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Photo of Welter, Christina R.

Christina R. Welter, DrPH, MPH

Clinical Assistant Professor

Interim Director, DrPH Program

Health Policy and Administration

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

Contact

Building & Room:

757 SPHPI

Address:

1603 W. Taylor St.

Email:

cwelte2@uic.edu

About

Christina R. Welter, DrPH, MPH

Dr. Welter is a nationally recognized policy practitioner, visionary leader, and practice-based researcher committed to helping organizations and their partners co-create equity-focused systems change. She is the Director of the Doctorate in Public Health Leadership and a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Division of Health Policy and Administration at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) School of Public Health. Dr. Welter specializes in engaged and applied mixed method research that promotes collaborative learning to develop, implement, and/or evaluate policy and systems initiatives that address the structural determinants of health.

A few of Dr. Welter’s current projects include serving as a Principal Investigator of the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health funded Center for Healthy Work where she conducts an action research project to increase policy and systems strategies that addresses precarious work. She also serves as the Associate Director and Translation Investigator of the Centers for Disease Control-funded Policy, Practice and Prevention Research Center where she studies governmental public health agency readiness for strategic transformation. Dr. Welter is also currently leading the evaluation for the Cook County Department of Public Health’s Contract Tracing initiative, focused on a racial justice, community mobilization and worker-centered approach to Covid-19. Dr. Welter proudly served as one of the Deputy Incident Commanders for the Illinois Department of Public Health’s Covid-19 response Spring, 2020, helping the state to expand its strategic management and policy responses to the virus.

Prior to coming to UIC, Dr. Welter served as the Deputy Director at the Cook County Department of Public Health where she catalyzed the establishment of several ongoing and award-winning leadership collaboratives and secured over 25 million dollars in funding to implement policy, systems, and environmental changes initiatives. She received her DrPH degree from the UIC School of Public Health and her MPH from the University of Michigan in Health Education and Health Behavior.

Selected Publications

  • Bonney, T., Welter, C., Jarpe-Ratner, E., Velonis, A., & Conroy, L. (2020). Role of technical assistance in US labor and health sector collaboration to address precarious work. Health Promotion International.
  • Welter, C., Jarpe-Ratner, E., Bonney, T., C. Pinsker, E., Fisher, E., Yankelev, A., … & Zanoni, J. (2021). Development of the Healthy Work Collaborative: Findings From an Action Research Study to Inform a Policy, Systems, and Environmental Change Capacity-Building Initiative Addressing Precarious Employment. Health Promotion Practice, 22(1), 41-51.
  • Welter, C., Jarpe-Ratner, E., Fouche, S., & Naji, S. (2020). Increasing Environmental Public Health Practitioner Capacity to Address Population Health Challenges: Evaluation Results From a Workforce Development Project. Journal of Environmental Health, 82(10), 20-26.
  • Welter, C. R., Bekemeier, B., & McKeever, J. (2020). Results and Recommendations From a National Public Health Workforce Development Systems Assessment Conducted in the United States. Pedagogy in Health Promotion, 2373379920907640.
  • Bonney, T., Welter, C., Jarpe-Ratner, E., Conroy, L. (2019). Understanding the Role of Academic Partners as Technical Assistance Providers: Results from an Exploratory Study to Address Precarious Work. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 16(20): 3903. DOI: 10.3390/ijerph16203903
  • Flores, A. L., Risley, K., Zanoni, J., Welter, C., Hawkins, D., Pinsker, E., Quintana, K. (2019). Factors of Success for Transitioning From a Scientific Role to a Supervisory Leadership Role in a Federal Public Health Agency, 2016. Public Health Reports, 134(5): 466-471. DOI: 10.1177/0033354919867728
  • Kovach, K. A., Welter, C., Seweryn, S. M., Torres, G. (2019). Barriers and Facilitators to Collaboration between Local Health Departments and Schools and Programs of Public Health – A Mixed-Methods Study. Collaborations: A Journal of Community-based Research and Practice, 2(1), 14. DOI: 10.33596/coll.38
  • Asada, Y., Gilmet, K., Welter, C., Massuda-Barnett, G., Kapadia, D. A., Fagen, M. (2018). Applying Theory of Change to a Structural Change Initiative: Evaluation of Model Communities in a Diverse County. Health Education & Behavior, 46(3), 377-387. DOI: 10.1177/1090198118818233

Service to Community

2017 - 2020  Elected Member At-Large, Illinois Public Health Association

2019 - 2020  Invited Academic Member, Mobilizing for Action through Planning and Partnerships Evolution Steering Committee,
National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO)

2012 - 2015 Site Visitor Chair, Public Health Accreditation Board

2011 - 2014 Appointed Governor’s State Health Improvement Plan Implementation Coordination Council

2007 - 2011 Invited Member, National Public Health Accreditation Board, Standards and Measures

Notable Honors

2018, Runner-up, Research to Practice Award, Health Administration Section, American Public Health Association

2018, Public Health Program of Excellence Award, Illinois Public Health Association

2017, Honorable Mention, 2017 Delta Omega Award for Innovative Public Health Curriculum, Delta Omega National Public Health Honor Society

2013, Active Living Research, Translating Research to Policy Award Recipient, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

Education

2010 Dr.P.H. Public Health Leadership, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL

2000 M.P.H. Health Behavior and Health Education, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Interdepartmental Concentration in Women’s and Reproductive Health

1998 B.A. Medical Anthropology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH
Honors in Anthropology and Women’s Studies; Graduate Magna Cum Laude
Minor: Sociology, Gerontology, and Women’s Studies

Professional Memberships

American Public Health Association

American Evaluation Association

Society of Public Health Education

Illinois Public Health Association

Selected Presentations

  • Welter, C., Fisher, L. (2020, March). Employment as a Social Determinant of Health. Keynote and workshop facilitator at the American Heart Association Semi-Annual Business Symposium. Milwaukee, WI.
  • Welter, C., Cibulskis, A., Tendick-Matesanz, F., Fisher, L. (2020, February). Healthy Work Collaborative:
    Advancing Total Worker Health ® to Address Precarious Work through Cross-Sector Partnerships.     National Occupational Research Agenda Services Sector Council. Webinar.
  • Welter, C. (2020, February). Precarious Employment. Panelist at the American Public Health Association Policy Institute. Washington D.C.
  • Welter, C. (2019, November). Public Health Accreditation Board Standard and Measures 2.0. Expert Panelist.
  • Welter, C. and Greenleaf, R. Facilitating a more resilient and adaptive workforce during times of crisis (September 2020). Division of Maternal Child Health Workforce Development. All Center Directors.
  • Welter, C., Massuda Barnett, G., Fisher, L, and Deb, N. Healthy Work Collaborative: Addressing Precarious Work through Strategic Public Health Partnerships (2020, July). NACCHO Annual, Denver, CO.
  • At the American Evaluation Association, Minneapolis, MN, November, 2019:
    • Welter, C. Evaluation of Community Engaged Research and Translation Processes: Lessons Learned from Three Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Prevention Research Centers.
    • Welter, C., Jarpe-Ratner, E., and Slater, S. Engaged Scholarship: Lessons Learned from the Illinois Prevention Research Center to Increase Partner and Community Readiness for Translation and Implementation of Policy, System and Environmental Change Initiatives.
    • Seweryn, S., Welter, C., Jarpe-Ratner, E., Bonney, T. A Qualitative Environmental Scan to Support User-Centered Evaluation Design of Framework for Community Health Planning. Co-Presenter.
    • Jarpe-Ratner, Welter, C., Bonney, T. Pinsker, E. Qualitative Scanning for Possible Paths to Systemic Change Redressing Precarious Work. Co-Presenter.
    • Welter, C. Engaged Scholarship and Environmental Scanning: Qualitative Methods for Forming Practice-Based Evaluation and Research. Presenter.
  • Conroy, L., Welter, C., and Bonney, T. “Lessons learned from the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health Center of Healthy Work.” Work Wellness and Disability Prevention Institute / Institut sur le bien-être au travail et la prévention de l’incapacité, formerly called Canadian Institute for the Relief of Pain and Disability. December, 2018.
  • Welter, C. Panelist. “The Way Forward: Building the Workforce of the Future.” National Public Health Workforce Forum. New Orleans, LA. May, 2018.
  • Welter, C., Jarpe-Ratner, E., Massuda-Barnet, G., Chebli, P., Hachett, L., Becker, A., and Geraci, M. “Understanding and catalyzing sustainable policy, systems and environmental change using participatory research with a local health department and its partners to drive population health improvements and address health equity.” American Public Health Association Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA. November, 2018.
  • Welter, C., Bekemier, B., McKeever, J., and Edgar, M. “Strategic Public Health Workforce Action Agenda.” Public Health Learning Network. National Webinar. April, 2018.
  • Welter, C., Jarpe-Ratner, E., Najo, S. Scallan, E., Davis, S., Mousavi, C, Guthrie, M, and Miner, K. “A Typology of Learning:  Approaches to addressing 21st century public health challenges”. Society for Public Health Education, 69th Annual Conference, Columbus, OH. 2018.

Research Currently in Progress

https://healthywork.uic.edu/

https://p3rc.uic.edu/

https://mchwdc.unc.edu/

https://publichealthlearningagenda.org/