Jesse Bethke Gomez completes Kellogg Foundation program for emerging minority leaders in public health

For immediate release

Contact: Kathleen Westerhaus, Vice President of Resource Development

Phone:   651-379-4241      

Monday, November 15, 2004 - The School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill is pleased to announce that Jesse Bethke Gomez has completed the requirements of the Kellogg Foundation’s Managing in Turbulent Times: the Emerging Leaders in Public Health Fellowship program.  He is one of 32 public health professionals that graduated from the inaugural year of this program at a ceremony held on November 6, 2004 in Washington, D.C.   

Bethke Gomez is the President of Chicanos Latinos Unidos En Servicio (CLUES) and has led the organization for nearly 10 years.  Bethke Gomez has worked tirelessly on issues such as healthcare access for Minnesota’s Latino community, safety-new capacity for people overcoming barriers from welfare to work, advancing wealth creation for diverse communities and promoting civic engagement as a means for advancing civility and the capacity of people to care for one another.   

CLUES is a leading Latino social and behavioral health services agency.  Its mission is “To enhance the quality of life of the Chicano Latino community in Minnesota.”   The agency provides a continuum of six core services: Mental Health Services, Chemical Health Services, Family Services, Aging Well Services, Employment Services, and Educational Services.  Recent recognitions include:

  • 2004 - Ranked among the top 25 Hispanic nonprofits in the United States by Hispanic Business Magazine

  • 2003 - National Healthcare Affiliate of the Year - Helen Trías Rodríguez Award  National Council of La Raza

  • 2002 - Outstanding Community Organization of the Year Award - La Prensa de Minnesota

Founded in 2003 by the Kellogg Foundation and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hills’ Keenan-Flagler School of Business and the North Carolina Institute for Public Health, the Fellowship is a 10-month long leadership and management development program offered nationally to mid and senior level public health professionals in the Native American/American Indian, African American, and Latino communities. The mission of the Fellowship is to equip a cadre of talented minority leaders with the skills needed to lead and manage in times of crisis, focusing on communication skills, financial and human resources management competencies.

For more information about the program or for application information go to the website (www.publichealthleaders.org) or contact Claudia Fernandez or Jackie Keith at (919) 843-3309 (Claudia_Fernandez@unc.edu or Jackie_Keith @unc.edu).

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