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Workforce Programs & Initiatives2025-12-04T18:01:13+00:00

Workforce Programs & Initiatives

Overview

Trailhead Workforce Programs & Initiatives (WPI) activate public and environmental health career entry pathways and innovative workforce sustainability strategies and help develop and advance the evolving public and environmental health workforce. With an approach oriented toward equity and inclusion, WPI efforts engage partners across multiple sectors and interdisciplinary areas that influence public and environmental health.

WPI leads, supports, and partners on guided learning experiences and develops data-inspired workforce capacity building resources for learners, employees, and employers. In addition to these efforts, WPI leverages continuous efforts to infuse the public and environmental health workforce as integral to broader workforce development programs, initiatives, and advocacy.

Programs & Initiatives

Colorado Public Health Works

Building Capacity for Public Health Organizations and Career Pathways into Public Health

Colorado Public Health Works is a groundbreaking AmeriCorps Apprenticeship program providing career entry into the public health field. This innovative program marks one of the first AmeriCorps programs to integrate with a registered apprenticeship program in the United States and is paving new pathways into the field for Colorado’s next generation of public health leaders. The program is currently recruiting for host sites.

Get Engaged With Colorado Public Health Works

Public Health Infrastructure Grant

Supporting Critical Public Health Infrastructure Needs

The Public Health Infrastructure Grant (PHIG) is a groundbreaking program funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as part of an unprecedented $3.84 billion investment to support critical public health infrastructure needs of public health departments across the United States.

As a Public Health Infrastructure Grant partner, Trailhead leads a fully collaborative Hub model in partnership with Colorado Health Institute, Montana Public Health Institute, and Public Health Institute at Denver Health. As one of nine Regional Innovation Hubs under the National Network of Public Health Institutes (NNPHI) Hub Model, Trailhead and fellow Hub partners provide technical assistance to PHIG recipients in Region 8 including Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming.

Resources to Support Sustainability Efforts

Using funding through the Public Health Infrastructure Grant, Trailhead and HRSA Region 8 partners are identified strategies and resources to support sustainability efforts across staff, programs, and funding and finance.

Explore Sustainability Resources

Colorado Public Health Workforce Collaborative

Ensuring Action From the Blueprint

The Colorado Public Health Workforce Collaborative (CPHWC) is an initiative launched by Trailhead Institute convening a partnership of organizations providing structure and support for the field of public health through coordination and collaboration across partners leading workforce initiatives in the state of Colorado.

Join the Collaborative

The Colorado Blueprint for Innovative Public Health Workforce Development

Actionable Strategies to Retain, Recruit, and Advance Colorado’s Public Health Workforce

We can build a stronger public health workforce that is innovative and responsive to our communities. Together with partners from the Colorado Public Health Workforce Collaborative, we’ve developed and launched RESTORE: The Colorado Blueprint for Innovative Public Health Workforce Development.

A new guiding resource from the Colorado Public Health Workforce Collaborative has launched to inform innovative action plans for building a diverse, skilled, and sustained public health workforce that reflects Colorado communities. RESTORE the Colorado Blueprint for Innovative Public Health Workforce Development places intentional focus on actionability and cross-sector partnership, providing strategies and a fillable action plan template for employers to engage in four focus areas of workforce development. These include diverse recruitment, building career and educational pathways into public health, retaining the workforce, and informing public health decisions with workforce data.

Collaboration and partnership across sectors are imperative for public health workforce development. Through the four strategic focus areas, the Blueprint aims to engage public and environmental health employers, local public health agencies, institutes and community-based organizations, colleges and universities, policymakers, hospitals, healthcare providers, faith-based organizations, schools, civic leaders, and members of the larger public health community to transform Colorado’s public health system, together.

The Blueprint paints a comprehensive picture of Colorado’s current public health landscape and presents a roadmap for propelling the field forward through intentional workforce development strategies. With a focus on actionability, Blueprint offers a toolbox of strategies and fillable action plan template for engaging across four focus areas alongside local and national examples of these strategies in action. The focus areas include: 

  1. Recruit and attract a diverse workforce into public health;
  2. Develop career and educational pathways including training for those pursuing a career in public health;
  3. Retain the public health workforce to keep talented employees, sustain positive outcomes, and foster a positive work atmosphere; and
  4. Inform public health decisions with workforce data to identify trends, gaps, and development metrics.
Explore, Download, and Share the Blueprint

Engaging Veterans

A Blueprint Strategy in Action

To better understand the needs of Veterans transitioning to civilian life and the capabilities and value that Veterans can bring to the public health workforce, Trailhead Institute, Amaka Consulting and Evaluation Services (ACES), Black Ladies in Public Health (BLIPH), and Informing Veterans and Dependents (IVAD), designed and conducted a national literature review and innovative environmental scan leveraging extensive research and discussions with veterans across all branches of the military.

Learn more about this collaborative research effort and access the national literature review, Colorado environmental scan and action planning support tool through the link below.

Learn More About Engaging Military Veterans in the Public Health Workforce

Reports & Action Planning Tools

The Blueprint provides strategies and a fillable action plan template for employers to engage in four focus areas of workforce development that prioritize equitable recruitment and retention, career pathways, and actionable data for the future of the public and environmental health workforce.

Leveraging extensive discussions with Veterans across all branches of the military, this national literature review and environmental scan of Colorado collaboratively define strategies to support employers and the public health community with engaging military Veterans in the public health workforce. The reports examine what supports Veterans need in order to access, advance, and thrive within the public and environmental health sectors.

An action planning support tool is available to guide strategic planning, reflection, and implementation efforts.

The Introduction to Administrative Equity Guide provides recommendations for infusing equity within finance, contracts and procurement, and human resources functions to improve how public health organizations make their administrative systems more just and responsive to employees and communities. Trailhead WPI supported the report’s development offering key insights and considerations for how equitable administrative practices serve to attract and retain the public health workforce and support engagement with communities.

Connect With Us

To learn more about workforce programs and initiatives underway with Trailhead, please reach out to our team at workforce@trailhead.institute.

As Featured in Trailhead’s Newsletter

Learn more about Trailhead’s support for Colorado’s public health workforce through our newsletters.