COPH Alumna Named Co-Chair of Southeastern Health Equity Council

Dr. Michelle Reece, a College of Public Health alumna, has been selected as Co-Chair for the Southeastern Health Equity Council. 

In 2006, the Office of Minority Health, part of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, hosted nearly 2,000 leaders from all levels of government, academia, public health, mental health, minority-serving institutions, and minority communities at the National Leadership Summit for Eliminating Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health.

The purpose of the conference was to advance key issues and opportunities for improving minority health, promote promising and best practices, and mobilize collaborative actions, which are critical to improving minority health in the future. The discussions at the summit provided the impetus to broaden the dialog about ending health disparities beyond the health community, and establish the National Partnership for Action to End Health Disparities as a national movement.

The Southeastern Health Equity Council, comprised of members from eight states in the Southeast United States, is an important and integral component of the national partnership.  The roles of the Council include identifying key regional health inequity issues and drivers and advancing a responsive agenda.  It is also tasked with creating models for and promoting cross-sector collaboration through the collective power of organizations represented on the Council, initiating new and supporting existing regional policies and action to eliminate health disparities, leveraging available opportunities to address regional health disparities issues, and convening regional stakeholders and partners to promote health equity.  The eight states include Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. 

As Co-Chair, Dr. Reece will coordinate Council activities, represent the interests and priorities of the Council, and collaborate with other Regional Council chairs to advance shared common interests.  When asked about how her time in the College of Public Health prepared her, she stated, “The support and mentorship of the leaders and faculty in the CPH, the quality and content of the courses, the emphasis on mastering competencies, the push towards excellence, and learning to deal with diverse perspectives in academia all contributed to my preparation for the real world.”    

Dr. Michelle Reece graduated from the Doctor of Public Health program in Community Health in 2014.  She is currently an assistant professor in the Department of Public Health at Western Kentucky University.