Debra Kazmerzak, BASW, CHC Executive Fellow

Deb Kazmerzak has been working within Iowa’s health and human services systems for more than 30 years in a variety of roles – from front-line direct care, to program management and administration, to direction setting and leadership. Mission is central to the organizations and issues Kazmerzak supports, with a focus on project management, supporting systems, promoting innovation, and fostering positive change, especially for and within under-represented populations and communities. 

Kazmerzak joined HealthTeamWorks as Community Health Worker Program Lead in 2024, upon their merger with the Iowa Chronic Care Consortium, where she led development efforts to increase adoption and support of the community health worker (CHW) workforce in Iowa. Creation of a robust CHW training program, a US Department of Labor-approved CHW Registered Apprenticeship, and additional training to advance the skills of CHWs have resulted from this work.

At HealthTeamWorks, Kazmerzak will continue to foster Iowa’s efforts to create infrastructure to support the CHW workforce, as well as support other HealthTeamWorks iniatives.

Kazmerzak earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work from the University of Northern Iowa and was awarded a Community Health Center Executive Fellow certificate from the University of Kansas Medical Center.