Nov 16 2023 45 mins
Today on the show, I’m chatting to Kris Ehresmann, the architect of Minnesota’s COVID-19 pandemic response, and the former long-time director of the Infectious Disease Division of the Minnesota Department of Health.
Kris spent more than 30 years of service in public health before retiring, and played key roles in many public health issues both in Minnesota and nationally. Minnesota leaders have called her “an extraordinary public servant”, a “true leader”, and responsible for cultivating “a new generation of talented public health leaders.”
We talk about what she learned during the global pandemic, a time she describes as being a frog in a pot of boiling water. We also talk about other outbreaks during her career, why public health is linked to social justice, as well as what public health has taught her about the world. She also details the biggest learning experience of her career and how the pandemic taught her how to swear. And, she describes some of the immense challenges of the politicization of public health and public service, and what she’s been up to since retiring.
New episodes released every Thursday wherever you get podcasts.
☕️ Season 2 is presented by SK Coffee, a specialty coffee roaster, based in Minnesota, shipping worldwide. Learn more: https://bit.ly/skconnection
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About Connection Request
Connection Request is a podcast about career journeys, produced by Shrug Content. Hosted by Joel Leeman, a producer and strategist who has spent the past 10 years making media for the Internet, the show profiles a variety of fascinating people, digging into how they spend their waking hours, what they’ve learned along the way, how they make decisions, and why they do what they do. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.