Katherine Vaughn-Jehring


When did you begin your Fellowship? 
July 2010

Where is your Fellowship?
Office of Policy and Practice Alignment at the WI Department of Health Services  &  Allied Wellness Center [see description of Center below!]

The Allied Wellness Cooperative:
The Allied Wellness Co-op’s vision is that all people have access to holistic wellness: healthy minds, bodies, spirits, families, communities, and access to money and education.

The Co-op is a changing and open place, owned and run by the people where everyone is excited about what is going on and they find ways to share their talents. A place where basic needs are met so dreams and goals can be found. Residents from the Allied and Dunn’s Marsh neighborhood want to build a place where they can work together to strengthen people, families and the community.  The Allied Wellness Co-op is a way to promote individual and community development. 

A cooperative is a member-owned and run organization that benefits all its members. People, businesses and organizations can join and work together to build:
1. Job training and support that works for everyone
2. Community programs for and by members
3. A support and development center for everyone
 
What were you up to prior to your Fellowship? 
Master in Public Health and Master in Public Affairs degrees from University of Wisconsin - Madison. Worked for Gilda's Club Madison and then the Wisconsin Comprehensive Cancer Control Program throughout grad school.

What inspired you to take the Fellowship route rather than a different type of job/school/etc.? 
-Opportunity to better understand the many different aspects of public health work. -Diversity of work, opportunity to work with leaders in public health. 
-Ability to work in areas where I had an interest.  Placement at two sites is exciting and great for me.

What are your main areas of interest within public health?
-Partnership Building
-Bringing non-traditional organizations into public health discussions
-Community organizing with state-wide "communities"

What is one thing (or many!) you are working on right now in your fellowship? 
Implementation of Healthiest Wisconsin 2020: the state's public health plan.
 
What is one public health achievement you would like to see in the next 25 years?
Changes in laws and social norms around alcohol.