Michelle Clausen Rosendahl, MPH, REHS

Environmental Division Coordinator

Siouxland District Health Department

Sioux City, IA  51105

Biography

Michelle Clausen Rosendahl has been with the Siouxland District Health Department (SDHD) in Sioux City, Iowa since 2001 and became the Environmental Division Coordinator in 2006.  In this position, she coordinates programs and a staff of six that provides environmental health services to 10 counties in Northwest Iowa, including food safety, hotel/motel licensure, swimming pool and spa program, tattoo and tanning inspection, well and septic permitting, disease surveillance, health education, and emergency planning.  In addition, she manages the Siouxland Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program and coordinates the community lead coalition.  She was a scholar of the Iowa Community Health Leadership Institute in 2003-2004, and became a Registered Environmental Health Specialist/Registered Sanitarian (REHS/RS) in 2006. 

Prior to joining SDHD, she was employed as an environmental chemist working in water quality.  In addition, she served as an adjunct faculty member of Western Iowa Tech Community College for over seven years teaching courses in the Biology Department, primarily Human Anatomy and Physiology, and was selected for inclusion in Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers in 2004 and 2005.  She received a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Iowa State University in 1995 and a Master of Public Health degree from Des Moines University in 2005 where she was recognized as the Graduate with Distinction, the highest honor awarded by the college.   

Leadership Development Opportunities

It has truly been a privilege to be a part of the second class of the Environmental Public Health Leadership Institute.  I really appreciated the focus on environmental health and the opportunity to learn from and share ideas with environmental health professionals from across the country with expertise in widely diverse areas. 

The Institute provided me with new tools for approaching a problem, and the systems thinking and modeling concepts have proven to be valuable ways to describe and work through a problem, and visually get my point across to others.  The self assessments and individual development plans were a real opportunity to identify strengths and weaknesses, and set some concrete goals for myself.  This especially served as the impetus that I needed to successfully prepare for and pass the test for credentialing as an REHS/RS.  Thank you to all of the staff, faculty, and mentors who make EPHLI happen.  The opportunity to meet so many leaders in the field of environmental health, including the faculty, mentors, and fellows, has been invaluable.