Case 4 : The Unique Role of Leadership in Public Health

Sarah Johnson was given the task to create a Public Health Leadership Hub within the OPHA website that could provide resources for development of leadership for professionals in the Public Health sector. Another task was to work on developing an initial curriculum for an intensive leadership development program. Both of these tasks would be a part of the development of a Leadership Center at OPHA. Some of the ground work was already done by the Ontario Public Health Association, including a program proposal. Sarah started doing a scan on developments taking place in this field in Canada and other parts of the world. Sarah’s own findings, along with a report from the Community Health Nurses of Canada, made it clear to her that there was a possibility of addressing this knowledge gap through the provision of learning resources combined with an educational program. A Leadership Reference Group was created to provide advice on the program content, delivery, possible participants, speakers, teaching methods, and duration. This reference group included representatives from OPHA’s Board of Directors, academics, long time public health leaders, OPHA’s Executive Director, some staff members, and Sarah. Based on an assessment of gaps and opportunities, OPHA’s Public Health Leadership Center planned to focus on five areas: Mentoring and Coaching Leadership Development and Training Networking and Communities of Practice Leadership Research and Resource Center An Annual Leadership Summit and Leadership Award