Kayla Inthabandith, mPH | Program manager, Chronic & Infectious Diseases

Kayla was born and raised in Rockford, Illinois, and received her undergraduate degrees at University of Illinois at Chicago and Northern Illinois University in Biology and Medical Laboratory Sciences, respectfully. With her Medical Laboratory Science degree, she worked as a Medical Laboratory Scientist at UW Health Northern Illinois throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Kayla worked with a variety of populations, ranging from rural to refugee groups, specifically Burmese and Nigerian populations, running routine and emergency lab tests and procedures such as massive transfusions during traumas. Unsatisfied with staying in the lab and wanting to do more community outreach, she decided to pursue her MPH with a certificate in Epidemiology with Benedictine University.

During her internship at Boone County Health Department, she worked under their Public Health Strategist and floated to different departments when needed, focusing on Quality Improvement through rapid QI projects. She continues to volunteer with Boone County Health Department during large events.

Kayla joined the Asian Health Coalition team with the desire to continue to work with immigrant and refugee populations; her family were refugees from the Laos Civil War during the 70s and heavily relied on public health programs to keep her and her family healthy. As a Program Manager for Chronic and Infectious Diseases, she loves the opportunity to work on a range of projects such as language access and Hepatitis B outreach. She also enjoys applying her analysis skills in research projects.

In her free time, Kayla likes to boulder, ice skate, and trying different teas.