Team
Center Leadership
Craig Hedberg, PhD
- Co-Director, UMN Division of Environmental Health Sciences
- MN Integrated Food Safety Center of Excellence
- Principal Investigator
Jonathon P. Leider, PhD
- Director, UMN Division of Health and Policy Management
- Center for Public Health Systems
- Co-Principal Investigator
Laura Power, MD, MPH
- University of Michigan School of Public Health (UMSPH)
- Director, Office of Public Health Practice
- Co-Principal Investigator
Melanie Firestone, PhD
- Assistant Professor, Division of Environmental Health Sciences
- Co-Investigator
Rachel Schulman, MSMPH, CPH
- Manager, Center for Public Health Systems
- Co-Investigator
Phoebe Kulik, MPH, CHES
- UMSPH
- Senior Director of Workforce Development, Office of Public Health Practice
- Co-Investigator
Megan Cirio, BS, CAPM
- Division of Environmental Health Sciences
- Center Coordinator
Nikki Weiss, PhD
- Center for Public Health Systems
- Evaluator
Steering Committee
UMCPHPR has established a Regional Steering Committee to help guide and strengthen our work across HHS Region 5. The Steering Committee brings together representatives from state and local public health departments, healthcare preparedness coalitions, academic institutions, and K–12 school systems to ensure a wide range of perspectives from across Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin.
The Committee meets quarterly and plays an important advisory role in shaping the Center’s priorities and activities. Members provide feedback on our Five-Year Regional Work Plan and help ensure that our strategies reflect the real-world needs of communities in the Upper Midwest. Thus far, the Steering Committee has provided input on the development and pilot planning of Project Ready Schools (PRS), helping refine the approach, strengthen evaluation plans, and ensure the intervention is practical and effective across diverse school settings. Through this collaborative structure, the Steering Committee helps keep UMCPHPR’s work grounded in regional expertise, partnership, and shared decision-making.
