Gillings’ MCH Public Health Leadership Institute named a top-15 educational program

April 10, 2015

The Maternal and Child Health Public Health Leadership Institute (MCH PHLI) at the UNC-Chapel Hill Gillings School of Global Public Health was named a top-15 educational program by the 2015 Leadership 500 Excellence Award committee.

Award winners were announced March 31 at the LEAD500 Conference in Dallas, Tex. The MCH PHLI received an eleventh place award, positioning the program above some universities in the ranks of educational leadership institutions.

Dr. Claudia Fernandez

Claudia Fernandez, DrPH, research assistant professor in the Department of Maternal and Child Health at the Gillings School, is the principal investigator and director of the MCH PHLI program.

“It is a great honor for the program to receive such recognition — particularly considering the national and international competition,” said Fernandez. “Data from the MCH PHLI program shows participants experience statistically significant gains in leadership skills on 20 leadership competencies taught in the program. We have great confidence that the boundary-spanning model of leadership development used in MCH PHLI is highly effective and well worth the investment.”

MCH PHLI is a partnership of the Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs, CityMatCH, Family Voices and the National Center for Cultural Competence. At the Gillings School, the program is led by faculty from both the maternal and child health department (Fernandez) and the Public Health Leadership Program (David Steffen, DrPH, clinical associate professor in the director-leadership track).