DPH Employees Selected as a Public Health and Primary Care Leadership Institute Fellows

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Oct. 16, 2024

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Six Department of Public Health (DPH) employees were chosen as members of the Region IV Public Health Training Center at Emory University’s Public Health and Primary Care Leadership Institute (PHPC-LI) 2024-2025 cohort.

Brianna Halliwell, a Community Engagement Specialist in Pickens; Michael Lee, a Program Coordinator in Spartanburg; Shumethia Seal, the Health Department Manager for Charleston and Mount Pleasant; Lawra Boyce, the Director of Strategy and Operational Excellence; Keisha Mays, the Manager of Performance Management and Continuous Improvement; and Thomas Lawler, the Portfolio Manager for the Office of Data Modernization & Governance, competed with 109 total applicants to become PHPC-LI fellows. Only 36 fellows were selected from state, local and tribal health departments or Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC)/FQHIC Look-Alikes in the eight states in the southeastern U.S. 

All PHPC-LI fellows manage programs, supervise staff and/or have demonstrated leadership potential within their organization. 

“This year’s fellows are a remarkable group of leaders who are instrumental in leading public health efforts in the eight Southeastern states,” said Moose Alperin, Region IV Public Health Training Center’s director. 

The Region IV Public Health Training Center at Emory University launched the Public Health Leadership Institute in September 2019 in partnership with the J.W. Fanning Institute for Leadership Development at the University of Georgia to advance adaptive and strategic leadership skills among public health professionals. In 2022, with a new cycle of funding and increased efforts to integrate public health with primary care to improve health equity and health outcomes in the communities within Region IV, the Leadership Institute was expanded to include emerging primary care leaders from FQHCs/FQHC Look-Alikes along with emerging public health leaders from local, state and tribal governmental health departments or organizations. 

The Institute is an 8-month experience providing 40 contact hours of online and in-person interaction and peer consultation. Applications for the 2025-2026 cohort will be accepted in mid-2025.

Funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), the Region IV Public Health Training Center works to build the capacity of the public health workforce to meet national, state, and local needs. The Region IV Public Health Training Center is one of ten regional HRSA-funded training centers throughout the U.S. and a member of the national Public Health Training Center Network.

This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number UB6HP31680, Public Health Training Centers for $4,407,628. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.

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