Modernizing Public Health Infrastructure with Dr. Heidi Steinecker
In this episode, our guest is Heidi Steinecker, DrPH & Principal of Health & Human Services Consulting at Resultant. With over two decades of leadership in public health and healthcare systems—including as Deputy Director of the California Department of Public Health—Heidi is helping states transform how they use data to prevent crises and protect vulnerable communities.
Heidi takes complex public health challenges and breaks them down into clear, data-driven strategies that work. She’s spent her career modernizing outdated systems, leading emergency responses, and designing early intervention models that save lives. Today at Resultant—recently named one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies of 2025—Heidi is focused on helping agencies turn massive amounts of public health data into actionable, equitable solutions.
Heidi, welcome to the Talk to Your Pharmacist podcast. Now that our listeners have heard a bit about your background maybe you can fill in any gaps to that intro and share a bit about your personal life.
Topics to discuss --
- How public health agencies can move from reactive to proactive using predictive analytics
- Why modernizing health data systems is no longer optional—and how to get started
From Classroom to Policy Leadership – before becoming California’s Deputy Director of Public Health during the COVID‑19 pandemic
How did your early experiences in teaching inform your approach to leadership and communication during a public health crisis?
Leading Transformation at Scale – At CDPH, you transformed manual inspection systems into proactive, cloud‑based predictive models
Can you discuss a specific challenge you faced transitioning these systems, and how you overcame resistance to change?
Bridging Local and Global Health – Your doctoral work at MCW focused on infectious diseases in high-risk settings and you emphasize “local health is global health”
How do you translate lessons learned in global health contexts to strengthen health systems here in the U.S.?
Modernizing Public Health Infrastructure – In a recent podcast, you emphasized that modernization starts with relationships—combined with tech like AI and predictive analytics.What are the critical steps to building both the relational and technical foundations needed for effective public health modernization?
Guest - Heidi Steinecker
https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidiwsteinecker/
Host - Hillary Blackburn, PharmD, MBA
www.hillaryblackburn.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/hillary-blackburn-67a92421/
