Biography

Michele Bildner, DrPH, MPH, MCHES, is an equity-driven public health leader with over 15 years of experience advancing systems change through innovative collaboration, strategic management, and community capacity-building. Her work has focused on environmental justice issues driven by a strengths-based, community-centered approach. Michele brings together diverse partners from government, community, and private sectors to co-create sustainable solutions to the complex challenge of creating decent and healthy work.

She thrives in navigating ?wicked problems,? embracing their complexity to drive meaningful organizational change. At the CDC Foundation, Michele managed public-private partnerships that promoted upstream strategies for chronic disease prevention, emphasizing organizational and systems-level solutions over biomedical interventions.

A nationally recognized mentor and educator, Michele bridges public health practice and academia. She began her career in higher education in 2018 at her undergraduate alma mater. In 2022, she received SOPHE?s Karen Denard Goldman Award for her leadership in mentoring future public health professionals. As a volunteer leader with SOPHE National and Midwest, she championed policy, systems, and environmental change and local leadership while cultivating the next generation of health education specialists.

Michele is a skilled facilitator and project manager, known for her adaptive leadership and effective communication. She leads large-scale transformations by centering stakeholders, ensuring shared vision, buy-in, and long-term success. Her expertise includes soft systems methodology, human systems dynamics, action learning, and participatory applied research. With a proven track record of accountability, public dissemination, and impact, Michele consistently delivers results that reflect her deep commitment to health equity and systemic change.

Teaching

Scholarly/Creative Works