Happy autumn to the ColoradoSPH community! With the midterm elections upon us, ColoradoSPH awaits new leadership and new policies that are likely to affect our communities’ health and well-being. Whatever comes next, ColoradoSPH will continue to be there when Colorado needs us most, bringing evidence, expertise, and partnerships to strengthen health and well-being across our state.
As we heard during our celebration of the life and legacy of former Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell, leaders do not lead in good times alone. More often, they step up in times of uncertainty. Much like Senator Campbell throughout his years of service, his continuity and commitment to protecting the sovereignty and preserving the history and culture of American Indian tribes- so must we, in public health, remain committed to our core mission.
I believe this is a moment when public health leaders should remain visible, engaged, and active, even when the environment around us shifts or poses difficulties.
Step Forward
Challenging times produce leaders who might otherwise stay on the sidelines but instead choose to step forward. They focus on solutions. They remain resolved, bring people along, and work on problems that are not easily solved. In public health, we frequently navigate through long periods of uncertainty. We face budget constraints and an evolving environment for higher education and research. Uncertainty cannot become an excuse to stand still.
One of the things I am most proud of at ColoradoSPH is the way our community responds to challenges. We keep asking hard questions about what public health education should look like in the future, and we challenge ourselves to innovate new curriculum even when the path ahead is not completely clear.
We choose to prepare our students for the world they will enter, not the world we wish were certain. I have learned that leadership during uncertainty is not about pretending to know what comes next, it is about creating an environment that inspires confidence and capacity to pivot so that people are empowered to respond.
Build Trust
We live in an age when information is abundant and increasingly difficult to sort. Chatbots, avatars, algorithms, social media, misinformation, and disinformation can make it difficult to know what or whom to believe. Yet, I remain convinced that our capacity for human judgment and connection allows us to see beyond what machines generate. . People can recognize sincerity. They can recognize when someone is listening. They can recognize when someone is trying to help rather than trying to control. As public health professionals, it is our responsibility to build that goodwill in the communities we serve, and we do so by admitting what we do not know. Here are just a few examples: In September, the school brought together rural public health directors to learn more about their challenges and how the school can support their work. We are also working tirelessly to respond to issues of the day by not allowing the news cycle drive our work or our conversations but by empowering Coloradans and the nation with the information they need to make informed decisions about their health.
Our communities do not need us to be perfect. They need us to be credible, present, honest, and willing to keep working. We see the importance of sustained relationships throughout ColoradoSPH. In the Trifinio region of Guatemala, for example, our work has grown through relationships built over 20+ years, with communities and partners. The partnership encompasses education, research, and opportunities for students, but at its core is something less tangible: a commitment to showing up, listening, learning, and working together. At a time when wildfires wreak havoc on the state, you can find our researchers and community partners working together in places like the San Luis Valley or in Boulder County to mitigate future devastation. Trust is rarely created by a single project or a single conversation.
Two-Way Communications
Finally, we need better communication, especially during times of uncertainty. Public health professionals work with data, research, programs, partnerships, and complex systems. We see the many activities behind the scenes but, most the world lacks our vantage point. When we are not present to explain what we are doing, something (or someone) else fills the space--and rumor, misinformation, disinformation, or simple misunderstanding can take hold.
Strong leaders are not afraid of their audiences, even if these professionals are met with skepticism. They are willing to answer difficult questions. They know when to be clear, when to listen, and when to revise their thinking. They understand that communication is not something that happens after work is finished.
This is one of the great strengths of public health: we are trained not only to understand problems, but to translate knowledge into action. Credibility, like trust, is rarely built in a single moment and instead, is built over the long haul. Leaders who consistently communicate, listen, explain, and engage give people a reason to trust them, even when people do not agree with every conclusion.
These reflections have left me thinking about what public health leadership requires of us now. We can embrace difficult conversations, difficult problems, or difficult moments. We can bring the best of public health with us: evidence and curiosity, humility and courage, humor, persistence and partnership. We can communicate clearly without having every answer. We can acknowledge when we get something wrong without losing sight of what we are trying to accomplish. We can disagree without losing respect for one another.
Our approach remains an effective way to address some of society's most daunting health problems. We bring a way of thinking that looks beyond the immediate problem to the conditions that created it. We ask what can be prevented, what can be improved, and where our investments can have the greatest impact. Our ability to do that work depends, in part, on whether people trust us enough to listen.
The future of public health is ours to build. I believe we need more leaders who bring a public health lens to the problems facing our communities not because public health has every answer, but because we know how to ask important questions, work across boundaries, learn from evidence, and keep moving toward solutions.
That is the kind of leadership I see throughout ColoradoSPH. It is why I remain optimistic about our field and about our future. There is important work ahead of us, and we have much to contribute. So, let’s stay visible. Let’s stay curious. Let’s keep listening, learning, and communicating. Importantly, let’s bring our best selves to the work: with warmth, consideration, respect, courage, and a deep sense of responsibility to the communities we serve.