Managing in Turbulent Times: Emerging Leaders in Public Health

Alumni

Cheryl A. Boyce, MS

Ohio Commission on Minority Health

 

 

Area of work in Public Health

I was trained as a Health Educator and loved my work at a community health center in East St. Louis, Illinois. After several years I developed an interest in health planning and policy. The combination of these interests has guided my career. What appeared to be an eclectic career was perfect preparation for our work at the Commission. These experiences included employment at the Ohio Departments of Health, Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities; the Ohio Rehabilitation Services Commission; Advocacy and Protective Services and the Governor’s Task Force on Black and Minority Health. In 1987, the Ohio General Assembly created the Commission to address disparate health status in minority communities. This work on behalf of the community is my life’s passion.

Personal information:

My husband Russell teaches math and science at Brookhaven High school. I am proud of him and his commitment over the past 8 years to spend four evenings a week tutoring adult parolees for their GED. We are blessed to be the parents of Ebony a second year medical student at Duke. My favorite leisure time activities are window shopping with Ebby followed by spending time with family and friends.

What I would like to get out of this program:

Gaining a new resource pool of talented and committed health professionals is the most obvious benefit of the program. With limited budgets, increasing needs of underserved communities and competing public health interest, it feels as though we are always reactive and in a crisis mode. The opportunity to proactively think has become an all too elusive luxury. I am looking forward to focusing on a myriad of human resource issues including developing, recruiting and maintaining a diverse workforce.