Name: Danielle Persky
City: Texas Township, Michigan (Kalamazoo-Portage)
Workplace: Van Buren/Cass District Health Department
Title: Health Officer (Executive Director)
How do you think that Bold Women of Business demonstrate being bold?
Bold women in business demonstrate confidence by embracing challenges and making tough decisions with courage and integrity. Leading with passion for their work, especially when the path forward is unpopular or tough. For me, being bold means leading with a deep passion for public health, trusting in my vision, and advocating for the well-being of our communities, even when the goal is ambitious. Bold leadership isn’t just about being assertive, it’s about staying true to your values and inspiring others to do the same.
Bold women are often defined by a number of descriptors. Please choose from the following descriptors to produce the top three that you would say most exemplify your personality?
Courageous
Valiant
Bright
Please provide an example of when you feel you were at your very best in taking action on the job or in your role.
A few years ago, in the heart of COVID response, our team of almost 70 were experiencing another major disruptor: a change in leadership. During a time where trust was being eroded in public health and public health professionals were leaving their roles everywhere, I had to jump to action quickly to build bridges, quiet the flames, and create genuine trust with my team, our community and other area leaders. Being a people-centered leader, I knew building relationships would need to be at the core of our success. I flung the doors wide open and began leading the agency with a level of transparency the organization had never experienced which took a great deal of mental endurance and vulnerability. Although one of the most challenging professional years of my life, the strategy in my first year leading the local public health department garnered overwhelming support and created a wave of enthusiasm. Three years later, after a post-COVID pandemic world, our team is energized and soaring to new heights of community impact we haven’t seen. I believe stepping in to leadership with my heart on my sleeve and a genuine desire to connect built the foundation to the success we’re now experiencing.
What’s the funniest thing that ever happened on your road to success?
I can’t think of one off the top of my head!! If I do I will send it ASAP.
Who most inspires your personal drive for success every day?
My kids, husband, family, team, our community and the genuine desire do my part in helping to make the world a better place.
What is your best advice to women in Southwest Michigan looking to succeed, as you have, in business?
Embrace courage over comfort, lead with integrity, pursue your passion relentlessly, foster strong relationships (building meaningful connections), cultivate resilience, be confident in your vision, and lift others as you rise.
What does your selection to the ranks of the Bold Women of Business from Moody on the Market mean to you?
Being selected as a Bold Women of Business reaffirms that one can be a bold and great leader while still remaining true to their values. Receiving this honor reflects the courage, resilience, passion, long hours and many tears that have built me into the leader I am today. It ignites my desire to continue on this challenging, sometimes messy, vitally important journey to make a positive impact in this world.
