The Kansas Health Institute announces that Gianfranco Pezzino, M.D., M.P.H, will retire at the end of this year after nearly 18 years as senior fellow with the nonprofit educational organization. He has nearly 40 years of service in medicine and public health, both in the U.S. and abroad.
“I have thoroughly enjoyed my tenure at KHI and have appreciated this opportunity to contribute to the ongoing dialogue about the state of health in Kansas,” said Pezzino. “During my career, I’ve had the great pleasure of working alongside many talented people in the health policy arena, and it is safe to say I will miss the team environment associated with this fulfilling and meaningful work.”
Robert F. St. Peter, M.D., President and CEO, congratulates Pezzino on his retirement and applauds him on his remarkable career at KHI. “Gianfranco is well-known for his accomplishments in the public health community, and at KHI this work has been centered on research and evaluation that positively impacts public health policy and programming. His retirement is well-deserved,” said St. Peter. “The entire KHI team is grateful for his dedication to our mission, providing leadership on projects spanning topics such as emergency preparedness, immunizations, chronic disease prevention and public health funding.”
A longtime leader in the Kansas public health system at the state and local levels, including many years as the health officer for Shawnee County as well as the state epidemiologist at the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, Pezzino has dedicated his career to improving the health of the population. A native of Italy, he started his career in Europe and Africa before moving to the U.S.
In addition to his senior fellow role at KHI, Pezzino has also served as the director of the Center for Sharing Public Health Services, a national initiative managed by KHI with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.