It is an unspoken expectation that graduate students enrolled at a public health university are natural leaders. This naïve assumption in combination with conflicting schedules, diverse personalities, and varying work ethics set the stage for failure in situations involving classroom group projects. This scenario is even more prevalent when positioned in a volunteer-based organization such as the American Public Health Association (APHA). Faced with a continued lack of commitment and poor work quality from the Community Health Planning and Policy Development (CHPPD) Student Committee members, the section decided to do something about it! First of all, we gave ourselves a reality check and accepted the fact that not everyone is alike. Secondly, we accepted the truth that students in a leadership position did not necessarily understand what it meant to be a leader. Based on this insight, Karyn Warsow and Michelle Denison developed The Leadership Initiative (TLI) concept. After proposing their mission and vision of TLI, an open student conference call including the entire CHPPH student membership and the Chair of the Student Committee, Russ McIntire, TLI was accepted and immediately put into action.
The Leadership Initiative is a 20-minute interactive program dove-tailed to the end of each CHPPD Student Committee conference call. Each month, a member of the Student Committee (officer or student) has the opportunity to present and facilitate discussion regarding a specific leadership or public health topic. Each presentation will include resources available to the student members to improve their knowledge, attitudes and leadership skills. The goal of TLI is to create a venue for self-reflection of individual behavior and leadership practices from a personal and professional growth perspective. It is the hope of the CHPPD Student Committee that TLI will make a difference by helping to develop the next generation of APHA leaders, attract more students to the section by creating a marketable product, improve section project participation and commitment, and facilitate a working partnership between the CHPPD committee and the student committee through mentorship opportunities.
The CHPPD Student Section holds monthly conference calls every third Tuesday of each month. We welcome your attendance and participation as we embark on this innovative journey! Below is the CHPPH TLI schedule:
July 19, 2011 at 3:00pm EST: Defining what a leader is and isn't
August 16, 2011 at 3:00pm EST: Personal Mastery
September 20, 2011 at 3:00pm EST: Shared Leadership
October 18, 2011 at 3:00pm EST: Barriers to effective leadership
November 15, 2011 at 3:00pm EST: Team Work
December 20, 2011 at 3:00pm EST: How to determine if you have a good mentor
January 17,2012 at 3:00pm EST: Professional PowerPoint presentation guidelines
February 21, 2012 at 3:00pm EST: Basic research & methodology the "novel idea"
“It is only when we acknowledge the existence of a problem and audaciously seek a solution that we begin the journey to becoming a leader.” Michelle E. Denison
Synopsis of First Presentation: Defining what a leader is and isn’t
Karyn Warsow conducted the first presentation of The Leadership Initiative on July 19, 2011 at 3 P.M. EST. While the Student Committee did not have a large turn out for the call, the presentation was well received.
If you would like further information regarding TLI, please contact: CHPPD Student Committee at CHPPDStudentCommittee@gmail.com
Submitted by Michelle E. Dension, MPH, CHES
CHPPD Student Committee Secretary
Karyn M. Warsaw, MPH, MS, DrPH Candidate
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Department of Health Policy
CHPPD Student Committee Co-Chair Elect and Policy and Resolution Representative