Michele Shimomura Joins Trailhead Institute as President and Executive Director
Michele Shimomura Brings Two Decades of Public Health and Environmental Experience
August 2024 – We are pleased to announce the selection of Michele Shimomura as Trailhead Institute’s next president and executive director effective August 16, 2024. Her hiring follows a competitive search for a leader who is strategic, equity-focused, and has proven skills in systems thinking and building coalitions to advance the field of public and environmental health.
Shimomura has 20 years of experience guiding teams, grant writing, funding, technology, and strategic planning as well as small business ownership through her work with Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment, the Denver Department of Public Health & Environment, and The Goddard School at Northfield.
“Trailhead’s Board of Directors are excited to open the next chapter for the organization as it continues to build community-informed solutions to public health needs across Colorado,” said Tom Butts, Trailhead Institute’s Board Chair. “We want to welcome Michele Shimomura, MS, MPH as the new President and Executive Director to the organization with its strong 30-year history and engaged staff who have nurtured a steady, collaborative foundation upon which to launch this next chapter.”
Supporting Colorado’s Governmental Public Health System
For the past four years, Shimomura was the Director of the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment’s Office of Public Health Practice, Planning, and Local Partnerships (OPHP) and supported the diverse needs of the governmental public health system across Colorado through funding, workforce, and strategic approaches to public health transformation. Before that, she worked with the City and County of Denver in a number of leadership roles including as the Public Health Manager for the Health Equity & Injury Prevention Section in the Community & Behavioral Health Division.
Centering Strengths-Based Leadership
As Trailhead’s president and executive director, she will be responsible for leading organizational strategy to further advance Trailhead’s mission to foster innovation and collaboration across Colorado’s public health field. Shimomura will play a pivotal role in public and environmental health advancement, guide fund development strategy for Trailhead’s diverse portfolio of public health programs, and support continued connection and collaboration across Trailhead’s staff, Board, and network of community partners across the Rocky Mountain region.
Shimomura brings a deep understanding of Colorado’s public health system and valuable skills in relationship building, building on team strengths, and empowering her peers to make choices, take chances, and pursue passions that improve their communities.
Shimomura received her undergraduate degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder, a Master’s of Science degree in Information Systems from Colorado State University, and a Master’s of Public Health from the Colorado School of Public Health at the University of Colorado at Anschutz.