Linda S Duchak

As the Associate Director for Outreach and Service in the Center for Public Health Practice, I manage workforce development, continuing education, and community-based efforts. My primary responsibility is the management of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Public Health Training Center, a program of CPHP funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration to address training needs of the current and future public health workforces in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, and the District of Columbia.

My content area of expertise is tobacco control. After serving as a project manager for the Allegheny County Health Department, I became the founding Executive Director of Tobacco Free Allegheny, a non-profit organization under the umbrella of Allegheny County. In this capacity, I managed a multi-million dollar budget, designed and implemented a community-based county-wide comprehensive tobacco control program, and led the efforts to create policy allowing the Allegheny County Health Department to enforce youth access to tobacco restrictions. Subsequently, I joined UPMC Health Plan to lead the development, implementation, and evaluation of the Tobacco Dependence Initiative in the newly formed Health Promotion Department. Of particular note was my effort to successfully implement a tobacco-free campus policy for the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.