Summary
Overview
Work History
Education
Skills
Accomplishments
Timeline
Generic

Kimberly J. Rustem

Detroit

Summary

Strategic and mission-driven leader with over a decade of experience in public policy, social equity, and municipal leadership. Proven track record of designing and implementing large-scale, equity-focused initiatives across public, nonprofit, and private sectors. Skilled in stakeholder engagement, program development, and cross-sector collaboration. Recognized for launching transformative programs and securing multimillion-dollar funding to advance racial equity and community health outcomes.

Overview

10
10
years of professional experience

Work History

Executive Director of Health Equity Strategy

CVS Health
01.2022 - Current
  • Assisted the inaugural Chief Health Equity Officer for CVS Health with launching the first Health Equity Office for the enterprise, including development and establishment of the health equity governing body, development and establishment of the office strategy and programs focused on reducing racial and ethnic disparities in hypertension and depression and addressing the social determinants of health for CVS Health patients, members, and customers.
  • Developed and launched the racial and ethnic disparities heart and mental health GIS mapping tool which identifies hot spot areas across the United States where racial and ethnic disparities exist in hypertension and depression and maps CVS Health assets for addressing those health disparities.
  • Developed and launched the enterprise social determinants of health strategy focused on addressing four key social barriers to optimal health for CVS Health patients - healthy food access, safe and affordable housing access, transportation to care, and digital access and literacy. Secured five million dollars in funding to implement and evaluate programs aligned with the strategy.
  • Developed and launched the enterprise racial and ethnic disparities in heart health and mental health reduction program. This program trains internal teams in using quality improvement methodologies to address racial and ethnic disparities in patient health outcomes and coaches the team in developing focused interventions to reduce those disparities. Secured an additional five million dollars in funding to implement and evaluate programs aligned with the strategy.
  • Developed and launched the CVS Health health equity Medicaid and Medicare governing bodies and strategies designed to train CVS Health staff in health equity, develop programs to address market-level health disparities, improve the cultural competency of employees within the CVS Health network, and build dashboards for identifying and monitoring health disparities.
  • Developed the enterprise health equity policy agenda in partnership with the CVS Health government affairs team.

Director

City of Detroit Civil Rights, Inclusion, and Opportunity Department
01.2020 - 01.2022
  • Chaired the Detroit Equity Council on behalf of the Mayor to eliminate barriers to equity for Detroit residents in eight key areas of city government – human resources, procurement, land and development, entrepreneurship, housing, jobs, climate and criminal justice.
  • Chaired the Mayor-appointed and City Council-approved Human Rights Commission, an advisory body comprised of Detroit residents with the mission of helping to inform department strategy.
  • Led and managed a department of six programs, approximately 30 employees and a budget of nearly seven million dollars. Programs included – (1) the Detroit business certification program meant to support Detroit-owned and based businesses with competing for city procurement opportunities, (2) monitoring and enforcement of developer-community benefits agreements, Detroit resident hiring requirements in construction contracts, and Detroit resident training requirements in union contracts, (3) investigation and resolution of civil rights complaints made by City employees and Detroit residents, (4) development and launching of the Office of Marijuana Ventures and Entrepreneurship, meant to support Detroit residents with owning and operating marijuana ventures in the city, (5) launching of the inaugural City of Detroit Office of Disability Affairs and its first strategic plan, (6) administration of the city’s education portfolio including the Detroit Promise Board, Goal Line afterschool program, and pre-k and childcare initiatives.
  • Testified on important policy matters before the Detroit City Council.

Policy Director

City of Detroit Mayor’s Office
01.2019 - 01.2020
  • Led the COVID-19 response efforts for the Mayor’s office, including the establishment of the COVID-19 drive-thru testing and vaccination center in Detroit, the development of the COVID-19 response policy and procedures manual for all city departments and associated agencies, and the development of the COVID-19 response playbooks for Detroit’s business and non-profit sector.
  • Developed and launched the Detroit “Mental Health Co-Response Partnership,” in partnership with the Detroit Wayne Integrated Health Network, the Detroit Police Department, the Detroit Housing and Revitalization Department and the Detroit Fire Department. The initiative focused on three areas – (1) deployment of behavioral health specialists with police officers when responding to police runs that may involve someone experiencing a mental health crisis, (2) integration of behavioral health specialists into the police department’s communications center to field incoming calls for people experiencing mental health crises, and (3) deployment of behavioral health liaisons and housing specialists with police officers when responding to police runs that may involve someone who is homeless and experiencing a mental health crisis.

Senior Consultant

Public Sector Consultants
01.2018 - 01.2019
  • Developed strategies, programs, evaluations, and policy briefs for clients. Convened strategy councils, workgroups, and roundtables for clients.
  • Key projects and clients included development of the southeast Michigan HIV reduction strategy for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, the five year strategic plan for the Detroit Revitalization Fellows program, evaluation of the Detroit Hacker Fellows program, and the Midtown Inc. housing vouchers program.

Director of Stakeholder Engagement

City of Detroit Mayor’s Office
01.2017 - 01.2018
  • Designed and lead stakeholder engagements, the qualitative research agenda, and strategy development for gun violence reduction programs, expungement programs, and integration of mental health and after-school programs.
  • Developed and implemented programmatic and policy interventions, including community-based gun violence reduction initiatives and after school programming for Detroit students.

Senior Policy Advisor to the Director

City of Detroit Health Department
01.2016 - 01.2017
  • Managed the Lead Safe Detroit Coalition, a coalition of city departments, non-profit organizations, and regional organizations, to provide comprehensive case management services to children with elevated blood lead levels.
  • Managed and launched the City of Detroit Municipal ID Program, a program designed to provide immigrants, returning citizens, the homeless, and others with an official form of identification for accessing vital services, such as opening a bank account, receiving healthcare, setting up an account to pay utility bills, etc.
  • Provided support to the Director in the development of the Host Community Agreement between the City and U.S. Ecology, a waste holding firm.
  • Convened a taskforce and developed recommendations for improving environmental standards for the City’s Demolition Program.
  • Coordinated the Environmental Monitoring and Case Management workgroup and provided support to the Director in developing recommendations for the Governor’s Childhood Lead Elimination Board.
  • Wrote policy briefs on behalf of the Director’s Office to address City Council concerns regarding environmental health and submitted grant applications for public health programming including an environmental health fellowship, enhancements to our lead case management program, school lead testing, etc.
  • Presented and served as the external spokesperson for the Detroit Health Department.

Health Associate

RESOLVE
01.2015 - 01.2016
  • Led multi-stakeholder projects, provide stakeholders with project updates and progress, conduct special studies, provide project management and facilitation support, and prepare written documents for consensus problem-solving meetings among government, business, community, academic, and philanthropic stakeholders to improve governmental health programs, reporting procedures and systems, and service delivery to constituents. Projects include: Public Health Leadership Forum (funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation), Collaborative Food Safety Forum (funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation), 50th Anniversary of the Surgeon General’s Report Executive Committee and Tackling Disparities Working Group (funded by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation), Environmental Health in Schools Facilitated Workshop (sponsored by the Healthy Schools Network, Inc.), the Fracking Guidebook for Communities (sponsored by Shell), and the Healthy Cities Prize Challenge (sponsored by American Public Health Association and AETNA).
  • Write summary reports of the consensus achieved in meetings.
  • Conducted health policy research on topics including the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act; federal, state, and local tobacco control regulations; and federal, state, and local public health budgets and funding systems.
  • Prepared budgets and proposals for government, foundation, and non-profit RFPs.
  • Consulted with local, state, and federal agencies, businesses, and community organizations in the development and implementation of work plans to coordinate services and ensure timely response to constituent concerns.

Education

Master of Public Policy - Science, Technology and Public Policy Specialization

University of MichiganGerald R. Ford School of Public Policy
Ann Arbor, MI
01.2015

Bachelor of Arts Degree - Comparative Cultures and Politics; Science, Technology, and Environmental Public Policy Specialization; Minor in Spanish

Michigan State University, James Madison College
East Lansing, MI
01.2011

Skills

  • Community engagement
  • Program management
  • Strategic planning
  • Project management
  • Staff management
  • Budgeting and financial management
  • Public speaking
  • Stakeholder relations
  • Policy formulation

Accomplishments

  • CEO Award, CVS Health – Health Equity, 2024
  • Women of Excellence Award, Michigan Chronicle, 2021
  • Birth Detroit, Founding Board Member, 2020 – 2023
  • Great Lakes Leadership Academy Advanced Leadership Development Program Graduate, 2018
  • Governor Gretchen Whitmer Transition Team, 2018
  • City of Detroit Human Rights Commissioner, District 6, 2017

Timeline

Executive Director of Health Equity Strategy

CVS Health
01.2022 - Current

Director

City of Detroit Civil Rights, Inclusion, and Opportunity Department
01.2020 - 01.2022

Policy Director

City of Detroit Mayor’s Office
01.2019 - 01.2020

Senior Consultant

Public Sector Consultants
01.2018 - 01.2019

Director of Stakeholder Engagement

City of Detroit Mayor’s Office
01.2017 - 01.2018

Senior Policy Advisor to the Director

City of Detroit Health Department
01.2016 - 01.2017

Health Associate

RESOLVE
01.2015 - 01.2016

Bachelor of Arts Degree - Comparative Cultures and Politics; Science, Technology, and Environmental Public Policy Specialization; Minor in Spanish

Michigan State University, James Madison College

Master of Public Policy - Science, Technology and Public Policy Specialization

University of MichiganGerald R. Ford School of Public Policy

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