Leadership, Legacy, and Community

A Retreat to Advance Maternal and Child Health Scholarship and Practice.

UIC MCH Leadership Program to Offer Ground-Breaking MCH Leadership Retreat in July 2008

The University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Program will hold its pioneering MCH Leadership Retreat in Chicago on July 16-18, 2008.  If you would like to join us, July is a great time to be in Chicago. Please save these dates!

In this professional development Retreat for junior and senior MCH practitioners and scholars, we will convene to discuss, make recommendations, and identify strategies to address major evidence-based challenges we face in MCH; further develop our leadership skills, and lay the foundation for building an MCH community of academics and practitioners that draws on the energy and idealism of junior MCH professionals and the energy and wisdom of senior MCH professionals in both academic and practice settings. When these four groups gather together to collectively address the challenges we face in our daily struggle to improve MCH, we believe the synergistic impact will result in new energy, ideas, and collaborations that will help motivate and inspire us as we move forward.

Retreat Highlights

• Focus on evidence-based challenges in public health and MCH across the academic and practice areas.
• Practical leadership development training for junior through senior level MCH practitioners and academics.
• Workforce community development.
• World Cafe on mentoring in the field of MCH.
• Insightful discussion about leadership journeys and leaving a legacy.
• Exercise, rest, and reflection upon your passion for MCH.
• Exploration of a cutting edge, innovative leadership development approach.

Who Should Attend

Retreat participants will represent a well-balanced mix of interdisciplinary junior and senior MCH public health and health care professionals from both academic and practice settings. These individuals may include:

• MCH Title V Directors,
• MCH Program Directors and Managers,
• MCH Program Staff,
• Students/Faculty/Staff in MCHB-Funded Training Programs (Schools of Public Health, Pediatric Pulmonary Centers, Leadership in Neurodevelopmental Disorders Programs, Leadership in Adolescent Health Programs),
• Research and Senior Research Associates,
• Interdisciplinary Faculty/Staff/Graduate Students who are interested in the health and well-being of women, children, and families,
• Physicians,
• Nurses,
• Social Workers,
• Policy Advocates and Family Advocates,
• Health Educators and Administrators.

Why This Retreat?

As a result of attending this Retreat, you will join a community of practitioners and scholars who are committed to collaborative MCH to:

• Engage in thought-provoking and innovative discussions about the current evidence-based challenges we face in MCH.
• Develop recommendations and practical strategies to overcome evidence-based challenges.
• Work with each other to develop new ideas and ways of thinking about MCH research, practice, and programs.
• Cultivate practical leadership skills to enhance their career trajectory or to help develop their legacy.
• Leverage their time through networking and collaboration.
• Share their wisdom and ideas.
• Recharge and renew their commitment to MCH.
• Explore a cutting edge leaderhsip approach to enhance the work environment.

If this Retreat is exciting to you or is something you feel passionately about, please register early. You may register online or download and mail the registration form to us.  If you have specific questions, please contact Kris Risley, DrPH at 312.996.2875 or kyrisley@uic.edu.

Archived MCH Leadership Conferences

• 20th Annual Maternal and Child Health Leadership Conference (2007) - coming soon -
• 19th Annual Maternal and Child Health Leadership Conference (2006)
• 18th Annual Maternal and Child Health Leadership Conference (2005)
• 17th Annual Maternal and Child Health Leadership Conference (2004)
• 16th Annual Maternal and Child Health Leadership Conference (2003)
• 15th Annual Maternal and Child Health Leadership Conference (2002)
• 13th Annual Maternal and Child Health Leadership Conference (1999)
• 12th Annual Maternal and Child Health Leadership Conference (1998)