Past H.E.R.E. Newsletters   Past Mentors

November 2002

Jane Mountjoy-Venning
Thurston County Public Health and Social Services Department

Jane is an Environmental Educator and Community Organizer for Thurston County Public Health and Social Services Department in Olympia. She began her college career in Ohio as a botany major. Then, to her parents dread she says, she took a year off and eventually "clarified my goals." Jane transferred to The Evergreen State College in Olympia and graduated with a degree in environmental education and psychology.

Jane cites a defining moment in her professional life when, at age 15, she became a camp counselor. “I quickly learned that I preferred creek hikes and nature walks to archery or arts and crafts.” From camp counselor she became camp nature director, then outdoor school instructor, and eventually park naturalist. She volunteered for the Peace Corps, where she was a health educator in the Marshall Islands, focusing on basic sanitation and nutrition. A variety of short-term labor/factory jobs in the “off seasons” gave her an appreciation for how common it is for people without a college education to be exposed to toxins on the job.

Jane is currently focusing her environmental education efforts on reducing exposure to toxins and pesticides. She feels most passionate about the public’s right-to-know about potential hazards at home and on the job. She’s also been doing a lot of media work lately, including an ad campaign to encourage people to reduce their use of pesticides and to recycle oil. Jane is known for her creative approaches to community organizing, from safe shellfish harvesting to understanding groundwater protection. One of several examples that can be found in the H.E.R.E. database of community projects is Thurston County's  annual one-day garden tour. It features gardens and landscaping that use less water and little or no toxins. The tour attracts over 500 participants, includes music by the Symphony Guild, information on less toxic and non-toxic gardening techniques and is cosponsored by the City of Olympia, Master Gardeners, and the Native Plant Salvage Project.

“Elected officials and other policy makers are just as important an audience as is our ‘real’ target audience,” Jane offers as advice. “The most effective, well thought out program can be derailed due to lack of understanding and support from policy makers. And highly controversial programs can be supported when policy makers have an understanding and ‘buy-in’ to the goals and process of the program.”

Outside of work, Jane enjoys swimming several times a week, and regularly volunteers in the schools--she finds it fascinating to see how different kids wrestle with and learn new skills. Jane says, “I have a growing respect for the diversity in the world. I love most anything outdoors--gardening, camping, hiking, canoeing. While the big adventures are always refreshing, I find it important to figure out ways to make time in daily life for the activities that keep me whole. Sometimes that means just walking out in the backyard and noticing something.”

Jane is willing to share her expertise in planning education/public information campaigns and use of media. The best way to reach her is by email VENNINJ@co.thurston.wa.us.

Margaret L. Bolte
Yakama Indian
Health Center

Margaret is also a Commissioned Corps Officer in the U.S. Public Health Service. “I’ve had great opportunities working in federal agencies,” she said. “I was a consumer safety investigator with the Food and Drug Administration in Denver, Des Moines and Salt Lake City. And I was assigned to the Indian Health Service Health Care Facilities in several capacities, such as injury prevention, environmental health, safety and occupational health and as an educator in South Dakota and Washington.” 

Margaret’s work with the Yakama Nation focuses on health promotion and injury prevention, which she considers key to reducing disease and keeping people healthy. “Because the of the large population spread over rural areas on the reservation, coordinating and arranging community events is critical to promoting community health and safety - events like the annual tribal health fair, cancer awareness seminars and helmet and car seat safety days. The recent Yakama Health Fair had 74 vendors and over 700 individual participants.” These programs are well attended and popular community activities because of the variety of information and the number of supportive organizations, she said. Plus she is often able to provide one-to-one patient education.

In addition to chairing committees on patient education, the health fair and breast cancer awareness, Margaret has an interest in occupational safety. She serves as the safety officer for the Yakama clinic. She also recently became involved in developing the clinic’s bioterrorism plan.

“Health education is an ongoing process and it’s not always evident we are making a difference,” Margaret said. But she advises us to keep a true belief in our work and know that someone is gaining valuable information and a positive direction.

“The challenge is always funding limitations,” she said. “Health educators must be resourceful and take the initiative in seeking other resources to plan and promote educational projects. Write grants, ask for donations, bring on board private industry, nonprofit organizations and federal agencies as sponsors.” She stresses planning and organization as the foundation for any effective effort. 

Margaret’s outside interests include photography, reading and antiques—she collects medicine and beverage bottles and old medical and health books. She and her husband of 19 years enjoy traveling and walking the family’s two dogs, a cocker spaniel and a Brittany spaniel. She is available to advise on promoting health on a limited budget, developing organizational and coordination skills, and working with government and private agencies. You can reach Margaret by email mbolte@ora.fda.gov or phone 701-825-0022.

Dorothy Gist
DOH - Office of 
Health Promotion

Dorothy Gist is a health educator for the Office of Health Promotion at the state Department of Health. She studied public health microbiology at the University of California at Berkeley, and worked in several laboratories before becoming a “stay-at-home” mom. In 1981 she reentered the workforce, studied adult learning and health promotion at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, and completed an internship in health planning. Not long ago she completed the Graduate Certificate Program in public health at the University of Washington.

Before coming to DOH in 1990, Dorothy developed and ran the community health education office at St. Peter Hospital, where she facilitated some 200 health behavior workshops, called Positive Pulse, for a variety of businesses, state offices, hospitals, clinics and communities. “I loved meeting and teaching motivated people and knowing I'd helped some people become more active or eat more healthfully. Hearing myself remind others to be active, eat fruits, grains and vegetables and get lots of sleep helped me follow my own advice,” she said. In 1996 she and Jan Dahl, MPH, RN, developed a one-day interactive workshop, "Introduction to Core Functions," which they have taught at many local health departments throughout Washington and in several other states. “The variety of work and the depth of commitment of people working in public health always amazes me,” she said. “It is a privilege to work in a field that you know is helping to make the world a better place to live.”

Dorothy’s passion is promoting physical activity through better community design and policies. She loves the idea that health educators can help people see they have a part in creating healthy communities as well as making good individual choices. Until just recently she worked part-time in the newly-created section at DOH for Nutrition and Physical Activity. “It was interesting to work ‘intersectorally’ with landscape designers, transportation and urban planners, air quality experts, bicycle and pedestrian activists, and others who are beginning to develop partnerships with public health – really stimulating and fun. I think public health needs to join others at their tables as much as we invite them to ours.”

Keeping up with the many changes and new initiatives in public health, being appreciated for the special skills health educators bring, and having our work adequately funded, are the main challenges Dorothy sees for the profession. She encourages those who are new to health education to focus on doing a few things well, instead of trying to take on the world or the whole town or everyone at once. “Find co-workers and mentors who you admire and appreciate and keep learning from them. And learn other disciplines too, like marketing, sociology, time-management, psychology, spirituality.” Her rule of thumb: “Teach something you want to learn more about.” She also advises: “Don’t do volunteer work that's the same as your regular job. Take time to play and have fun.”

Dorothy bicycles, hikes, and gardens, loves to travel, read and spend time with family and friends. She also enjoys volunteering with her neighborhood association's transportation committee to make her neighborhood more walkable and bikeable. Dorothy’s goal, “To have little negative impact on the planet while having lots of positive impact on my community.” She is willing to share her experiences in the areas of physical activity, healthy aging, social marketing, environmental and policy change, as well as budgeting and how to plan effective meetings. She can be reached by phone at 360-236-3740 or by email at Dorothy.Gist@doh.wa.gov.

Pat Wells
Spokane Regional
Health District

Pat Wells is an avid health educator for the Environmental Health Division at the Spokane Regional Health District. She worked her way up through the public health ranks, starting as a receptionist in 1984. She got her BA degree from Eastern Washington University (31 years after graduating from high school, she notes) and also studied health education at Whitworth University. Pat is a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES).

She says when she started in environmental health, there weren’t many in the field with the title “educator.” Pat was a founder of the Environmental Health Educator’s Network, which connects state and local public health leaders. She manages Spokane’s Lead Program, and has coordinated DOH/EPA Childhood Lead Screening, and a pilot program testing for blood lead in children at Spokane County WIC clinics. “I developed the District’s hand washing program and coined the phrase ‘hand washing ambassadors,’” she said. She has produced and designed a range of educational materials, from the Centennial Clean Water Grant materials for 13 counties in eastern Washington to a video on septic systems that is used in several local health agencies.

Pat is a strong advocate of community partnerships. She’s on the Board of Directors for Spokane Partners (bringing schools and businesses together) and represents the health district in a variety of partnership activities. Two of her proudest accomplishments include the county’s Youth Environmental Conference for students in grades 7-12, and Household Hazardous Waste Pickup for seniors and disabled citizens, which is a partnership of the Retired Senior Volunteer Program and Spokane Regional Solid Waste.

“I truly believe in public health, that knowledge is the key to prevention. And I have a soft spot for seniors, because I will soon be one,” she said.

Pat believes future challenges for educators will continue to involve environmental justice, diversity and language. “We will need time and tools to make education available to everyone.”  Her advice to those entering the field is to build a network of colleagues around the state. “I wish I had had the Environmental Health Educator’s Network to plug into when I first began. I felt like I was blazing a trail all by myself.” She acknowledges the encouragement of Environmental Health Directors David Swink in Spokane and Bruce Perkins in Benton-Franklin in establishing the network.

Pat is married to “a wonderful and kind man.” Their blended family includes five grandchildren, with whom she spends a lot of time going to sports events and school programs. She and her husband are remodeling their 1905 home, complete with a “Serengeti Room”—a new sunroom decorated in an African motif. They love to travel and to snorkel—“under water is the most peaceful place in the world.” She is also an avid gardener and reader, who always has a book at her side.

In addition to the topic areas she’s gained expertise in, Pat is willing to share her experiences on what works and doesn’t work in educational efforts with diverse groups. She believes giving strong presentations is important in health education, and can provide great tips for public speaking. She’s belonged to Toastmasters International for nine years, which she encourages others to join because they have a good support system. You can contact Pat Wells at 509-324-1546 or pwells@spokanecounty.org.

John Britt
Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department

John began his 10-year nursing career with Northwest Hospital in Seattle. His interest shifted from individual care to population-based health when he became the program coordinator for Harborview Injury Prevention and Research, Pedestrian Safety Program. During that time he developed expertise in the field of unintentional injury prevention. He came to realize that helping to build bridges between research and practice was a good fit for someone who wants to "do it all." His current position at the Health Department allows him to do program planning, provide technical consultation to staff and community groups, guide budget expenditures, and develop marketing campaigns.

"I know it is hokey, but I just want to make a difference, a real difference. Once you leave the world of direct services, it is more difficult to know whether your efforts really matter. That’s why the use of evidenced-based approaches and evaluation are both so important to me. Many people in the public arena think our work is all about taking the fun out of life, telling people what to do. I believe my work is about expanding people's choices. Forget about the word ’health’ and think about ‘freedom.’ Whenever we improve health we expand the length and quality of a person's life. We provide them with more opportunities to make new decisions, to learn, to grow, to love, to make contributions, and to be connected. I believe my work is mostly about hope. My hope now is to improve the health of the entire community."

John's advice to those new to health education is to be prepared for the ups and downs of funding. He said when he began his career he was shocked by how much "marketing" he had to do to persuade his colleagues of the importance of population-based prevention. "I also have learned that some of the most significant barriers to being effective are not the lack of research, knowledge or money. They are because of turf, ego and lack of trust – it never ceases to amaze me how frequently these factors come up," he said.

A major challenge John sees for the profession is that we are expected to be jacks-of-all-trades and do it all with limited resources. "We are called upon to have content expertise on multiple health issues, to coordinate community processes, to develop appropriate messages and materials for diverse audiences, to manage people, money and programs, to review, analyze, develop and implement policies, etc. Many in our field have become so used to operating on a shoestring that they console themselves with ‘if just one person changes.’ As stewards of public resources, we cannot afford, politically, financially, or ethically, to take this position. We must make the difficult choices to do fewer things and do them well."

John enjoys dancing of all kinds, especially swing, and says he loves anything to do with the water. He refers to himself as a total musical instrument junkie. He and his wife are currently performing in a community theatre production of Rogers and Hammerstein's musical "State Fair." As a mentor, John has expertise in several public health topic areas, such as tobacco, alcohol, violence and unintentional injury, plus training, small group facilitation, strategic planning, program evaluation and application of community development models. He is especially interested in social marketing and the nuances of message design. John is easiest to reach by email, JBritt@tpchd.org.

Cindy Gleason
DOH-Immunization
Program

Cindy Gleason is a health educator with the DOH Immunization Program. She graduated from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale with a BS in Outdoor Recreation Management and a specialization in Environmental Education. 

Cindy started out as a Park Ranger, including a stint at the Olympic National Park among others. Her career with the State of Washington began at the state Conservation Commission, an agency that addresses the environmental impact of agricultural practices. She then worked at DOH in the Environmental Health Division, Hazardous Waste Section, for seven years before moving to Community and Family Health and the Immunization Program three years ago.

Cindy feels passionately about providing up-to-date, accurate and balanced information to the public that will enable them to make well-informed decisions about their health and that of their children. She says it is important to keep in mind that health education is not always as valued as it should be “for what it truly can do for a program. It is often an afterthought or put on the chopping block.” She believes that “by knowing this, health educators can be prepared to defend and justify the benefits that our profession provides to public health programs.” She believes it will continue to be a challenge to achieve recognition and just compensation for the value that trained health educators bring to the table.

Cindy enjoys spending time with her two teenagers, hiking, bicycling, playing softball and volleyball, singing in the church choir and other church activities, and gardening. Cindy has experience in community needs assessments, developing and pre-testing materials, web content development, working with the media, and group facilitation. She can be reached by email at Cindy.Gleason@doh.wa.gov or by phone at 360-236-3569. 

Cezanne Garcia
University of Washington Medical Center

Cezanne worked as Senior Health Planner for the Navajo Nation for training, program planning and evaluation. She helped start the Navajo Indian Health Service's health promotion disease prevention program. While in North Carolina she created and managed the statewide education outreach program on toxic substances and hazardous waste. Since 1993 Cezanne has provided leadership for the patient and family education departments at two Seattle medical centers and continues to work on systems development for patient centered care/education. This spring she will help launch a Patient and Family Advisory structure at the UW Medical Center, an exciting initiative that will strengthen the voice of patients and their families in decision making.

Cezanne's passion is working with teams of committed clinicians, staff, and patients to improve patient education and services. “We need to find ways to keep passionate and be actively diligent in our work, and use our influence to ease the toll of poverty in our global society,” she said.

Cezanne’s advice to those who are new to the field of health education is, “Breathe life into our profession and its core values. Follow the health educators’ code of ethics in your work. Become involved in a professional organization that provides opportunities for networking and a supportive community. And don’t under-rate your importance or your worth—seek worthy compensation.”

Cezanne loves to travel, with a focus on walking/biking/backpacking, and to just 'be’ in communities and enjoy their market places. She loves cooking and gardening---especially her herb and flower cutting areas. She's steadfast in raising two teenage daughters “to grasp the world of possibility and hope.” Cezanne's expertise includes health promotion program planning, patient and family education services development, health literacy, cultural competency and health informatics. She can be reached by email at ccgarcia@u.washington.edu.

James Lanz
Clark County Health Department

James says his most unusual health promotion activity at SWWHD was decorating a junker car to enter as a "float" in a local 4th of July parade. The theme of the float: "Don't wind up like this old car, get your blood pressure checked!"

James strongly feels that a healthy community has to have a vigorous, adequately funded public health system. He says, "It's essential to share information, resources, tools, techniques, and ideas with each other so we aren't always reinventing the wheel. This is one reason I'm such a strong supporter of H.E.R.E. in Washington!"

James' words of advice to new health educators: "Set personal boundaries and stick to them. Leave work at work, and practice good self-care to avoid burnout. This includes cultivating friendships, getting regular exercise, having fun and playing." When asked about future challenges in health promotion, he listed adequate funding for programs, teaching others how to use social marketing principles and sharing our knowledge, skills, and expertise with other health professionals.

James is the father of two teenage sons. His partner, also a public health nurse, works for Multnomah County Oregon. James is an avid gardener---he finds it relaxing and not work. He enjoys swimming, biking (he's gone on a couple of 300 mile bicycle trips), camping with his family, traveling and hosting visitors from other countries. You can contact him by email at jlanz@swwhd.wa.gov.