities, seeking to dismantle structural and systemic barriers to equality and justice. Using a full array of grant, loan, and other investment tools, Kresge invests more than $160 million annually to foster economic and social change. For more information visit kresge.org.