A champion of community health, Janna Pastir aspires to ensure that all North Dakotans can achieve the quality of life they desire, and she is committed to reducing the negative root causes that impact quality of life. As the director of the Division of Health Promotion at the North Dakota Department of Health, Janna provides oversight for all the division’s programs, which includes oral health, diabetes prevention and control, hypertension and cardiovascular disease prevention and control, and healthy communities’ programs and projects. Within all these areas, she and her team strive to incorporate health equity and social determinant of health activities into all programs.
Janna holds an MPH from Benedictine University and is involved with numerous organizations, including the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors (NACDD) and the NACDD Cardiovascular Health Council, where she serves as co-chair.
I believe that true sustainable changes in public health will only happen when our communities are set up to thrive in, not just live in.