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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 this episode, she shares how she originally planned on a career in medicine, starting college as a pre-med student with visions of someday opening a free health clinic. Her advisor, knowing her interests, urged her to meet with professor Steve Fawcett, Ph.D. He convinced her to take a community health and development class.

That took her down a new path, where she ended up becoming a member of the Kansas Community Leadership Corps through the Center for Community Health and Development. Through that program, she returned to her hometown of Wichita and worked in HIV and AIDS prevention and intervention. She also worked with youth experiencing homelessness.

“It was really through transformative experiences like that, that it really shaped my interests and introduced the world of prevention to me, and really got me passionate about the idea of prevention and stopping suffering before it even starts,” Christina said.

She changed her major, and that led to a lifelong career with the Center for Community Health and Development.

In this episode, she also discusses:

• What the Center for Community Health and Development does
• Being designated as a collaborating center with the World Health Organization
• The Community Toolbox
• Sexual and domestic violence prevention efforts
• Partnership with the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
• The role and power of participatory research and capacity building
• What gives her hope

And much more! Listen now, and learn more about how Christina is an innovative leader in Kansas.

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Please see the Pioneers in Health page on our website for more information on our podcast series and links to other episodes.  

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