Rachel Brink

Rachel Brink is the associate director of data modernization at the National Network of Public Health Institutes. In this role, she plans and leads several projects related to trainings and technical assistance of the exchange and use of public health data in state, territorial, and local public health agencies. She also supports the collaborative strategic planning, development, and execution of the Public Health Data Modernization Implementation Center Program.

Rachel’s interest in public health began while she was a community organizer based in Chicago for a national network of grassroots organizations focused on the intersecting areas of the social determinants of health and health equity.

Prior to joining NNPHI, Rachel worked as an infectious disease epidemiologist with the Illinois Department of Public Health where she conducted case investigations, managed statewide enteric disease surveillance data, provided technical assistance to local health departments and laboratories, supported outbreak investigations of food- and water-borne diseases, and assisted with rapid response efforts to the e-cigarette or vaping use-associated lung injury outbreak, the COVID-19 pandemic, Mpox, and the H5N1 outbreak in dairy cattle.

Rachel received her MPH in Community Health Sciences from the University of Illinois Chicago School of Public Health and her MBA in Data Analytics from UIC School of Business Administration. She completed her undergraduate studies with a BA in Spanish Language Studies and Social Work from Calvin College.