Feature Stories
Vondie Woodbury, '71
Since 1995, Executive Director of the Muskegon Community Health
Project, Vondie Woodbury, ’71 has developed and implemented several
community health programs. Her approach is based on a collaborative
decision-making process. Members of the community play an active role
in improving the access to health care and reducing the inequality in
coverage. Some of these programs include antibiotic education
campaigns, web-based community health information networks, and a
faith-based initiative promoting health in the local African-American
community. The organization was also the first in the county to
implement a health improvement program in Spanish.
In
2004, Woodbury and the Health Project helped start Access Health, a
program that helps people who work for uninsured small businesses get
health coverage. It helps by dividing the cost of insurance between
the employer, employee, and various public funds.
Before her
career with the Health Project, Woodbury spent 14 years working for
Senator Donald Riegle. She worked first as a campaign manager in 1988,
then as the chief of staff.
Earlier in her career, Woodbury
focused on helping the homeless and runaway youth. As executive
director of Michigan Coalition of Runaway Services she increased
awareness on issues that affect runaways, young women, and family
dysfunction.
Woodbury co-authored Out of the Box and Over
the Barrier, a book designed to help communities address their
uninsured and underinsured members. She is chair of the Board of
Directors at the Michigan Community Coordinated Child Care
Association, a founding member of Communities Joined in Action, and an
active member in the Michigan Access to Care Coalition.
Woodbury graduated from Grand Valley State University with a B.S. in
political science. She finished her masters of public administration
from Western Michigan University in 1976 and later completed the
Economic Development Practitioner Training Program at the University
of Michigan.
She is proud to call Muskegon her home.
Laker Voices Video: Vondie Woodbury, '71
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