Oral

Leadership development is an integral component of a comprehensive system for public health workforce development and critical to strong public health infrastructure. In keeping with the theme of Social Justice this session will explore stories and journeys as told by community health leaders who are committed to eliminating disparities and achieving health equity by addressing root causes of health and environmental injustice. Through the power of personal narrative we will learn about their change initiatives in diverse settings and communities, discover what motivates them, what sustains them over the longer term, what lessons have they learned and hard earned secrets to success, and how has being part of leadership development initiatives and programs helped them to renew their level of commitment and seek new directions to age old public health concerns. This session is sponsored by the National Public Health Leadership Development Network, a consortium of organizations and individuals from academic institutions, national and international organizations - including 36 national, regional, state, and trans-border institutes dedicated to advancing the practice of public health leadership.

Session Objectives: Identify opportunities for leadership development in their region and what they offer Increase their understanding of the role of leadership development programs in strengthening individual skills and abilities and health system’s capacity Gain insight into leadership challenges in shifting paradigms in public health and Develop a better understanding of the leadership skills, strategies and motivators needed to drive social change, health system transformation and promote health equity.