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Public Health Joy: Community Power, Health Equity, and Leadership in ActionAuthor: Dr. Joyee Washington
Public Health Joy is a podcast for public health professionals, researchers, and community leaders who believe equity, justice, and healing belong at the center of public health work. Hosted by Dr. Joyee Washington, the show explores community-engaged research, health equity, leadership, policy, technology, entrepreneurship and sustainable public health careers, bridging strategy with soul to reimagine public health. This is a space where rest fuels resistance, community power drives change, and public health becomes a tool for collective healing and transformation. Language: en Genres: Science, Social Sciences Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it Trailer: |
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S5 E15 - Redefining Public Health Leadership: The Evolving Leader
Episode 15
Friday, 4 September, 2026
In this episode, Dr. Joyee Washington sits down with the Region 4 Public Health Training Center's Leading Public Health podcast to unpack what leadership actually looks like in public health right now. Not the old top-down, credentials-first version, but something rooted in self-awareness, vulnerability, and community as our compass.She gets honest about what it means to lead in environments that feel less "high stakes" and more just plain hostile: shrinking departments, disappearing funding, jobs that don't feel stable anymore. And she names the thing most of us won't say out loud: that we've been taught to martyr ourselves for "the greater good," and that's not noble. That's extraction. That's why we're burned out.Dr. Joyee shares what effective leadership actually requires now: clarity in chaos, strategic rest, distributing leadership instead of hoarding it, and doing the internal work first; because you cannot give what you do not have. She reminds us that how you treat yourself is a mirror for how you'll treat your team, and that healthy leaders are the ones who build teams that can actually sustain the work.This conversation is part of a special series, and we're so glad to bring it to you here on The Public Health Joy Podcast. Whether you're leading a team, holding a department together, or just trying to figure out how to lead yourself well first, this episode meets you there.One thing is clear: leadership isn't about who's at the top. It's about who's willing to change, share power, and create space for everyone to do their best work.Redefining leadership in public health [01:53 – 09:58] The importance of vulnerability and self-awareness [16:29 – 25:07] Strategies for effective leadership in high-stakes environments [10:41 – 16:29] Leadership habits that unintentionally shut people down (perfectionism, scarcity mindset, emotional unavailability) [25:53 – 38:05]If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and leave a review! For more transcripts, show notes, and more visit: Click Here
