Kortni Garcia, CHES,^®

Kortni Garcia was born and raised in Michigan. She attended Central Michigan University earning a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Science degree from Eastern Michigan University.

Kortni began college with a passion for sports and plans to become an athletic trainer. However, during her sophomore year of college, she was diagnosed with cancer, followed by 16 months of sickness, chemotherapy, and radiation.

After her diagnosis, she realized the good that preventative work could do for the public’s health. Today, she says that the worst thing that has happened to her guided her into the best career path she could have imagined.

Kortni is now public health educator at Michigan’s District Health Department #10. She works as a coalition coordinator for her county’s substance abuse prevention coalition, Oceana Leads. In her position, she engages diverse community stakeholders, including law enforcement, local schools, healthcare providers, businesses, and service organizations.

In her work, she uses Area II: Plan Health Education/Promotion and Area III: Implement Health Education/Promotion equally.

Kortni advises health education students and professionals to,

“vigorously network and push themselves outside of their comfort zones.”

In her free time, she enjoys kayaking, adventuring with her husband and two dogs, reading, and crafting. She and her husband are expecting their first child in October.