Lindsey Brewer
Facilitation Program Administrator
Kentucky Department for Public Health
This year's recipient is a testament to the values and mission of the Kentucky Department for Public Health. On January 3, 2022, Lindsey Brewer took on the role of Student Internship Program Coordinator within the Center for Foundational Health, Division of Public Health Protection and Safety. Through her leadership, dedication, and hard work she has made significant improvements in the Student Internship Program.
Her accomplishments include:
- Establishing partnerships with nine universities, including Bellarmine University, Eastern Kentucky University, Kentucky State University, Murray State University, Northern Kentucky University, Simmons College of Kentucky, University of Kentucky, University of Louisville, and Western Kentucky University.
- Increasing the total number of paid internships at the Kentucky Department for Public Health from six interns in Spring/Summer 2022 to 136 interns in Spring 2025 through collaboration with KDPH employees and university staff. Impressively, nine of these interns have been hired by KDPH.
- Offering public health experiential learning opportunities to 457 university students by scheduling two Kentucky Public Health Association (KPHA) Student Engagement Pre-conferences (2023/2024) and eight Discover, Experience, Apply and Learn (DEAL) Days.
- Creating a Practicum Placement Catalog that allows KDPH staff to share program-specific internship opportunities with university staff and students for each semester. This catalog also includes links for program information and internship application forms.
- Developing new reporting processes and Internship Time and Attendance Tracking Forms to document work time and accomplishments for each intern.
- Creating fact sheets and informational documents to ensure accurate communication with KDPH staff, university staff, and university students.
Lindsey's innovative and creative approaches to the improvement and continued growth of KDPH’s Student Internship Program have contributed to the sustainment of a well-trained, response-ready, public health workforce.