Joint statement from Alderman Cavalier Johnson, Alderman Nik Kovac, Alderman Khalif J. Rainey, Alderwoman JoCasta Zamarripa, Alderwoman Chantia Lewis, Alderman Michael J. Murphy, Alderman Mark A. Borkowski, Alderman José G. Pérez, Alderman Scott Spiker and Alderwoman Marina Dimitrijevic
It is with tremendous gratitude that we offer our thanks to Dr. Jeanette Kowalik for her dedicated service as Commissioner of the Milwaukee Health Department. Dr. Kowalik, a proud City of Milwaukee native, has served the citizens of Milwaukee with passion and leadership since taking over the MHD in September 2018, and we are deeply appreciative of her service.
We wish her well on her new health leadership opportunity in Washington, D.C., and we are sad to see her go.
Looking back, Dr. Kowalik took the reins during a time of transition at the MHD. Under her guidance, she brought in a new leadership team and made positive progress by emphasizing a multifaceted public health focus in areas of greatest need, including making Milwaukee the first city to declare racism a public health crisis in 2019. Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, she and her team identified that the areas of the city with the largest COVID-19 impact and created culturally-responsive messaging and interventions to help stop the spread.
She was a leader in clearly and openly talking about the disparate impact of COVID-19 on Milwaukee’s African-American and Latino communities, and how COVID-19 magnified existing health disparities. She and her team quickly used CDC guidelines to put in place regulations and policies to keep our residents safe, as well as establishing gating criteria to ensure we conduct daily life in the safest manner possible.
We are pleased that Dr. Kowalik has offered to assist in the transition to the next leader of the Health Department, and we look to continue moving forward with a new Commissioner who brings the same dedication and leadership to this most vital city post.