Public health · Policy · Leadership

Build the systems.
Serve the people.

I’m Danny Scalise, a public health executive and writer working to make institutions steadier, smarter, and more humane.

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Danny Scalise with the Spokane skyline in the background

Public health is the patient work of making complex systems function for real people.

01 About

A steady hand for consequential work.

I have spent more than two decades leading across government, nonprofit organizations, healthcare, and academia. Today, I serve as Administrative Officer of the Spokane Regional Health District, helping one of Washington’s largest local public health agencies build a strong culture and a durable future.

My work is grounded in systems thinking: seeing the connections between policy, finance, operations, and human behavior. I believe institutions earn trust through competence, candor, and the daily discipline of following through.

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02 Publications

Public health scholarship.

Research and commentary on public-health systems, rural health, preparedness, behavioral health, and policy.

2026Responsible AI in Mental Health Care: Policy Directions and Stakeholder InsightsFrontiers in Public Health · Co-author↗ 2025Leveraging Academic Health Departments for Place-Based Disaster ResponseJournal of Appalachian Health · With Sarah B. Thach and Ellis V. Matheson↗ 2025Tailoring Statewide Training for Local ImpactJournal of Appalachian Health · Co-author↗ 2024Public Health Policy that Leads with Equity in Rural AppalachiaDisaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness · Co-author↗ 2024The Collective Approach: Facing the Substance Use Disorder EpidemicNorth Carolina Medical Journal · Guest editor’s introduction↗ 2022Spatial Cases of Endocarditis in Southern West VirginiaJACC: Cardiovascular Interventions · Co-author↗ 2018Fitting a Square Peg into a Round HolePreventive Medicine Reports · Co-author↗ 2017Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Tax in West VirginiaWest Virginia Medical Journal · With Sherri Young↗ 2017Medical Marijuana Legal in West Virginia?West Virginia Medical Journal · With Sherri Young and James Felsen↗ 2016Public Health West Virginia 3.0Marshall Journal of Medicine · With David Didden↗

View Google Scholar profile

03 Books & fiction

Published novel

The Algorithm

A near-future work of political and dystopian fiction from a writer whose professional life has unfolded at the intersection of policy, ethics, technology, and government.

Buy The Algorithm on Amazon

Short fiction

Stories from Appalachia and beyond.

Five works exploring family, dignity, faith, mortality, and the complicated bonds between people and place.

Short story · 5,500 words

04 Selected work

Leadership across sectors.

Now

Spokane Regional Health District

Administrative Officer

Leading strategy, operations, culture, and stewardship for public health in Spokane County.

2021–26

Burke County Public Health

Public Health Director

Led a dual-accredited department recognized as North Carolina’s 2024 Health Department of the Year.

Earlier

Medicine, government & finance

Executive and public servant

Led the West Virginia State Medical Association and coordinated approximately $1.8 billion in federal recovery funding in the Governor’s Office.

NationalRoemer Prize

Creative local public health work

North CarolinaDogwood Award

Service to the health and well-being of communities

NationalW.C. Woodward Award

Outstanding leadership in health administration

EducationPublic Health Educator of the Year

Excellence in translating public health knowledge into practice

West Virginia University Institute of TechnologyAlumni of the Year

Professional achievement, service, and leadership

Delta Omega Honor SocietyAlumni Inductee

Distinguished contributions to public health

05 In practice

Public health is a team sport.

A few scenes from the work: teaching, convening, listening, recognizing colleagues, and building the professional relationships that sustain public service.

Danny Scalise presenting at the APHA 2026 Annual Meeting and Expo — Speaking Evidence, public trust, and resilient public-health systems at APHA 2026.

Danny Scalise moderating an onstage conversation — Convening A leadership conversation at the North Carolina Institute of Medicine’s Annual Meeting.

Danny Scalise with public-health colleagues holding awards — Recognition Celebrating achievement alongside public-health colleagues.

Danny Scalise with colleagues from the National Academy of Public Health — Community With colleagues at the National Academy of Public Health.

Danny Scalise and colleagues at an APHA Health Administration session — Colleagues With colleagues in APHA’s Health Administration Section.

Danny Scalise recording a podcast conversation — Listening Recording a public-health podcast conversation.

Monroe Street Bridge and Spokane Falls in Spokane, Washington — Spokane, Washington · Public service grounded in place

06 Ideas

What I’m thinking about.

Systems

Seeing the whole institution

How leaders connect finance, workforce, policy, and community outcomes—and why durable change depends on all four.

Leadership

Stewardship over spectacle

The quiet disciplines that restore trust: clarity, accountability, sound judgment, and respect for the people doing the work.

Practice

Public health that meets the moment

Building resilient local systems for behavioral health, emergency response, prevention, and the challenges still ahead.

07 Credentials & service

Experience in practice, policy, and education.

Education

MPH, Health Policy
MBA
BS, Management

Academic appointments

UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health
Campbell University School of Osteopathic Medicine
West Virginia University School of Public Health

Professional standing

Professional Member, National Academy of Public Health
Fellow, Royal Society for Public Health
Fellow, American College of Healthcare Executives
Certified in Public Health

Professional service

Governing Councilor and Education Board Member, American Public Health Association
Site Visitor, Public Health Accreditation Board
Board Member, North Carolina Institute of Medicine
Editorial Board Member, North Carolina Medical Journal
Member, National Association of Counties Opioid Leadership Network
MPH Advisory Committee, Lenoir-Rhyne University

08 In the news

Conversations about leadership and public health.

The Spokesman-Review · May 2026

Leadership is the obligation to leave the institution and the people in it stronger than you found them.”

09 Contact

Good work begins with a serious conversation.

For speaking, teaching, writing, or professional inquiries, contact me by email or connect with me on LinkedIn.

Email me Connect on LinkedIn

Build the systems.
Serve the people.

A steady hand for consequential work.

Public health scholarship.