Kevin Kovach, Dr.P.H., M.Sc.

Kevin Kovach, Dr.P.H., M.Sc., Principal Strategist for Public Health Services and Systems, is a fierce champion for public health. He believes public health is essential for strong communities but maximizing that potential requires transforming how the system works. Kevin’s work supports public health leaders with strategic thinking, navigating change and pursuing innovation. He conducts research on how to strengthen the public health system and helps public health organizations position themselves for success.

Key work includes the Transforming Public Health for the 21st Century  blog, which brings ideas from beyond public health into conversations with the field while elevating emerging voices. Other work includes the What Happened to Health in Kansas?  Delphi study, which examined the upstream causes of Kansas’ relative health decline.

Kevin brings more than two decades of public health experience at the local, state and national levels. Before joining the Kansas Health Institute, he led the population and community health department at the American Academy of Family Physicians and helped establish its Center for Diversity and Health Equity. He also has worked as an epidemiologist, health educator and emergency preparedness coordinator.

Kevin teaches in the University of Illinois Chicago Dr.P.H. program, serves as Policy Co-Chair for the National Association for Doctors of Public Health and sits on the editorial board of the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice. He earned a doctor of public health in leadership from the University of Illinois at Chicago, a master of science in epidemiology from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and a graduate certificate in qualitative research from Kansas State University.