Contact

Position:
Instructor
Email:
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Biography

Biography:

Mark Valacak PhotoPublic Health Focus/Interests:

Instructor Valacak’s main interests are in communicable and chronic disease prevention, infant mortality reduction, reducing health disparity, and protecting the public from environmental hazards to health.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Education:

Master of Public Health, Public Health Administration and Environmental Health
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI

Bachelor of Science, Biology
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI

 

Public Health Courses Taught:

HM 101: Introduction to Public Health
HM 823: Public Health Partners in Medicine
HM 827: Principles of Public Health Leadership
HM 858: Occupational Health and Safety

 

Professional Experience/Expertise:

From September 2009 until October 2017, Mr. Valacak served as health officer and director of the Genesee County Health Department. Previously, he served as director of the Community Health Division of the Genesee County Health Department. He was responsible for directing the clinical services provided by the local health department, which included: immunizations, family planning, breast and cervical cancer screening, senior health screening, TB, STD and HIV counseling and testing, the communicable disease reporting and follow-up services mandated by the Public Health Code, and management of the nine county Region 4 Michigan Care Improvement Registry. Mr. Valacak has also previously served as acting director of both the Environmental Health and Personal Health Divisions of the Genesee County Health Department. He also teaches environmental health, occupational health, health science applications and the capstone course for health science majors at the University of Michigan-Flint.

 

Professional Activities or Current Research:

National Association of County & City Health Officials HIV/STI Prevention Workgroup

Flint Community Research Advisory Committee MSU College of Human Medicine

University of Michigan Injury Prevention External Advisory Board

MSU Flint Center for Health Equity Advisory Board

MSU Public Health Workforce Development Committee

University of Michigan-Flint Public Health Advisory Committee

 

 

Recent Publications, Presentations:

2010 Leadership Award (for advancing health equity and building healthy communities), REACH Coalition,     

2012 Director’s Award (for the Creating Community Change Initiative), Michigan Department of Community Health

2012 Visionary Leadership Award, Genesee Health Plan

2012 Collegiate Lecturer of the Year Award nominee, University of Michigan-Flint

2012 poster presentation on: “High STI incidence in racial geographic isolates at the 2012 American Public Health Association Annual Meeting

2012 published “African-American youth perspectives on sexuality education” in the August 2012 Journal of Sex Education

2012 served as faculty for CDC Orientation for New Health Officers in Atlanta, Georgia October 2012

2013 Preventing Injury from Research to Practice conference presenter, Midwest Injury Prevention Alliance conference

2013 APHA conference poster Making Data Useful: Using Multiple Methods to Share the Results of a Community Health Survey to Improve Community Health Outcomes

2014 poster presentation Improving Infant Mortality and Birth Outcomes in Genesee County Michigan Public Health Conference

2014 Bruce and Lillian Wright Teaching Award for online education University of Michigan-Flint

2016 Flint Water Crisis co-presenter on Responding to the Flint Water Crisis with Dr. Marc Edwards of Virginia Tech at the 2016 National Environmental Health Association Conference

2016 The Flint Water Crisis from a Local Public Health Perspective--National Association of County City Health Officials National Conference

2016 Presentation--Declaring a Public Health Emergency in Flint--National Public Health Law Conference, Washington DC 2016

Co-author APHA 2016 roundtable on a collaborative bi-directional approach to educating the Flint Community during the Flint Water Crisis

2016 Michigan Association of Local Environmental Health Administrators Distinguished Service Award

2017 New York City Department of Health presentation “The Flint Water Crisis from Lead to Legionella”

2017 Michigan Environmental Health Association Conference presentation “An Update on the Flint Water Crisis and Understanding the Lead Copper Standard”

2018 Genesee Health Plan Special Recognition Award for serving on the Board of Directors from 2011-2018