The transformative power of teaching is a central tenet of my professional commitments and contributions. Teaching – in a classroom and in one-on-one settings – is an extraordinary opportunity for empowerment and connection. The values of equity and justice guide my dedication to building skills that allow my students to elevate their own voices, to engage effectively in policy dialogue, and to develop their capacity for leadership in the field of public health. I take a skills-based approach of interactive learning and professional collaboration with my students, and my teaching and advising are integrated with my research and service activities. I use examples from my own research and policy engagement in my classes, and every time I teach, I gain insights from my students that shape how I do my work.
As a faculty member at the University of Minnesota, I have engaged extensively in course development and innovation, as well as classroom teaching (in person and online). I developed and taught a required masters-level class in health policy (PubH 6835), developed and taught an online version of that course (PubH 6835-online), expanded the course from 2 to 3 credits (PubH 6735), and co-developed and taught a new 1-credit version of the policy course for executive students that includes both in-person and online portions (PubH 7569). I have taught at least one course (average 40 students) nearly every semester since I began my faculty appointment. My goals for my students are:
1. To introduce students to the policy environment that influences and shapes public health and the provision of health care services,
2. To enhance understanding of the historical and political context of health policy,
3. To develop strategies and skills for analysis of health policy issues, and
4. To build skills to communicate effectively in the policy environment.
My advising activities are an extension of my teaching and research interests. I have served as an academic advisor to over 50 students in a formal capacity, and I advise and mentor many others – at the University of Minnesota as well as other institutions. I have served on many masters thesis committees and doctoral dissertation committees. My former students hold positions ranging from Assistant Professor to Assistant Commissioner of Human Services to Policy Director to Legislative Liaison, and many former students return to my classroom to provide guest lectures or as panelists.
Teaching Purpose and Approach
My approach to teaching centers on the goal of providing students with the necessary skills to address a range of problems in the interdisciplinary field of health policy. The major issues and research methods in this field are constantly evolving. As a result, my primary goal is to convey not just specific tools and methods, but to help students develop the ability and confidence to critically assess current research and approach new problems in an innovative and rigorous manner. Thus, my teaching is interactive and example-based; students work collaboratively on current policy issues and reflect on past lessons learned. In my courses, I invite guest speakers, including academic experts, clinicians, policymakers, practitioners, and a panel of lobbyists to attend and present in our class. I am integrating more interactive and online content for all of the class formats in which I teach.
Teaching Outcomes and Accomplishments
I am proud to offer courses that teach talented students the practical skills they need to successfully engage and influence health care policy. Assignments for my courses have evolved – based on student and community feedback. Through these assignments, I have been teaching the following practical, immediately applicable skills:
Familiarity with the legislative aspects of the health policy process
Effective written and oral communication with a legislator about a health policy issue
Experience defining a public health policy problem
Writing an issue brief to communicate the magnitude, significance, and urgency of a policy problem to a policy audience
Delivering an elevator speech to demonstrate brief, persuasive speaking
Writing an Op/Ed with an appropriately targeted policy message
Writing a policy proposal that analyzes potential solutions to complex health policy challenges and presents a clearly-justified recommendation to a policy audience
Students particularly enjoy engaging with state legislators on public health issues in which they develop policy expertise over the course of the semester. In the courses I teach (PubH 6835 and PubH 6735), approximately half of all students have an exchange with their own legislator about a policy topic of their choosing, and several have influenced legislative priorities or informed a legislator’s vote on a pending bill.