By Dana Kazel
Jana Blomberg, a St. Louis County Public Health Program Coordinator, has been honored as one of the 40 Under 40 in Public Health in recognition of her work.
The de Beaumont Foundation announced its Class of 2023 on Sept. 7, after reviewing nominations from hundreds of professionals working to benefit state or local public health across the United States. The 40 Under 40 recognition is more than an award, it's also a two-year professional development program, in which Blomberg will now participate.
Blomberg has worked for St. Louis County Public Health for seven years. Her initial role was as a Public Health Educator focused on substance misuse prevention. Since 2019, she has served as a Program Coordinator. Some of her current responsibilities include facilitating the Chemical Awareness Prevention and Education (CAPE) Coalition, which promotes substance use prevention, education and recovery services for the Quad Cities and northern St. Louis County. Blomberg also currently coordinates the Opioid Remediation Settlement Advisory Committee, which is tasked with prioritizing the use of approximately $18 million the county is receiving from the national class action lawsuit involving several prescription opioid manufacturers and distributors.
“The professionals chosen for the 40 Under 40 in Public Health Class of 2023 demonstrate the determination, commitment, innovation, and resilience of the public health field,” said Brian C. Castrucci, president and CEO of the de Beaumont Foundation, which launched the program in 2019. “Their work is strengthening communities and improving lives, and I look forward to following their careers and learning from them.”
"I am honored and very excited to be selected for the 40 Under 40 program," said Blomberg. "I see this as an opportunity to learn from the other Public Health professionals about strategies they are using that we could do here in St. Louis County. Likewise, as someone who works in more rural communities, there's value in raising awareness of the challenges we work through here."
Blomberg is in good company. The 40 Under 40 program’s honorees also include epidemiologists, program managers, researchers, and policy analysts in state, local, and territorial health departments; colleges and universities; nonprofit organizations; and the private sector. The class was selected by a distinguished panel of public health professionals for their leadership and impact on their community’s health.
"Jana consistently brings leadership, enthusiasm and compassion to all of her work," said Linnea Mirsch, St. Louis County Public Health and Human Services Director. "Just as the most recent example, she stepped fully into the unknown terrain of the opioid resettlement work and has steadily led those efforts in a way that honors the various perspectives while still centering those who are most vulnerable and in need."
For more information about the 40 Under 40 in Public Health, including a full list of honorees, visit www.debeaumont.org/40Under40.
