Michelle Chiezah, M.P.H, M.A.

Michelle Chiezah is the State’s Infant Health and Mortality Reduction Specialist at the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH).  At MDH, Michelle provides statewide leadership around infant mortality reduction and manages the state’s Infant Mortality Reduction Initiative. The Infant Mortality Reduction Initiative provides resources, education, information, and technical assistance to local public health agencies, Tribal governments, and community-based organizations to improve birth outcomes.  A major focus of Michelle’s work is to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in infant mortality by planning, coordinating, implementing, and evaluating interventions and activities using the most current data, best practices, and promising strategies. Michelle currently serves on several committees that aim to improve maternal and/or infant health outcomes, including the Sudden Unexpected Infant Deaths Case Review Committee, the Minnesota Perinatal Quality Collaborative Health Equity Group, the St. Paul-Ramsey County Birth Equity Community Council, Minnesota Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) Advisory Committee, and the Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs Healthy Beginnings Cohort, to name a few.