Photo of Welter, Christina R

Christina R Welter, DrPH '10, MPH

Clinical Associate Professor

Director, DrPH Program

Health Policy and Administration

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

Contact

Building & Room:

757 SPHPI

Address:

1603 W. Taylor St.

Office Phone:

(312) 355-5303

Email:

cwelte2@uic.edu

About

Christina R. Welter, DrPH, MPH (she/her) is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Health Policy and Administration Division at the University of Illinois Chicago, School of Public Health (UIC SPH) where she also serves as the Director of the Doctor in Public Health Leadership Program and the Associate Director of the Policy, Practice, and Prevention Research Center. Dr. Welter is a pracademic with decades of experience leading or evaluating health justice policy and systems change. She deeply values long-standing partnerships, amplifying their shared leadership and learning toward equity focused impact.

Dr. Welter co-leads multiple transformational practice and applied research projects including but not limited to the Learning Agenda for Systems Change (www.publichealthlearningagenda.org) as well as a nearly decade long initiative with health department and worker rights and safety partners to facilitate healthy and just work. Dr. Welter is also the co-editor and co-author to Leading Systems Change in Public Health: A Field Guide for Practitioners and serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice. She is the Chair of the Board of Health in Oak Park, Illinois; the National Association of Local Boards of Health (NALBOH) representative to the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) Advisory Council; and an at-large NALBOH board member.  Dr. Welter is also a founding member of Public Health for Community Power Coalition with Human Impact Partners.

Prior to coming to UIC, Dr. Welter served as the Deputy Director at the Cook County Department of Public Health where she catalyzed the establishment of several ongoing and award-winning leadership collaboratives focused on policy, systems, and environmental change equity-initiatives. She previously served on several national initiatives including Project Public Health Ready Workgroup, PHAB’s first Standards and Measures Workgroup, the Mobilizing for Action through Planning and Partnerships 2.0 Steering Committee, and as a technical assistance provider with the National Maternal and Child Health Workforce Development Center. Dr. Welter holds a Doctorate in Public Health Leadership from UIC SPH and a Master’s Degree in Public Health from the University of Michigan in Health Education and Health Behavior with a concentration in Women’s Health.

Selected Publications

Abridged: Peer-reviewed articles

  1. Sanders, K., Jarpe-Ratner, E., Ahmadi-Montecalvo, H, Welter, C. “Examining Complex Program Adoption Decision-Making in a Health Pilot for US Women Military Veterans: A Single Revelatory Case Study.” SAGE Open4 (2024): 21582440241300501.
  2. Tagtow, A. M., Welter, C., Seweryn, S., Spiker, M. L., Lange, J., & Asada, Y. (2024). The intersection of systems thinking and structural empowerment in the work of public health dietitians. Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics.
  3. Tagtow, A. M., Welter, C., Seweryn, S., Spiker, M. L., Lange, J., McDonald, J., & Asada, Y. (2024). Enhancing Adaptability: Exploring Structural Empowerment and Systems Thinking Among State Governmental Public Health Nutritionists. Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, 10-1097.
  4. Welter, C., Davis, S., Elnicki, J., Kulik, P. K., Lloyd, L. M., Tenney, M., … & Walter, C. (2022). Public Health Learning Agenda for Systems Change Toolkit: National Pilot Evaluation Results. Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, 10-1097.
  5. Meredith, G. R., Welter, C. R., Risley, K., Seweryn, S. M., Altfeld, S., & Jarpe-Ratner, E. A. (2022). Master of public Health education in the United States today: building leaders of the future. Public Health Reports, 00333549221121669.
  6. Welter, C., Jarpe-Ratner, E., Bonney, T., et al. (2022). Evaluation Results From the Healthy Work Collaborative: A Cross-Sectoral Capacity Building Partnership to Address Precarious Employment. Health Promotion Practice. doi:10.1177/15248399211069099
  7. Welter, C. R., Risley, K. Y., & Castillo, G. (2022). Imagining the Future: Leading Systems Change to Address Today’s Problems. Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, 28(2), 214-215.
  8. Welter, C. R., Jarpe-Ratner, E., Seweryn, S., Bonney, T., & Verma, P. (2021). Results From a National Mixed-Methods Study Exploring Community Health Improvement Implementation: An Opportunity to Strengthen Public Health Systems Through Collective Action. Journal of Public Health Management and Practice.
  9. Welter, C., Herrera, Y., Uskali, A. L., Seweryn, S., Call, L., Lasky, S., … & Ezike, N. O. (2021). Assessing Local Public Health Agency Alignment With Public Health 3.0: A Content Analysis of Illinois Community Health Improvement Plans. Journal of Public Health Management and Practice.
  10. Welter, C., Jarpe-Ratner, E., Bonney, T., C. Pinsker, E., Fisher, E., Yankelev, A., … & Zanoni, J. (2021). Development of the Healthy Work Collaborative: Findings From an Action Research Study to Inform a Policy, Systems, and Environmental Change Capacity-Building Initiative Addressing Precarious Employment. Health Promotion Practice, 22(1), 41-51.
  11. Bonney, T., Welter, C., Jarpe-Ratner, E., Velonis, A., & Conroy, L. (2020). Role of technical assistance in US labor and health sector collaboration to address precarious work. Health Promotion International.
  12. Welter, C. R., Xu, D., Lurie, R. H., Fouche, S., Naji, S., & Bisesi, M. (2020). Increasing Environmental Public Health Practitioner Capacity to Address Population Health Challenges: Evaluation Results From a Workforce Development Project. Journal of Environmental Health, 82(10).
  13. Welter, C. R., Bekemeier, B., & McKeever, J. (2020). Results and Recommendations From a National Public Health Workforce Development Systems Assessment Conducted in the United States. Pedagogy in Health Promotion, 2373379920907640.
  14. Kovach, K. A., Welter, C., Seweryn, S. M., Torres, G. (2018). Perceived Benefits of Collaboration between Local Health Departments and Schools and Programs of Public Health: A Mixed-Methods Study. Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, 25(2), 147-155. DOI: 10.1097/PHH.0000000000000823
  15. Lenihan, P., Welter, C., Brandt-Rauf, P., Neuberger, B., Pinsker, E., Petros, M., Risley, K. (2015). The University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health Doctor of Public Health Program: An Innovative Approach to Doctoral-Level Practice Leadership Development. American Journal of Public Health, 105(S1), S55-S59. DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2014.302331

Edited Books
Risley, K. Y., Welter, C. R., Castillo, G., & Castrucci, B. C. (Eds.). (2022). Leading Systems Change in Public Health: A Field Guide for Practitioners. Springer Publishing Company.

Book Chapters: Building Strategic Skills for Better Health. Fraser and Castrucci (Eds). (2023).

  1. Welter, C., Risley, K, Lamberth, C., Herrick, J. and Orton S. Change Leadership: The opportunity for a renewed public health vision. In Castrucci, B. & Fraser, M., Handbook of Strategic Skills for Public Health Practice. Oxford Press.
  2. Herrick, J. Welter, C., and Orton, S. Leading Change at the Team and Organizational Levels. In Castrucci, B. & Fraser, M., Handbook of Strategic Skills for Public Health Practice. Oxford Press.

Abridged Practice-based scholarship

  • Lloyd, L. Todd Barrett, K., Welter, C., Davis, S., Kulik, P. K., and Ray, C. Creating a Learning Agenda for Systems Change (September, 2023). Video found at: https://publichealthlearningagenda.org/.
  • Welter, C., Davis, S., Lloyd, L., Rose, B., Todd, K. Creating a Learning Agenda for Systems Change: A Toolkit For Building An Adaptive Public Health Workforce (December 2020). Public Health Training Centers with funding from Health Resources and Services Administration. https://publichealthlearningagenda.org/.
  • Fisher, L., Kapadia G., Dixon, A., Bonney, T., Zanoni. J., Pinsker, E., Jarpe-Ratner, E., Love, M., Yankelev, A., and Welter, C., (2019). “Healthy Work Collaborative: Examples from the Field. Partnerships to Advance Worker Health through Policy, Systems, and Environmental Change.” Center for Healthy Work at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Available at: https://healthywork.uic.edu/healthy-work-collaborative. Principal Investigator.
  • Illinois Prevention Research Center, Action Learning Brief Series, April 2019:
    1. Welter, C., Jarpe-Ratner, E., Massuda-Barnet, G., Chebli, P., Kite, H., Geraci, M., Becker, A., and Hachett, L. “Six Phases for Building Sustainable Impact.” Action Learning Brief No.002. Illinois Prevention Research Center, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL. April 2019. illinoisprc.org/publications/
    2. Welter, C., Jarpe-Ratner, E., Massuda-Barnet, G., Chebli, P., Kite, H., Geraci, M., Becker, A., and Hachett, L. “Key Drivers of Success: What catalyzes lasting change in your organization or community?” Action Learning Brief No.003. Illinois Prevention Research Center, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL. April 2019. illinoisprc.org/publications/
    3. Welter, C., Jarpe-Ratner, E., Massuda-Barnet, G., Chebli, P., Kite, H., Geraci, M., Becker, A., and Hachett, L. “Technical Assistance Types: What support is needed to catalyze policy, systems, and environmental change?” Action Learning Brief No.004. Illinois Prevention Research Center, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL. April 2019. illinoisprc.org/publications/
    4. Welter, C., Jarpe-Ratner, E., Massuda-Barnet, G., Chebli, P., Kite, H., Geraci, M., Becker, A., and Hachett, L. “What are action steps and resources to help my organization apply the six Phases of PSE Change?” Action Learning Brief No.005. Illinois Prevention Research Center, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL. April 2019. illinoisprc.org/publications/.

Service to Community

January, 2025 - current, Member, Editorial Board, Journal of Public Health Management and Practice

August, 2024 - current, Member At-Large, National Association of Local Boards of Health

April, 2024 - current, Chair, Board of Health, Oak Park Health Department

Fall, 2024 - current, Public Health for Community Power Coalition, Human Impact Partners

December, 2023 - current, National Association of Local Boards of Health Advisory Board representative to the Public Health Accreditation Board Advisory Council

December, 2022 - current, Board of Health Commissioner, Oak Park Health Department

March 2020 - May, 2020 Deputy Incident Commander, COVID-19 Response, Illinois Department of Public Health

2017 - 2020, Member At-Large, Illinois Public Health Association

2019 - 2020  Invited Academic Member, Mobilizing for Action through Planning and Partnerships Evolution Steering Committee,
National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO)

2012 - 2015 Site Visitor Chair, Public Health Accreditation Board

2011 - 2014 Appointed Governor’s State Health Improvement Plan Implementation Coordination Council

2007 - 2011 Invited Member, National Public Health Accreditation Board, Standards and Measures

Notable Honors

2022, Honorable mention, Elevating Practice Award, Public Health Learning Agenda for Systems Change (www.publichealthlearningagenda.org), National Network of Public Health Institute

2018 -2019, Faculty Fellowship, Policy and Social Engagement Fellowship, Institute for Research on Race and Public Policy,

2018, Runner-up, Research to Practice Award, Health Administration Section, American Public Health Association

2018, Public Health Program of Excellence Award, Illinois Public Health Association

2017, Honorable Mention, 2017 Delta Omega Award for Innovative Public Health Curriculum, Delta Omega National Public Health Honor Society

2013, Active Living Research, Translating Research to Policy Award Recipient, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

Education

2010 Dr.P.H. Public Health Leadership, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL

2000 M.P.H. Health Behavior and Health Education, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Interdepartmental Concentration in Women’s and Reproductive Health

1998 B.A. Medical Anthropology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH
Honors in Anthropology and Women’s Studies; Graduate Magna Cum Laude
Minor: Sociology, Gerontology, and Women’s Studies

Professional Memberships

American Public Health Association

American Evaluation Association

Society of Public Health Education

Illinois Public Health Association

Selected Presentations

  1. Welter, C., (July 17, 2023). Defining the challenge to launch collaborative action toward systems change. Virtual meeting of the National Academy of Medicine Action Collaborative on Countering the U.S. Opioid Epidemic.
  2. Welter, C., and Davis, S. (July, 2023). The Public Health Learning Agenda for Systems Change. National Association for County and City Health Officials, Denver, CO.
  3. Welter, C., (June 21, 2022). Change Leadership approaches to facilitating a more resilient and adaptive workforce. Federal Office of Rural Health Policy: Rural Health Care Services Outreach.
  4. Welter, C., (May 4, 2022). Change Leadership approaches to facilitating a more resilient and adaptive workforce. Federal Office of Rural Health Policy. Rural Care Coordination and Small Health Care Provider Quality Improvement Programs.
  5. Welter., C. Davis, S., Lloyd, L., Rose, B., Todd, K. (October, 2021) Creating a learning agenda for systems change: A toolkit for building an adaptive workforce to address complex community challenges. American Public Health Association. October 27, 2021.
  6. Welter, C. and Tagtow. A. (October 19, 2021) Advancing the Future of Nutrition & Dietetics Through Systems Thinking Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics' Virtual Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo.™
  7. Welter, C. and Greenleaf, R. Facilitating a more resilient and adaptive workforce during times of crisis (September 2020). Division of Maternal Child Health Workforce Development. All Center Directors.
  8. Welter, C., Massuda Barnett, G., Fisher, L, and Deb, N. Healthy Work Collaborative: Addressing Precarious Work through Strategic Public Health Partnerships (2020, July). NACCHO Annual, Denver, CO.
  9. Welter., C. Davis, S., Lloyd, L., Rose, B., Todd, K. (January 21, 2021) Learning Agenda Toolkit: Introduction and Applications. Centers for Disease Control. Education and Training Services Branch.
  10. Welter, C., Cibulskis, A., Tendick-Matesanz, F., Fisher, L. (2020, February). Healthy Work Collaborative: Advancing Total Worker Health ® to Address Precarious Work through Cross-Sector Partnerships. National Occupational Research Agenda Services Sector Council. Webinar.
  11. Welter, C. (2020, February). Precarious Employment. Panelist at the American Public Health Association Policy Institute. Washington D.C.
  12. Welter, C. Evaluation of Community Engaged Research and Translation Processes: Lessons Learned from Three Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Prevention Research Centers. Moderator. (2019, November). American Evaluation Association.
  13. Welter, C., Jarpe-Ratner, E., and Slater, S. Engaged Scholarship: Lessons Learned from the Illinois Prevention Research Center to Increase Partner and Community Readiness for Translation and Implementation of Policy, System and Environmental Change Initiatives. Presenter. (2019, November). American Evaluation Association.

Research Currently in Progress

https://publichealthlearningagenda.org

https://healthywork.uic.edu/

https://p3rc.uic.edu/