Future Professionals Start Their Careers with Public Health Corps

Since 2022, Public Health Corps members have added vital capacity to Minnesota's Public Health system. Supporting 45 organizations across the state, their service helps meet community needs, advance local initiatives and reach more people. It's also helping to launch careers and create the next generation of public health leaders. The Carlton-Cook-Lake-St. Louis Community Health Board (CCLS CHB) in Northeast Minnesota has been a partner with Public Health Corps since the program’s very beginning, and they’ve found great success from the relationship, including hiring a former member as full-time staff member! 

Laying a Strong Foundation 

The Carlton-Cook-St. Louis Community Health Board (CCLS CHB) works collaboratively to prevent illness and injury and also works to protect and promote the health and wellbeing of residents of Carlton, Cook, Lake and St. Louis Counties. Their partnership with Public Health Corps has provided critical people power to get things done and a pipeline for future employees.  

Stephany Medina, a program manager on CCLS CHB’s infrastructure team, has been a Public Health Corps supervisor since early 2023. Having been an AmeriCorps member herself through a different program, she knows how AmeriCorps can support organizations like the CCLS CHB. However, her experience with Public Health Corps has been unique. 

When members join Public Health Corps, they receive training from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health that prepares them not only for their service, but also a career in the industry. Public Health Corps members join their organizations with a strong understanding of public health concepts and the foundation for continued growth during their service. 

“It’s a great way not only to save sites time and capacity, but also to create something that's comprehensive and uniform across the field,” Medina says. “No matter where a Public Health Corps member served, no matter what their host site was, they got that introduction to public health at a really comprehensive level.” 

Doing More 

Mary, 2023-24 Public Health Corps alum hired at CCLS CHB

Public Health Corps members serving at CCLS CHB have made it possible to advance projects that had been paused during the pandemic when resources were focused on meeting immediate community needs. Mary, a Public Health Corps alum who served at the CCLS CHB in 2023-24, got to support a variety of campaigns that interested her. She helped with healthy eating outreach, collaborated with farmers markets, and promoted breastfeeding-friendly workplaces. Once her service came to a close, she was hired by CCLS CHB to work there as a public health planner. 

“I know that some agencies have really struggled with getting applicants into their inboxes, so it was great to see that we had a high number of quality applicants come through,” Medina says. “Public Health Corps did help enhance the overall candidate pool. That really helped strengthen their applications to really understand that local health department perspective.” 

As a full-time public health planner CCLS CHB these days, Mary collaborates with current Public Health Corps member, Spoorthy! With an extensive background in healthcare and health informatics, Spoorthy looked for an opportunity to get hands-on experience and apply her knowledge in a practical way. Only four months into her service, she’s already making a difference. 

“Being part of AmeriCorps, I'm constantly encountering the real-world complexities of public health, from strategizing data utilization to directly engaging with the community,” she says. “Each day, I'm learning to apply these skills impactfully for the people we serve.” 

Together, Spoorthy and Mary write and promote a blog that uses the Minnesota Department of Health’s Foundational Public Health Responsibilities to share ideas and guidance with CCLS CHB partners for making a tangible impact. They also have been collecting and analyzing data from community members to provide guidance to another CCLS CHB partner for an upcoming educational campaign. With Mary’s service experience and Spoorthy’s extra boost in capacity, the CCLS CHB’s partnership with Public Health Corps has been a huge success! 

“It's been a great opportunity for me to be able to focus on some other initiatives and say, ‘All right, Mary and Spoorthy, you got this,’” Medina says. “They've really been able to take it and run.” 

Mary has appreciated the opportunity to continue and build upon projects she started as a member. And having current Public Health Corps members at CCLS CHB, like Spoorthy, allows her to support their journeys while taking on a new mentorship role.  

“[Mary and Stephany’s] firsthand knowledge of the program and the transition to a full-time role has provided a wealth of guidance that makes the learning curve manageable and supportive,” Spoorthy says. “It's humbling to work alongside them, knowing they’ve been through this journey and truly understand what it takes to make a meaningful impact.” 

Creating a Public Health Movement 

The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically heightened long-standing workforce challenges for state and local governmental public health agencies. For over a decade, the state’s public health sector has lost significant capacity to serve Minnesotans. A study from the Minnesota Department of Health found that between 2008 and 2021, the number of full-time employees in the state’s public health system declined by over 400 employees and has stayed low.

Public Health Corps is dedicated to giving Minnesota health organizations the boost they need and creating a pipeline of experienced public health professionals. Over half of public health workers are expected to leave or retire in the coming years, and we’re proud help prepare a new generation of leaders in the industry. 

“Public Health Corps really offers a new type of investment into public health, one that's backed by funding and capacity,” says Medina. “Not only does the program recruit for sites and mentor members in the field of public health, it also is training that future public health workforce on the values, the principles, the skills that we know are needed in order to succeed.” 

With strong partners like CCLS CHB and passionate members ready to make a difference, Public Health Corps is ready to add capacity and build a strong future for public health systems. Interested in joining the movement? Become a member of Public Health Corps! Learn more and apply at ampact.us/public-health.