Alexis Travis
40 Under 40 Class of 2021
Lansing, Michigan
Senior Deputy Director, Public Health Administration
Michigan Department of Health and Human Services 
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My goal is to elevate an equitable life-course approach to public health through the development of evidence-based programs and initiatives that have a national impact on community health and wellness. I am committed to sitting at any table where I can add value and partnering across-sectors to advance my goal.
Three words to describe me:
innovative, motivated, fun
The best part of my job:
creating policies and solutions to address issues facing large numbers of people, and helping people to live healthy lives
Something that would surprise others about me:
I grew up in a single-parent household and at times food was scarce in my early childhood. This lead me to study food insecurity diet quality during my doctoral studies.
Dr. Alexis Travis is committed to driving social change by developing strategic collaborations, building coalitions, and creating innovative programs for vulnerable populations. She has worked at the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services since 2018, and in May 2021, she was named Senior Deputy Director of the department’s Public Health Administration. In this role, she oversees a vast array of public health services in Michigan. Previously, as the Senior Deputy Director (Executive Director) of Michigan’s Aging and Adult Services Agency, she helped Michigan in becoming the first state in the Midwest and fifth in the nation to be designated as age-friendly by the World Health Organization and AARP. Â
Prior to her work in Michigan, Alexis worked as chief of community health for the Worcester Department of Health and Human Services in Massachusetts, where she managed the Community Health Improvement Plan and was a champion of health equity while working effectively with diverse community stakeholders, including older adults and people with disabilities.Â
Alexis holds a doctorate in public health from Walden University, a master’s degree of pharmacy with honors from the University of Bradford in the United Kingdom, and was a participant in the Socrates/Erasmus Student Exchange Program at the University of Salamanca in Spain. Alexis is also a graduate of the Local Public Health Institute of Massachusetts: Managing Effectively in Today’s Public Health Environment Class of 2017.Â