Kina L. White, DrPH, MHSA, FACHE is the Office of Community Health Improvement Director at the Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH). Her office includes three Bureaus: Healthy Aging, Injury and Violence Prevention, and Community and School Health. Dr. White is the Principal Investigator for multiple federal grant programs, also serving as the State Lead for the Age-Friendly Public Health Systems Initiative (AFPHS) with Trust for America’s Health. Under Dr. White’s leadership, MSDH achieved Exemplar status as the 3rd U.S.-recognized Age-Friendly Public Health System in May 2023. Strategic efforts are underway for age-friendly communities, universities, and health systems to advance the development of an age-friendly ecosystem.
Dr. White serves on the National Rural Age-Friendly Initiative Interest Group. She is a board-certified Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives and currently serves as Regent for the American College of Healthcare Executives of Mississippi. With more than 20 years of leadership experience, Dr. White is an equity strategist with an extensive background in healthcare management, policy change, and public health administration.
Dr. White holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from The University of Southern Mississippi, a Master of Health Services Administration from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, and a Doctor of Public Health in Health Policy and Management from Jackson State University. In addition, Dr. White has completed a two-year NIH-R25 Clinical and Community-Based HIV/AIDS Research Training (CCRT) Fellowship at Brown University. Dr. White is a graduate of the Mississippi Economic Council’s Leadership Mississippi program. She is an Adjunct Faculty at Belhaven University in Adult, Graduate, and Online Studies. Dr. White is also a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Dr. White has a sincere passion for working with underrepresented communities and increasing equitable access to improve health outcomes.
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