Chelsey Saari

With years of diverse experience in public health, Chelsey understands the challenges and barriers that can arise when health departments begin contemplating and/or preparing for national accreditation. She is passionate about using her knowledge and experience to help simplify and demystify this work for health departments at all different levels of readiness while also helping to identify and address gaps through scalable and sustainable strategies.

Chelsey joins Ascendient after six years at the Public Health Accreditation Board. As a senior member of the Accreditation and Recognition Team, she worked with numerous state, local, territorial and Tribal health departments across the US and Western Pacific, as well as internationally in the Middle East. Her experience prior to PHAB includes nearly a decade with the CDC and the Kent County (MI) Health Department.

Throughout her career, Chelsey has been active in membership and volunteer opportunities, including NACCHO’s Performance Improvement Workgroup, Michigan’s Public Health Association, and APHA. She was a PHAB site visitor prior to becoming a member of staff. 

Chelsey has published manuscripts in the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice on topics like strategic planning and accreditation readiness and completed her dissertation research on facilitators and inhibitors among small health departments pursuing national accreditation through PHAB. 

Chelsey lives in West Michigan with her husband, son, two dogs, and various plants. She enjoys visiting and exploring new places with her family, reading, listening to audiobooks and podcasts, and participating in the occasional CrossFit competition. 

"Real change, enduring change, happens one step at a time."

– Ruth Bader Ginsberg

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