Mid-Central Regional Center Executive Director Lisa Hadden Retires

Lisa Hadden, Executive Director of Michigan AHEC's Mid-Central Regional Center reitred this June. She has worked with the Mid-Central AHEC since 2012.

Lisa held several administrative and executive positions over the span of her career including Executive Director of a rural FQHC in remote Michigan, and Executive Vice President of a large FQHC in Saginaw. She has also served as faculty for the Family Practice Department at MSU College of Human Medicine, for the Saginaw Valley State University College of Nursing and Health Sciences, and the Asset Based Community Development Institute at DePaul University.

In 1993, Ms. Hadden left the executive suite to engage in deep grassroots community building in the neighborhoods of Saginaw, Michigan. Through years of work using Asset Based Community Development approaches, the neighborhood experienced improved health status, increased economic development, and improved community engagement. Her work merged these fields and disciplines together to create systems of care built upon strong, local community assets supporting health and wellbeing.

In 1997, Ms. Hadden was awarded a "Creating Healthier Communities" Fellowship from the International Leadership program with the American Hospital Association. Her fellowship project in Saginaw entitled "Community Defined Healthâ„¢" is nationally recognized for its innovative combination of Asset Based Community Development and the education of health professions students to create strong community based IPE curriculum for medical, nursing and occupational therapy students while assisting neighbors in community health initiatives. She has published several articles detailing her work in Saginaw's neighborhoods. In 2004, she was awarded the Woman of the Year award from the Zonta International Association in Saginaw. In 2014, she was Honorable Mentioned as Woman of the Year at CMU where she continued her work of bridging community engagement and health professions education.