Healthcare Operations and Response Branch Supervisor; HPP Program Manager, CO BH Disaster Coordinator, CDPHE Office of Emergency Preparedness and Response
Dr. Kathy Irene Kennedy has served as the Director of RIHEL since its inception in 1998. Her work since that time has been focused on public health workforce development either through the professional opportunities offered through RIHEL or through formal education at the Colorado School of Public Health. She is Associate Clinical Professor at the University of Colorado – Colorado School of Public Health where she directs the master of public health program in maternal and child health and the certificate in global public health. There and elsewhere she has taught the Introduction to Public Health, Epidemiology, Global Public Health Health, Maternal and Child Health, and Injury Epidemiology.
By training, Dr. Kennedy is a public health scientist who has conducted many studies in reproductive health, especially in the areas of lactation, fertility and contraception. She has directed several multi-center international studies, and has written on women’s health, on human immunodeficiency virus (AIDS) and on postpartum issues. Dr. Kennedy has worked in 20 countries and has served as an advisor to the World Health Organization (WHO) Human Reproduction Program in Geneva, Switzerland, directing data analysis and report writing for a variety of projects, including large international prospective studies. She provides peer review of scientific papers to a number of journals, and reviews research proposals for several foundations and institutions.
Connie Sorell is the Program Coordinator for the Regional Institute for Health and Environmental Leadership (RIHEL).
After completing a successful corporate career, she has turned her attention to serving her community and pursuing a second calling in non-profit development. Some of her expertise includes fundraising, community outreach, and data management. A long time Colorado resident, she is an avid gardener and lover of books.
Contact Me
Give me a call at 303-871-4252 or send me a message through the contact form below.
Leanne Jeffers, MPH, ACC is the Director of RIHEL’s Coaching Services and the Leadership for Healthy Community Design (LHCD) Program at the Regional Institute for Health and Environmental Leadership (RIHEL). Leanne earned her Master of Public Health from the University of California Los Angeles (1995), her Associate Certified Coach designation from the International Coach Federation (2018) and is a graduate of both the National Public Health Leadership Institute (2005), and the RIHEL Advanced Leadership Training Program (2007). She is the recipient of the Environmental Health Innovation Award (2018) from the Colorado Environmental Health Association and the Balderson Leadership Project Award (2006) from the National Public Health Leadership Development Network. Leanne is also a certified administrator of the EQi-2.0 emotional intelligence assessment. For 30 years, Leanne has worked in the health and public health sectors, with an emphasis on professional development, healthy community design, community health, and health promotion.
As the Director of the RIHEL’s Coaching Services, Leanne manages the coaching programs within RIHEL’s comprehensive leadership programs, and directs the Coaching Academy and RIHEL’s personal coaching services. Over the past 19 years, she has been coaching individuals and groups and training others to be peer and professional coaches. Since starting with RIHEL in 2003, Leanne has also managed the RIHEL Advanced Leadership Training Program (ALTP), coordinated Emergency Preparedness training for public and environmental health professionals, supported other leadership development activities through the Institute, and provided training, facilitation and coaching to build professional and community capacity in the area of healthy community design. Leanne served on the Denver Regional Council of Governments Metro Vision Planning Advisory Committee for two years (2012-2014), was on the Governing Board of Directors for WalkDenver for five years (2015 – 2019; Chair 2017-2019), and currently is the co-chair for the Built Environment Strategic Collaborative, a Colorado statewide group of advocates and professionals engaged in fostering health through the built environment.
Jen earned her Masters of Public Health from the University of South Carolina (1992) in Health Promotion and Education. Jen worked closely with Judy Baxter at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Center and the Colorado School of Public Health as the coordinator for the Rocky Mountain Evidence-Based Health Care (EBHC) Workshop for 13 years, as well as providing administrative and management support for other programs and projects at the University.
In addition to the EBHC Workshop, Jen has coordinated teacher training institutes for an environmental education non-profit, been part of the project management team for a large quality improvement project, and most recently has branched out into managing Continuing Medical Education (CME) programs.
Outside of work, Jen volunteers with a Colorado-based breast cancer non-profit, and serves on the planning commission for her town.
Dr. Kathy Irene Kennedy has served as the Director of RIHEL since its inception in 1998. Her work since that time has been focused on public health workforce development either through the professional opportunities offered through RIHEL or through formal education at the Colorado School of Public Health. She is Associate Clinical Professor at the University of Colorado – Colorado School of Public Health where she directs the master of public health program in maternal and child health and the certificate in global public health. There and elsewhere she has taught the Introduction to Public Health, Epidemiology, Global Public Health Health, Maternal and Child Health, and Injury Epidemiology.
Connie Sorell is the Program Coordinator for the Regional Institute for Health and Environmental Leadership (RIHEL).
After completing a successful corporate career, she has turned her attention to serving her community and pursuing a second calling in non-profit development. Some of her expertise includes fundraising, community outreach, and data management. A long time Colorado resident, she is an avid gardener and lover of books.
Leanne Jeffers, MPH, ACC is the Director of RIHEL’s 
Jen Stachelski, MPH, is the Program Manager for the