Director
Center for Leadership Education in Maternal and Child Public Health, Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
Sara Benning, MLS, directs the day-to-day operations at the Center for Leadership Education in Maternal and Child Public Health, one of thirteen national university-based Centers of Excellence (COEs) funded by the Health Services and Resources Administration (HRSA). Sara helps carry out the aims of Center, which is housed within the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities (UMTC) School of Public Health, and works with Center faculty to train diverse leaders in MCH through an MPH Program, and providing professional education and technical assistance to health professionals, including Title V agency staff serving the health needs of women, pregnant people, children, youth, and their families. Sara serves on the National MCH Workforce Development Center’s Advisory Committee and the Minnesota Vision Health Task Force. She moved from her small hometown in rural Wisconsin to attend the UMTC and has remained there ever since: she recieved a BS in Family Social Sciences and a Masters of Liberal Studies (MLS), which focused on sexual violence prevention education in college-aged populations.