Welcome to the Pioneers in Health podcast. In this podcast, we share inspiring stories of pioneering leaders from our nation and from your backyard who are working to improve health.

In episode 35, we interview Ryan Lester, MPH, who serves as Vice President, Education, Health of the Public and Science at the American Academy of Family Physicians. He previously served as a leadership coach, adjunct professor, and bureau chief of health promotion at the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) during the COVID-19 pandemic.

He shares how he was passionate about the environment and began his career in environmental health. That later led to a career path in public health.

“I’ve always had kind of a draw to making the world a better place,” he said. “Anything that I’ve done in life has felt like it had to be mission driven.”

After graduating with a degree in environmental studies, he accepted a position with the Johnson County Department of Health and Environment. There, he worked as an environmental health specialist, where he did food inspections, swimming pool inspections, on-site wastewater and more.

“It wasn’t that I sought out public health. I really kind of fell into public health and then fell in love with the mission,” Ryan said.

He discusses the role of public health departments and how they serve as the nucleus of a community. In Kansas, they provide a wide range of services to keep communities healthy. Their services vary between departments, but their services include everything from disaster preparedness to animal control to inspections to make sure your food and water is safe to administering vaccines to even housing municipal code enforcement and much more.

There’s a lot of unseen work in public health departments, he said, providing services that keep people safe and healthy.

“I’ve always thought of public health as being part of critical infrastructure in our country,” Ryan said. “It’s not just roads, it’s not just power lines. It’s the setting up an environment for folks to make the healthy choices that they need to live healthy lives and live up to their full health potential.”

He discusses vaccines and emphasized the rigorous scientific research and processes required before they can ever be used.

“Make no mistake. Vaccines are safe, and they are effective,” Ryan said. “It is incredibly important that we follow the science.”

He said policies that restrict access to vaccines have a broader impact.

“You put people at risk if you’re putting policies in place that restrict access to vaccines that we know work. You’re also adding a lot of cost into the system with increased hospitalizations,” he said. “The policies really need to align with the science.”

He also discusses:

• The role of health departments in keeping people healthy
• The importance of leadership and listening in public health roles
• His transition from environmental health into public health working for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), including working there during the COVID-19 pandemic and silver linings that arose
• Public health programs at KDHE
• Public health funding
• Community health workers and the value they provide
• The importance of keeping science at the center of public health intervention decisions
• The use of artificial intelligence in health care
• What gives him hope

And much more! Listen now, and learn more about how Ryan is an innovative leader in health care.

Listen now

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