PublicHealth Focus/Interests:
Linda Gordon is a part-time instructor for the MSU MPH program. Additionally, she is the associate director of the Center for Health Equity Practice at the Michigan Public Health Institute (MPHI). She is a health equity practitioner with a commitment to advancing equity, social justice, and cultivating anti-oppressive public health praxis. She is a public health leader with over 20 years of experience across a range of contexts. In her current role, she supports all programmatic operations, business development, and strategic visioning, leads a team of health equity consultants, and designs and delivers a range of capacity-building initiatives on the topics of systems change and health equity. Additionally, she is the lead on several health equity initiatives throughout the state of Michigan and nationally.
Before joining MPHI, Ms. Gordon was the assistant director of Michigan State University’s Master of Public Health program, where she was an instructor and directed both the capstone and practicum experiences for students. During her time with MSU, she co-designed and co-lead a community-based participatory research program in Ghana, West Africa, in addition to leading programs in both Brazil and Costa Rica. In addition to teaching, Ms. Gordon has participated in health research on a range of topics including: clinical care, mental health, water & sanitation, nutrition, ethics, and health disparities. She has expertise in health equity, racial inequities in health, structural and cultural dimensions of health, global public health, community engagement, applied social research methods and design, program evaluation, facilitation, and curriculum development.
Education:
Master of Public Health, 2016
Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
Master of Arts, Medical Anthropology, 2011
Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
Master of Science, Sociology with a concentration in Applied Social Research Methods, 2009
Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL
Bachelor of Science, Anthropology, 2006
Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL
Public Health Courses Taught:
PH 804: Public Health Policy and Administration
PH 880: Quantitative Methods in Public Health Research
PH 837: Poverty and Public Health
PH 839: Water and Public Health
PH 891: Public Health Applied Practice Experience (Practicum)
PH 893: Public Health Integrative Learning Experience (Capstone)
PH 848/891: Public Health in Ghana: Community-based Field Methods
PUBHLTH 516: Leadership Skills for Interprofessional Practice (University of Michigan Online MPH)
PUBHLTH 500: Investigating Public Health Issues (University of Michigan Residential MPH)
PH 680 & 681: Applied Practice and Integrative Experience I & II
Professional Experience/Expertise:
Doctoral student in Medical Anthropology from 2009-2014
Instructor for MSU MPH Program from 2011-2018
Former Assistant Director of MSU MPH Program from 2017-2018
Course Director: Capstone and Practicum (ILE/APEX)
Education Abroad Program Leader: Ghana, Brazil, Costa Rica from 2011-2018
Lecturer, University of Michigan Department of Public Health, 2021-Current
Senior Health Equity Consultant, Center for Health Equity Practice, at the Michigan Public Health Institute (MPHI) from 2018-2019
Associate Director, Center for Health Equity Practice, MPHI from 2019-Current
Professional Activities or Current Research:
2021-Present Project Co-Director, Strategies to Repair Equity and Transform Community Health (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation): In partnership with the CDC Foundation and American Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, this project launched a national learning community and coaching/national technical assistance program to support state health agencies in addressing systemic racism, advancing health equity and creating resilient communities through systems change and community engagement.
2021-Present Project Co-Director, Community Architecture to Achieve and Sustain Equity (MHEF): Partner with local health departments, community-based organizations, and systems leaders to disrupt racial inequities in maternal and infant mortality by building a “community architecture” to achieve and sustain equity and systems change.
2023-Present Advisory Council Member, Practice Advisory Council, University of Michigan School of Public Health
2020-Present Committee Member, Workforce Development Committee, Michigan State University, Master of Public Health Program
2020-2021 Steering Committee Member, National Center for Fatality Review & Prevention
Recent Publications, Presentations:
MPHI (Gordon, L. Contributing Author), Advancing Health Equity: Guide on Language, Narrative and Concepts. American Medical Association and Association of American Medical Colleges. (2021). Available at ama-assn.org/equity-guide
MPHI (Gordon, L. Contributing Author), Community Approaches to System Change: A Compendium of Practices, Reflections, and Findings: Spotlight on Health Equity. Build Health Challenge. (2019).
Raymond G. De Vries, Ph.D.; Kerry Ryan, M.A.; Linda Gordon, MS, MA, MPH; Chris Krenz, B.A.; Tom Tomlinson, Ph.D.; Scott Jewell, Ph.D.; Scott Kim, M.D., Ph.D. Biobanks and the Moral Concerns of Donors: A Democratic Deliberation. (2019). Social Science & Medicine.
Tom Tomlinson, PhD; Raymond G. De Vries, PhD; H. Myra Kim, ScD; Linda Gordon, MS, MA, MPH; Kerry A. Ryan, MA; Chris D. Krenz, BA; Scott Jewell, PhD; Scott Y. H., Kim, MD, PhD. Effect of Deliberation on the Public’s Attitudes Toward Consent Policies for Biobank Research. (2018). European Journal of Human Genetics.
Professional Website URL:
https://mphi.org/our-teams/center-for-health-equity-practice/
