Leslie Best has more than 40 years of experience in health and human services in Pennsylvania.
She has held a variety of positions in the Pennsylvania state government, including statewide oversight of the licensure of personal care homes and funding for county-based human service programs. In 1993, she joined the state Primary Care Office to start up a new program to increase the quantity and distribution of primary care practitioners, becoming program director in 1997.
For nine years Ms. Best served as the Chronic Disease Director for the Pennsylvania Department of Health, where she directed statewide planning and program implementation for the Divisions of Health Risk Reduction, Cancer Prevention and Control, Nutrition and Physical Activity, and Tobacco Prevention and Control.
She served as the President of the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors (NACDD) in 2011 and has been a senior public health consultant with NACDD since 2014. Ms. Best has provided consultation services to the Mississippi Public Health Institute; Geisinger Health System; the Family Health Council of Central PA and the Brown School of Public Health at Washington University.
Accomplishments include leading the development of the National Public Health Agenda for Lupus; recommendations for cancer prevention during early and older adulthood; management of three workgroups focused on primary cancer prevention in persons with adverse childhood experiences, American Indians/Alaska Native people and Latino Americans, and led the development of resources for use by states that integrate messages about Alzheimer’s Disease into chronic disease programs.
She also holds a degree in social work from Penn State University. Leslie is an amazing contributor to the Brain Health Advisory Group. She was interested in serving as an Advisory Group member to provide perspective as a long-time public health professional and knowledge from her experiences regarding program planning for this project. Thank you Leslie for your continued dedication!
