Joan Duwve

Dr. Joan Duwve joined the Kansas Department of Health and Environment in Nov. 2020 to lead the COVID-19 Unified Testing Strategy before moving into the Deputy State Health Officer position in July 2021. In early 2022, Joan Duwve became KDHE’s State Health Officer. She continues leading the state COVID-19 testing program and assisting with vaccine and health equity initiatives. Before moving to Kansas, she served as the Director of Public Health for the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC). In this capacity, she provided strategic direction for public health, leading its more than 1,900 public health employees. During her time at DHEC, she also developed the statewide COVID-19 testing and surveillance program and prioritized updates of the COVID-19 webpage to provide data transparency and effective visualizations. She worked with agency leadership to create an Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and a Quality Improvement Program.

Prior to joining DHEC, she served as the Associate Dean of Practice for the Indiana University Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health in Indianapolis, Indiana, and developed and directed the ECHO Center to train primary care providers in rural communities to treat patients with complex conditions like HIV and hepatitis C. Dr. Duwve also served as the Chief Medical Officer with the Indiana Department of Health and worked to increase adolescent immunization delivery statewide, resulting in significant improvements in adolescent vaccination rates. With a former Indiana Attorney General, she created and cochaired the first state opioid task force to engage stakeholders around the state in ground-breaking conversations on naloxone, harm reduction, and medical treatment for opioid use disorder. Before transitioning to full-time public health work, she practiced family medicine in Indiana for 11 years.

In addition to Dr. Duwve’s more than 20 years of experience in public health, she holds a Medical Doctor degree (MD) from Johns Hopkins University and a Master of Public Health (MPH) from the University of Michigan. Dr. Duwve completed her residency in family medicine at St. Vincent Hospital and Health Services in Indianapolis.​