Haley J. Stewart, MPH

I value the art and science of public health and the tools, partnerships and community engagement practices that help us address health issues upstream in order to identify root causes and their effective solutions. My primary public health work has been as a Public Health Planner with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. Through my time with the (then called) Office of Planning, Partnerships and Improvement, I provided technical assistance to 50 + county level public health agencies in meeting the planning and assessment requirements of the Colorado Public Health Act, while also meeting standards for accreditation and utilizing quality improvement practices to improve delivery and impact of services. I also partnered throughout CDPHE and across state level organizations to champion equity, evaluation and quality improvement in public health practices, especially as a way to modernize the state’s public health system. Intimate work with the assessment and planning practices across Colorado enabled me to co-author the 2019 version of the Colorado Health Assessment and Planning System (CHAPS). Before and after my time with CDPHE, I worked at the non-profit level where I managed and implemented community programming that impacted social determinants of health at individual and community levels. Working at state and local levels, in both urban and rural settings, has given me an appreciation of the role public health plays in the healthy functioning of our communities.

Prior to entering public health work, I was a competitive athlete and coach at the international level, including the Olympics. My own experience with sport has taught me the value of personal and community well-being and the conditions needed to achieve it. Throughout both lines of work, to further my learning and impact, I have also served on boards, committees, and presented at statewide conferences to promote public health and sport. 

I earned a Master’s in Public Health from the Colorado School of Public Health and a combinded Bachelor of Arts in Public Policy and Social Services from the University of Denver and Environmental Studies from Bates College. I now live in a place that affords me the opportunity to pursue public health work and sport, while raising my young family in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.