In this episode we’re joined by Ali Abazeed, Director and Sara Elhasan, Public Health Advisor with the Dearborn Department of Public Health. I initially met Ali and Sara as part of the Communities in Context initiative in Detroit, Michigan and wanted to learn more about their unique story. At a time when public health departments budgets are being reduced and their authority is being challenged -- the City of Dearborn, Michigan saw public health as essential for each Dearborn resident to have the opportunity to reach their full health potential, and that no one is disadvantaged due to social position or other socially determined circumstances.

Ali Abazeed is the inaugural director of the newly launched Dearborn Department of Public Health. A Dearborn native, he recently moved back home from Washington D.C. where he served as a Public Health Advisor at the National Institutes of Health. He joined public service as a Presidential Management Fellow and has worked across the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in the Office of the Secretary, Office of Refugee Resettlement, and the Assistant Secretary for Policy and Evaluation. He has led a health and social policy portfolio ranging from homelessness eradication, the health of rural and tribal America, cancer prevention and control, and mitigating the effects of the global refugee crisis.

Prior to joining the federal government, Ali served as an advisor at the Detroit Health Department where he bolstered efforts to reverse water shutoffs and revitalize human services following the city’s bankruptcy. He developed robust comparative perspectives working on maternal and child health with the United Nations in the refugee camps of Lebanon. Ali is a three-time graduate of the University of Michigan, holding a MPH, MPP, and a BS. Most importantly, Ali is a proud graduate of Fordson High School.

Sara Elhasan

Explore Resources:

Dearborn Public Health

Communities in Context

Vital Conditions for Well-Being -- Dearborn (select Dearborn in geography dropdown)

First Person: Dearborn’s Devastating Flood Exposes Mistrust, Deep Divides (July 2021)

Protecting Public Health Authority and Advocacy Toolkit

10 Essential Public Health Services