Keep Moving Forward:

Executive Director Michele Shimomura on People, Places, and Public Health 

By Taruni Donti

Taruni: Tell me about the first job that you’ve ever held. 

Michele: I think I was 14 or 15 years old, and I was a soccer referee. I played soccer when I was little. I wasn’t the best player.  

Taruni: Maybe it’s the passion that counts.  

Michele: It is passion! And then sometimes skill matters, too. In my case that was speed – or lack of, I should say. I think I really enjoyed the team environment of sports. To get certified as a referee, I took a class. I believe I must have worked for the parks and recreation department or something in the city of Fort Collins. And so, I refereed little kids’ soccer games. You’d be surprised at how intense some of the parents get [Laughs]. That was my first introduction to managing and staying calm in tense situations. I think I did that for about two or three seasons, and that was enough of being a soccer referee for me. 

Taruni: What sparked your interest in public health? 

Michele: In the beginning, I worked more on the environmental side of public health and did IT and GIS [geographic information systems] work. Mapping things out really showed me how interconnected everything is. I’m passionate about the environment and exploring what’s good for plants and animals, and humans have a big impact on the environment. Then I started thinking about how the environment impacts humans, which led me to explore health outcomes and all the factors that affect health.  

About 20-some years ago, I had just finished my Master’s in Computer Information Systems at the business school at Colorado State University in Fort Collins. I knew I didn’t want to go back into that corporate world. And so I volunteered with the Forest Service and did some GIS work for them which included a lot of digitizing and mapping. It brought together my background in studying information systems and my undergraduate experience in international affairs, which involved a lot of geography and history. I took more classes in GIS and when I started looking for positions, I was very interested in wildlife biology and ecology.  

Then I saw this information manager position with what’s now called the Bird Conservancy of the Rockies. It was a great organization and gave me that introduction into the non-profit world where people are passionate, smart, and dedicated to the cause. We worked a lot with landowners and explored how to balance protecting avian ecology while also creating spaces for people to enjoy wildlife. So how can we create spaces that are healthy for wildlife and healthy for humans, right? My experience there solidified that I wanted to work for an organization that had a positive impact on people and places.  

That’s a continual thread throughout my work. Sometimes you lose sight of it a little bit as you go, but it’s something I keep coming back to – people and places and communities.  

That’s a continual thread throughout my work. Sometimes you lose sight of it a little bit as you go, but it’s something I keep coming back to – people and places and communities.  

Sandhill cranes stop over each March in Monte Vista, Colorado as they migrate from New Mexico to Idaho. The flock of 20,000 birds rests here and replenishes carbohydrates before completing their journey. Photo Credit: skibreck

Taruni: What’s been the most impactful or exciting moment for you in your public health journey? 

Michele: I would say the most impactful was recently working at CDPHE [the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment] in the Office of Public Health Practice, Planning, and Local Partnerships. I enjoyed working statewide and with local public health agencies and the communities they represent to ensure that everyone has access to what keeps them healthy. Each community had different strengths, challenges, and things they were working on.  

Being in my position with CDPHE, we had the ability to fund and support a lot of these local public health agencies. I liked being in that behind-the-scenes supporter role. I don’t have to be the face of things, and I enjoyed supporting the good work that others were doing.  

For example, I supported local public health agencies on receiving more state funding from Senate Bill 243 – a three-year funding addition through the pandemic. That work included a series of small steps that resulted in a bigger win. And that wasn’t only my win. Many, many other people led that. We were a supporting partner.  

There will always be a need to protect the funding we have and support getting increased funding for local public health agencies and the public health system. It’s never quite done. So while that was a big win, I appreciate those smaller wins of supporting partners and strengthening the system.  

Taruni: The importance of small steps. Can you talk a bit more about this philosophy? 

Michele: Some of the issues we’re tackling in public health are huge. As much as I love data and information, sometimes when you have so much of it, it’s overwhelming and leads to analysis paralysis. You don’t know how to move forward.  

In those moments, it’s helpful to just stay in the present. What’s your next step? That feels more doable. It’s easier to communicate those smaller increments with the people who come along with you as you work towards that larger vision you’re aiming towards.  

Small steps and staying in the present also allow for innovation or unexpected detours and connections that might be beneficial to help you reach your goal. Sometimes a new opportunity presents itself. It’s important to follow that curiosity, take a little bit of a left or right turn from what you originally planned. I think it’s for the better. You learn things you never would have if you never took those first small steps. 

Small steps and staying in the present also allow for innovation or unexpected detours and connections that might be beneficial to help you reach your goal.

Taruni: What is the biggest lesson that you’ve had to learn in your career? 

Michele: Public health has always had inconsistent funding, which creates inconsistent processes and siloed work. It’s hard for public health agencies to plan for medium to longer term efforts or changes because they don’t necessarily have the confidence that the funding is going to be there. Or, they don’t have the capacity to build up those systems and people. Even for one-to-two-year funding cycles, it’s hard to build a system or a robust program in only that long. You need to be able to hire and train people. The foundation of how the system works is important. 

Colorado’s Blueprint for Innovative Public Health Workforce Development outlines longstanding challenges to public health funding and their impacts on the public health workforce. The Blueprint was released by Trailhead Institute’s Workforce Programs & Initiatives and the Colorado Public Health Workforce Collaborative.

Taruni: Is there a project that comes to mind where you saw this in action?  

Michele: I saw this with the pandemic funding that went to public health agencies. Knowing that it was short-term funding, some agencies had immediate projects where they could use that funding, and it helped. In other communities, it was harder to spend that funding, especially in some rural or frontier communities where the workforce is tighter and it’s harder to find the qualified people that they need for certain types of work. It’s not that the funding wasn’t needed, but it was needed in the longer term, longer than a one-year funding cycle, which is what some of the pandemic funding was.  

We can’t just stand up systems on a dime. It takes years to really build a robust system. That was an important lesson for me. And the struggle with the pandemic funding is it’s not the first public health funding wave that is then followed by a retraction. That’s where I think everyone’s waiting. How much of the funding can be sustained as we move forward? Because funding ebbs and flows, it makes public health in general a difficult field. 

We can’t just stand up systems on a dime. It takes years to really build a robust system.

Taruni: How has your perspective on health equity been influenced by your experiences in the field? 

Michele: I think there’s so much complexity in the factors that influence our health. People don’t have the same access to health care, healthy foods, healthy environments. We see this difference between urban and rural communities. Geographically, rural and frontier areas are going to have different challenges in access to health care. In more urban areas, it’s important to think about not just current communities, but how the arc of time has influenced communities. Communities are not just geographical constructs, but social constructs. Policies such as redlining still have influence today.  

At the same time, I also think about the strengths that are already within communities. Public health doesn’t always build upon these assets. Oftentimes public health – or at least governmental public health – has the funding and resources, but community-based organizations have the knowledge and assets. It’s important for public health entities to be supportive of communities and have community-based solutions to help achieve health equity. Every community is unique, and structural and systemic barriers affect different communities in different ways.  

It’s important for public health entities to be supportive of communities and have community-based solutions to help achieve health equity. Every community is unique, and structural and systemic barriers affect different communities in different ways.  

Taruni: What sparked your interest in Trailhead Institute? 

President and Executive Director Michele Shimomura joins Trailhead Institute in August.

Michele: Trailhead occupies a really unique place within the public health ecosystem. I’ve learned more about the Administrative Partnership Program, which is a good example of leading from behind and supporting community-based organizations to implement community-based solutions. That program provides foundational administrative and financial support, which has a multiplying effect at a community level, and that really sparked my interest. 

Initially, I knew about Trailhead from its systems level work. Trailhead is a connector, convener, and collaborator in a way that not many organizations are, especially in Colorado and really across the United States. It’s exciting to be a part of a non-governmental entity that helps connect local public health agencies, state and university entities, and community-based programs. Trailhead has a lot of power and the ability to move and foster change together with our partners. 

Trailhead is a connector, convener, and collaborator in a way that not many organizations are, especially in Colorado and really across the United States.

Taruni: What are you most excited about in your role as executive director?   

Michele: Right now, I’m in listening mode. I’ve heard from staff and have learned so much about the different programs. A lot of our programs fill a need in a way that isn’t found anywhere in our public health system right now. I’m excited to see how we can better collaborate across programs and explore how we can scale to increase our reach.  

My role as executive director is to be that background support. I can also offer a new viewpoint about potential connections and think collaboratively about how to implement some new ideas that programs may have. I’m also excited to explore the relationships with internal and external partners and think through how Trailhead can fill gaps in ways that other entities might not have the power to in our public health ecosystem.  

Taruni: If you could go back and have coffee with your younger self before you started your public health career, maybe when you were a soccer referee, what is one piece of advice you have for them? 

Michele: Plans don’t always go as planned. [Laughs]. Sometimes you think you want to go in one direction, and then you find out that’s not what you wanted to do at all. It’s okay to change. It’s okay to back up. There’s going to be times when you’re at a crossroads and you’re not sure what to do. Just don’t let systems or other people define what you want. Just keep the momentum going. It kind of goes with that small step mantra. Stay in the present and check in with yourself. Is this what I want to be doing? Is this what makes me happy? Is this fulfilling?   

There’s going to be times when you’re at a crossroads and you’re not sure what to do. Just don’t let systems or other people define what you want. Just keep the momentum going.

And maybe, just keep moving? I think about that often. Motion creates emotion. Especially if you’re feeling stagnant, just put the next foot forward. Sometimes that movement, as opposed to standing still, can help create clarity where things weren’t so clear before.  

I had a professor that would say: whenever you feel stuck on something, stop. Go take a walk. Or go do something else and come back and you’ll have a new perspective. But if you keep trying to hammer away at it from brute force, it’s painful and you might not figure it out.  

Even talking to people, like your trusted partners or collaborators, can be a way to stimulate thought and figure out whatever that next step might be. Which just goes back to people. I really value people and the relationships that I have. I want to keep developing those relationships throughout my work at Trailhead.  

So that’s what I would say. Keep moving forward.