An Evaluation of the Successes of the NASTAD Minority Leadership Program and Its Implications for Leadership in State Health Departments.

Overall, participants had positive experiences participating in MLP and spoke highly of the networking opportunities available in the program. Individuals who participated recognized a lack of open dialogue and conversations surrounding racial equity, racial justice, and health equity within their respective departments. The research evaluation team recommends that NASTAD continue collaborating with health departments to address issues on racial equity and social justice with health department staff. Programs such as MLP are critical to diversifying the public health workforce to adequately address issues on health equity.