Institute for Public Health Practice, Research and Policy

Vickie Miene, MS, MA, LMHC

Project Director

Vickie Miene is the Executive Director of the Institute for Public Health Practice, Research and Policy at the University of Iowa College of Public Health. The institute brings together researchers, public health practitioners, community leaders and policy makers to expand the impact of public health research and improve the health of populations. 

Director Miene is trained as a mental health therapist and earned a Master of Health Care Delivery Science degree from Dartmouth College. Her education and her 30 years of work experience have enabled her to develop a unique skill set. Through her psychology and mental health background, Ms. Miene has gained experience with group engagement strategies, adult learning concepts and interpersonal learning techniques which create successful training experiences. In addition, her MS degree helped her further develop expertise in organizational effectiveness, quality improvement methods, evaluation and strategies to build meaningful collaborations. Moreover, she is skilled at teaching others how to build shared agendas and create collaborative partnerships among organizations.  Ms. Miene leads many projects with Iowa HHS including the Public Health Workforce grant, a multifaceted contract which includes building and delivering trainings for the current public health workforce in the areas of heath equity and communicating and visualizing public health data. Ms Miene leads the Iowa Child Lead poisoning Prevention Program and the Infectious Disease Tabletop training program.  Ms. Miene leads program evaluation efforts on several statewide projects including the Iowa rural Health Vitality Program and others.  In addition, she is the Administrative Services Director for the Iowa Cancer Network and the National Director of Curriculum Development and Evaluation for the Child Obesity prevention program, Healthy LifeStars  

Contact at vickie-miene@uiowa.edu

Loreen Herwaldt, MD

MDRO Director

The MDRO Director for this Project, Dr. Herwaldt is a Professor of Internal Medicine and Epidemiology at the CCOM and the CPH. She received her medical degree at the University of Wisconsin, Madison and did her Internal Medicine residency and her Infectious Disease fellowship at Barnes Hospital/Washington University. Between her residency and her fellowship, she was an Epidemic Intelligence Service officer at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). During that time, she investigated several outbreaks. She directed the UIHC Program of Hospital Epidemiology for >20 years (1990-1995 Associate Hospital Epidemiologist; 1995-2015 Hospital Epidemiologist). In that role, she investigated several outbreaks and participated in multiple tabletop exercises regarding both bio-emergencies and other emergencies. She helped the UIHC prepare for SARS-CoV-1, Novel H1N1 2009 influenza, MERS, and Ebola and she helped the UIHC become both IDPH’s designated “Ebola Treatment Center” and the Department of Homeland Security Region VII’s only Tier II Ebola treatment center for both pediatric and adult patients and, thus, the only back-up for the regional center in Omaha. She worked very closely with Ms. Stephanie Holley and Mr. Michael Hartley (consultants for this project) on these efforts. In addition, she went to North York Hospital in Toronto, Ontario to help them prepare to reopen after their devastating SARS-CoV-1 outbreak. She contributed to WHO’s assessment of personal protective equipment needed to prevent transmission of Ebola virus and other pathogens of high importance and has been an expert on several WHO Delphi surveys about research priorities for hand hygiene.

Contact at loreen-herwaldt@uiowa.edu

Josie Hentzen, MPH

Project Coordinator

Josie Hentzen has been the program coordinator for Healthy LifeStars at the Iowa Institute of Public Health Research and Policy at the University of Iowa for the past four years. As the program coordinator she provides support to partner sites, coordinates student coaches, maintains community relationships, and assists with implementation of the program. She graduated with her MPH with a concentration in Community and Behavioral Health from the University of Iowa College of Public Health. During her time as a Master’s student she volunteered as a head coach for Healthy LifeStars, as well completed her practicum with the organization. Josie is a Certified Health Education Specialists and received her Bachelors in Health Promotion at the University of Iowa.

Contact at josie-hentzen@uiowa.edu

Bonnie Rubin, MLS (ASCP), MBA, MHA

Tabletop Facilitator

Bonnie D. Rubin, MLS(ASCP), MBA, MHA has over 40 years’ experience in laboratory management and practice with 15 of those years working in the state public health laboratory and overseeing laboratory emergency preparedness & response statewide. Since retiring from the state laboratory, she is devoting her time, knowledge and expertise to teaching and providing hands-on experiential opportunities to public health undergraduate, graduate and healthcare administration students while developing and enhancing medical laboratory training programs. She is currently the Chair of the Johnson County Board of Health, site surveyor for the Public Health Accreditation Board, an Adjunct Assistant Professor and Faculty Sponsor for the Strike Force in the University of Iowa College of Public Health. She also maintains her public health and laboratory professional involvement through the Iowa Public Health Association, the Association of Public Health Laboratories and the Clinical Laboratory Management Association.

Bonnie Butler

Tabletop Facilitator

Bonnie Butler is a program coordinator for the Institute for Public Health Practice, Research and Policy at the University of Iowa. She serves as the program coordinator for the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program and assists with the Healthcare Associated Infections Tabletop Exercise project. Bonnie’s educational background includes a Bachelor of Science degree from Western Illinois University.

Bonnie joined the UI College of Public Health in 2021 as the Internship Coordinator in the Student Services office, a position created through a partnership with Iowa HHS designed to focus on public health workforce development within the state. She was instrumental in assisting students across various degree programs to secure professional development placements with local and state public health departments as well as other community organizations that contribute to the public health network in Iowa. As the primary liaison between the college and community partners, Bonnie actively cultivated new placement opportunities for students, contributing to the growth of public health initiatives across the state of Iowa and developing a pipeline of new public health professionals into the workforce.

Kendall Wright

Tabletop Notetaker