UIS Center for State Policy and Leadership announces new executive director

University of Illinois Springfield Center for State Policy and Leadership (CSPL) announces Molly Lamb of Chatham as the new executive director. University of Illinois Board of Trustees’ formal approval is pending. She will start in the role on Monday, June 1, pending approval.

Lamb will be coming from the Illinois Department of Public Health after spending 11 years. She most recently served as the deputy director of IDPH’s Office of Health Protection. Her start in the public sector careers was from an emergency response coordinator for the Logan County Health Department. She has taught as an adjunct faculty member at Lincoln Land Community College.

“Molly brings unparalleled enthusiasm and a wealth of ideas to this position,” said Dennis Papini, UIS provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs. “She advanced a variety of initiatives that are centered squarely on advancing the visibility and impact of the Center for State Policy and Leadership, and her knowledge of how state agencies work will offer her insight into collaborations with UIS.”

Molly worked at IDPH and crafted many successful ventures. Some of her successes are the successful adoption of raw milk sales regulation rulemaking in Illinois, championed the Children’s Health Insurance Plan (CHIP) Vaccines For Children (VFC) immunization re-join project. She also managed the significant organizational structural changes at IDPH.

“CSPL has a rich capacity and demonstrated success in promoting evidence-based policy and practice,” said Lamb. “Evaluating and understanding governmental infrastructure, workforce needs, and policy and engaging partnerships are key to advance change and build a strategic roadmap. I look forward to continuing to strengthen the visibility and capability of the CSPL to best serve UIS and Illinois, grow leadership and workforce development opportunities and promote applied research and innovation to address publicly-identified and emerging issues.”