CSTE provides a 12-month leadership program for mid-career epidemiologists – LEAD: Leading Epidemiologists, Advancing Data. The program goals for CSTE LEAD are two-fold:

1. Enhance the applied epidemiology workforce.
2. Develop leaders for CSTE activities. The program utilizes competency-based learning, evidence-based approaches, theory-based leadership frameworks, and CDC quality training standards. The program’s fifth cohort will begin August 2024 and conclude July 2025

LEAD participants will benefit from professional networking, mentorship, and skill-building exercises. The training utilizes flexible learning, where the participant can select from training materials to better suit their interests and needs for specific topic areas or depth of content. The project component will provide an opportunity to immediately apply the program’s training, facilitate professional growth, and advance an applied epidemiology project of importance. An emphasis on various leadership development techniques to facilitate change and innovation will prepare participants to serve as national leaders in applied epidemiology.

Applicants must be currently employed at a state, territorial, tribal, local health department or Tribal Epidemiology Center. At a minimum, candidates must have five or more years of public health experience, intend to stay at their agency for the program duration, demonstrate leadership potential and interest, and be nominated by their supervisor, State Epidemiologist or Health Official with identified, dedicated and protected time for program participation. Participants should plan to commit six hours per month for training activities and additional time for their project tasks. Ideal candidates will be active in a CSTE subcommittee or workgroup, have at least three years of experience as an epidemiologist, and express interest in serving as a leader or providing mentorship within CSTE.

Each participant will have support from their onsite supervisor, a project sponsor (individual with project technical expertise), and a mentor (experienced epidemiologist). Those selected for the LEAD program must participate in all learning and evaluation activities. Upon completion of the program, all participants will be awarded a certificate of completion. Program alum will continue to serve in leadership roles for CSTE and provide mentorship for future program participants.

The curriculum will be delivered virtually through an online community of practice, asynchronous learning opportunities, and twice monthly calls. Monthly calls will include discussion of journal articles, case studies, project sharing and opportunities for leadership coaching skill-building. All participants will have a project to lead, which will provide an opportunity to implement the training material on-the-job in a real-world situation. The project can be at a health department or at CSTE (e.g. via a subcommittee or workgroup) with a deliverable of significance to improve applied epidemiology practice. The training topics and competencies are listed in Table 1.

Throughout the CSTE LEAD program, participants will have a support team consisting of an onsite supervisor, mentor, and project supervisor. The responsibilities and roles of the onsite supervisor, mentor, and project supervisor include:

Onsite Supervisor: Provide dedicated time and protected resources for program participation. For projects occurring at the health agency, onsite supervisors should help make professional connections and inform leadership as appropriate. Mentor: Share from their public health leadership experience. Provide guidance related to working as an epidemiologist, serving as a leader, and project management. Commit 1-2 hours a month to engaging with the participant. Mentors may need to participate in some of the training activities to facilitate discussion with the participant.

Project Sponsor: Provides subject matter and technical expertise for the project. Commit at least 2-3 hours per month to provide project assistance. Note that the identification of a project sponsor and/or mentor is not necessary at the time of application submission. Additional career coaching may be available for program participants.

The application for the 2025-2026 cohort is now closed.

The next application cycle will open in Spring 2026.

If you have any questions, please reach out to WFResources@cste.org