Dr. Donna Petersen, former dean of the University of South Florida’s College of Public Health (COPH), is the first person to win a prestigious award from the National Board of
Public Health Examiners (NBPHE) in recognition of her legacy of leadership.
Petersen received the inaugural Joel Lee Innovation Award, a national honor that recognizes CPH-certified leaders whose work advances innovation,
excellence, and advocacy for public health. The award celebrates professionals who
transform the way public health is practiced, through sustainable outcomes, partnership-driven
leadership, and the ability to catalyze meaningful change for communities.
The award is named after the founder of the University of Georgia College of Public
Health who helped shape the early identity of health education, certification, and
competency standards throughout the United States. He died in 2024.
“Joel was a beloved member of our public health community, a role model, and a friend
to so many of us,’’ Petersen said. “He was an accomplished professional, wildly creative,
and incredibly kind. It was fitting that they were naming an innovation award for
him. When I got the call letting me know I had been selected as the first recipient
of this award, I was floored − but I knew wherever Joel was, he was smiling at me.’’
Petersen served as the fourth dean of COPH before stepping down in 2024 after nearly
20 years. She currently serves as a teaching professor in the college.
“The Lee award celebrates the values of rigor, leadership, and the type of progress
that improves real-world public health outcomes. No one embodies these values more
than Petersen,” said Dr. Jaime A. Corvin, an alumna and associate dean of academic affairs at COPH.
“Her career has been a sustained argument, made through action, that public health
is strongest when its workforce is prepared, supported, and recognized as a profession,’’
Corvin said. “Long before workforce shortages dominated national headlines, she pushed
the field toward clearer standards, stronger practice connections, and a culture of
lifelong learning.’’
As a former NBPHE chair, Petersen helped champion certification not as a checkbox,
but as a professional promise that public health practitioners should be able to demonstrate
foundational competence and continue developing as the field evolves, Corvin said.
“That is precisely where Dr. Petersen’s legacy stands out,’’ she added. “Across decades
of leadership, she’s influenced how public health is taught, how practice is valued
within training, and how professional credibility is strengthened across the workforce.
She’s been a driving force and an inspirational leader.”
Petersen said the award honors the belief and commitment that continues to fuel her
lifelong journey.
“I’ve been fortunate that my entire career has been devoted to improving the way public
health is practiced,’’ she said. “As a graduate student in public health, it was drilled
into us that our job, our responsibility, was to improve the health of the public
by any means possible.’’
Just as important is how the award reflects on the past, present and future work of
everyone within the USF College of Public Health.
“For years, we were known as innovators, as a group who saw opportunities and took
risks,’’ Petersen said. “Being early adopters of the CPH exam is an example of that
spirit. Winning this award should serve as a reminder of the leadership we demonstrated
in working to professionalize our field and hopefully inspire others to do their part.’’
Dr. Karen Liller, interim chair, Department of Community Health Sciences and Distinguished University Health Professor, called Petersen “the most authentic
and transformational leader I have ever known. I use much of what I learned from her
in my classes and work as a department chair. She is truly a public health star.”
Jenna Miller, a former COPH student of Petersen’s, praised her caring attitude towards
students and communities: “Her ability to lead and provide impactful career and professional advice
and feedback is immeasurable. I’m honored to have learned from such an inspirational
leader.”