Public Health System Transformation Update
Feb. 25, 2026 | View all system transformation newsletters

Building the Future, One Relationship at a Time

Q&A with Liz Auch, Director of Countryside Public Health and Member of the SCHSAC Foundational Public Health Responsibilities Workgroup

What's your workday like today?

Each of our counties has a team meeting every other month. Today my Swift [County] Office had their team meeting, so I attended that, and then I met with staff for annual evaluations. 

After that, I was working with my data person on a time study, looking at different assignments and employees’ staff time to determine the best fit for an employee. 

Is that a typical day for you?

On a typical day, I’d be traveling and hitting my offices during the week to see how things are going. 

I’ll also get a little bit of time in the mornings to look at email and see what is on my agenda—that hasn’t happened today, but that is part of a typical day for me. 

I also check in with my assistant administrators probably once or twice a day, on work plans, activities, what's happening. 

And then usually there's some type of meeting—either a state meeting, a regional meeting, or a local meeting that I’m attending, throughout the week.

Between the big workload, you keep signing on to serve on SCHSAC workgroups. Why is that? What power do you see in them?

Well, I think being engaged at a local level with your state partners and especially SCHSAC [the State Community Health Services Advisory Committee]—where it's commissioners and MDH staff [alongside local public health]—anytime you can have that engagement, I think there's growth. There’s growth for me personally as a leader, and there's growth for Countryside as an organization.

SCHSAC really brings value to local public health—different committees and workgroups really do bring about change, and SCHSAC members pay attention to what [the workgroups] do. They set a direction at a state level and even at a local level for [things like] emergency preparedness and funding formulas and performance measurement, and having that voice at the local level is important. 

I don't think that kind of state and local partnership exists [in other places across the nation]. I sit on the National Association of City and County Health Officials board and—that state and local partnership, you don't hear that happening with other state agencies. I think we are quite blessed with a partnership that we don't even recognize sometimes.

Why did you volunteer for the SCHSAC Foundational Public Health Responsibilities Workgroup, specifically? Why did you think this was going to be important?

Well, selfishly, I really wanted in because I thought it was setting the stage for the future of public health. Like, we are slowly turning the corner to a new way of really looking at public health in Minnesota—we are going to do public health differently. I felt like it was really important to be at the table [to help identify] how public health is going to be. 

I also really wanted to make sure that my board had an understanding of the foundational capabilities and foundational areas, because I knew that I was leaving within the next two years. I really wanted to make sure that my leadership team and my board had a strong stake in foundational work, and that they didn't go, “Pooh pooh; that doesn't make any sense. That doesn't apply to us!” and instead say “Yup, this is what we need to keep going! We need to be at the table with these ‘eight blue boxes,’” as I call them—those foundational capabilities, those definitions.

I think we're cutting edge in the State of Minnesota, [in] how we're going forward. And I wanted to help be part of that.

And I love that you that you keep referring back to those eight blue boxes. It’s a really quick, concise way to point back to foundational public health capabilities and say, “Hey, this is really important. Remember those eight blue boxes? We're thinking about how to build that capacity.” It's really catchy.

And I know that it's so much more than that [for public health workers]. We met last week with my community health strategist and assistant administrator to look at foundational responsibilities and reporting for next year, and we walked through definitions and had that conversation [to really dig into the responsibilities]. 

But: When you’re talking to a legislator, how do you say it quick and easy, so that you don't lose them and you don't lose the room? The “eight blue boxes” is a way to catch them quickly. I'm trying to just first grab the room and not lose them before we move on and get more in depth.

Can I pivot? What are you looking forward to in the coming months, after you retire?

Well, first I want to finish strong! 

The second thing: I want to really pause and rest. I’ll candidly say that COVID was…. I think Countryside got through COVID really well, but COVID [was hard].

Then I'll maybe reassess. The thing I've told staff is: I just don't want to be a boss anymore! I'm really game to help someone down the road, or to help on a project, or to help someone with an idea… But I want to come in, and help, and leave! I'm sure of that.

But the rest I don't really have mapped out yet.

What will you miss the most about working at Countryside?

The relationships. The people. I’m one of the lucky ones—my board, my staff: the best board, the best staff. 

And my communities—I mean, it's been a wonderful ride. It's been wonderful, absolutely wonderful. I'll miss them.

I believe it.

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