IMPACT announces new Director of Research & Evaluation

Jeanette Kowalik, PhD, MPH, MCHES, has been named the next Director of Research and Evaluation for IMPACT Planning & Evauation.

Drawing on over 20 years of public health and non profit expertise, Dr. Kowalik leverages her extensive background in research, program, and policy development to help leaders make data-driven and heart-centered decisions. Dr. Kowalik previously served as Milwaukee's Health Commissioner. While serving her hometown, she initiated the department's rebuilding and rebranding, led the city’s COVID-19 response, and spearheaded the groundbreaking declaration of racism as a public health crisis. She brings over 15 years of executive leadership and teaching experience addressing social and political determinants of health across diverse organizational settings. She also serves as adjunct faculty at Baylor University teaching graduate-level courses in public health research methods, program evaluation, and data interpretation.

Her educational background includes a PhD in Health Sciences and BS in Healthcare Administration from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and a Master’s of Public Health from Northern Illinois University. Dr. Kowalik is also a Master Certified Health Education Specialist (MCHES) and completed 500-hours of yoga teacher certification in 2023.

You may connect with her at jkowalik@impactinc.org

Critical conditions. Critical connections. Critical change.

When we launched IMPACT 211 back in June of 2002, our hopes were simple: to make it easier for people in crisis to get connected to help – before a manageable problem became a major one. What we couldn’t have predicted back then was the impact we would have. Not just on individual lives, but on how our community understands need and responds to it.

Over the past 24 years, IMPACT 211 has become much more than a helpline. Because of the data we collect on who is calling, what they need, where they live, and whether help was available, we’ve become a powerful tool for planning, funding, and advocacy.

Every call provides insight. Every need shared with us helps tell the larger story of what’s happening in our neighborhoods: from spikes in food insecurity, to growing mental health concerns, to gaps in shelter beds or substance use treatment.

We track unmet needs, identify persistent barriers to stability, and prepare customized reports used by service providers, funders, elected officials, and journalists alike. This information shapes systems and saves resources. It has also made us a trusted partner in high-stakes collaborations including community disaster planning and emergency response; mental health navigation; health insurance enrollment; veteran suicide prevention; and supporting survivors of human trafficking.

IMPACT 211 doesn’t just answer calls. We help build a better-informed, more responsive community. But we cannot do that without the infrastructure, staffing and sustainability that funding makes possible. There’s no better time to invest in the work that strengthens our entire community.

Bob Waite, IMPACT 211 Senior Account Manager

Since 1960, IMPACT has helped people take the first step toward changing their life, for good. We assess and guide those experiencing personal crisis toward resources to achieve stability; and collaborate with community partners to foster system improvement throughout Southeastern Wisconsin.