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Evelinn Borrayo, PhD, professor of Community and Behavioral Health at the Colorado School of Public Health at CSU, has been appointed to the State Board of Health by Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper.

Borrayo will represent District 2 for a three-year term. Of the state board's nine voting members, she is the only academic.

The State Board of Health performs such duties as promulgating public health rulings, approving grant funding, appointing members to department committees, and advising the executive director.

Of the appointment, Borrayo calls it "the most meaningful public service" she could perform. It will allow her a wide-reaching consideration of health issues facing Coloradans, as well as the ability to exercise a vote in improving citizen health. 

In addition to her appointments within ColoradoSPH, Borrayo is also a professor of counseling psychology and director of counseling training in CSU's College of Natural Sciences and its department of Psychology, and up until recently was the director of the Colorado School of Public Health's Latino Research & Policy Center.

Borrayo's voice will help represent three unique perspectives: that of a higher education academic; a mental health trained professional; and an ethnic minority woman of Latino descent.

"I believe that through my professional training, I can provide knowledge, skills, and experience related to the mental health needs of the people of Colorado. Moreover, through my affiliation with the Colorado School of Public Health, I am in the position to contribute added knowledge and skills related to public health matters that affect all citizens of Colorado."

"As part of my commitment to improve health inequities, I have developed expertise in best practices related to improving the pipeline of underrepresented providers in the healthcare professions, including mental health providers."

Read the full story in CSU Source.