Everyday Heroes

CCDPH is celebrating Everyday Heroes of the COVID-19 response. Everyday Heroes are people living, working, or volunteering in suburban Cook County who are helping each other during these extremely difficult times. To see more Everyday Heroes, please see this page.

Kelly Jones has a gift for connecting with community members and partners. As a Health Educator, Kelly engages with school communities in the southwest area of suburban Cook County to provide education and resources based on their needs and interests. CCDPH hosts an annual in-person School Health Conference, which draws hundreds of attendees. Due to COVID-19, the event was quickly transitioned into a virtual webinar series. Kelly was instrumental in its transformation and success.

Kelly’s found her COVID-19 related duties a bit stressful at first. Kelly didn’t have answers to many of the questions that community partners were asking. Kelly enjoyed the research though, and continues to learn from the work. She helped research and compile the numerous food, housing, utility, and other resources for community members. Those resources are shared through the COVID-19 hotline, and are featured here on CCDPH’s website.

Kelly continues to work with the school communities and has been providing information and resources related to COVID-19. It is important to foster these relationships for the continued success of the schools and the safety of teachers, staff, students, and families.
During her 11 years with Cook County, Kelly has had the opportunity to work in various units within the Department of Public Health. Before she joined the Community Engagement and Health Education Unit, Kelly worked as an STDs investigator in the Communicable Disease Unit. Her experience with the Unit was crucial in the launch of the Department’s STI Testing Initiative last summer.

“Kelly is a great asset to the Community Engagement and Health Education Unit. She brings with her a wealth of knowledge and is someone we can learn from,” says Bridgett Carter, a Health Educator and 33-year veteran of CCDPH.
Bridgett is also Kelly’s office-mate. She describes Kelly as refreshing and fun to be around. “She is passionate about her family, friends, and her community and that passion spills over into her work.”

The Community Engagement and Health Education Unit is small but mighty. Kelly attributes the Unit’s success to their teamwork. “We have a great team,” says Kelly. “We bounce ideas off of each other and help each other out.”

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