Awards
- Bicentennial Medal - 2019
About Kaye Bender
An independent public health, organizational, and educational consultant and strategist and the owner of Kaye Bender Consulting, LLC, Bender is executive director of the Mississippi Public Health Association. Prior to joining MPHA, Bender was President and CEO of the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB). Previous leadership experience includes roles in both local and state public health practice in the Mississippi State Department of Health, including serving twelve years as Deputy State Health Officer. Bender also served as dean of the University of Mississippi Medical School of Nursing for six years. She also chaired the Exploring Accreditation Steering Committee (the precursor study for the establishment of the Public Health Accreditation Board). Bender is credited with numerous presentations and publications contributing to governmental public health infrastructure improvement.
Bender was recognized by the APHA Health Administration Section with their Excellence in Health Administration Award in 2010; by the Association of State and Territorial Directors of Nursing with their Award of Merit in 2010; by the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials with the Noble J. Swearingen Award in 2003; and by the American Nurses Association with their Pearl McIver Public Health Nursing of the Year Award in 2000.She serves on the National Board of Public Health Examiners; a National Academies of Medicine Work Group on CHNA/CHIP; is active in the American Public Health Association; and is a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing. Bender also chaired the Exploring Accreditation Steering Committee, the precursor study for the establishment of the Public Health Accreditation Board, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She has served on three Institute of Medicine (IOM) study committees related to public health, and was recently appointed to an IOM standing committee on credentialing research in nursing. In 2019, Bender was honored with Indiana University’s Bicentennial Medal, in recognition of her distinguished service and contributions to public health.