Jeanette Kowalik has served as the City of Milwaukee Health Commissioner since September 2018.
Dr. Jeanette Kowalik announced her resignation today from the position of Health Commissioner for the City of Milwaukee. Commissioner Kowalik is taking the position of director of policy development with Trust for America’s Health (TFAH), a national non-profit health organization located in Washington D.C.
We've posted a story here about Commissioner Kowalik's accomplishments since taking the position in 2018.
Commissioner Kowalik provided the following statement:
"It is with mixed emotions that I have submitted my resignation to Mayor Tom Barrett to join the Trust for America’s Health, a national leader in health policy. As much as I love my hometown, I believe that I am limited due to factors that are out of my control. This was evident at multiple points in time through our pandemic response. From access to testing, promotion of masks/face coverings, gathering limits, orders, messaging and outreach for communities of color, and various threats to Health Officers. I have decided to redirect my energy and skills to upstream approaches that will improve the health of millions of Americans. I am excited to join TFAH’s leadership team as Director of Policy Development and return to Washington D.C. My experience as a local Health Officer will be an asset to policy development at TFAH. I am confident that the MHD leadership team, which consists of five Deputy Commissioners and a Chief of Staff, are highly competent and able to continue to manage the department in my absence."
|
|
During Commissioner Kowalik's tenure, she stabilized the health department, reorganized and reconnected the city to public health partners. Under her leadership, the health department along with city and county officials, was among the first to declare racism as a public health crisis in 2019.
"These policies framed how we responded to COVID-19," says Commissioner Kowalik. "In March, we began to publicly share data on the impact of COVID-19 by race and ethnicity. We discovered that racism was playing out through the pandemic, which led to a shift in our strategy. Sharing disparities data early on enabled us to set the standard for other communities to do the same; this facilitated action at multiple levels.”
Since March 13, the city and county of Milwaukee has grappled with a rapid and ever-changing pandemic response that has been centered on policy in the form of local public health orders. With the support of Mayor Tom Barrett, Dr. Kowalik has issued several orders to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and save lives.
In a statement, Mayor Tom Barrett said, “I am grateful to Commissioner Kowalik for her dedication and leadership, especially during this pandemic. She is leaving the department in a solid position to continue to make progress. I wish her the very best as she advances to her new position.”
A replacement for the position has not been announced.
