About FLEXED Learning Community

The Flexible Local Epidemiology for X-factor Emerging Diseases (FLEXED) Learning Community is a NACCHO initiative launched in July 2025 to strengthen the capacity of local health departments (LHDs) to respond to emerging and ongoing infectious disease threats. FLEXED focuses on building applied epidemiology skills, supporting peer learning, and developing practical resources grounded in the realities of local public health practice. The community is guided by Peer Ambassadors, public health professionals from participating LHDs, who help shape learning across the community. Through shared experience, dialogue, and reflection, ambassadors identify strengths, gaps, and questions that inform future resources and technical assistance.

The insights shared in this blog are drawn from written reflections from peer ambassadors representing five local health departments who participated in the first iteration of the FLEXED Learning Community. These reflections capture how peer learning, supported professional growth, and influenced public health practice throughout the project.

Key Themes from the Peer Ambassador Experience

Across jurisdictions, job titles, and levels of experience, one theme consistently emerged: the most meaningful advances in public health practice come not from tools alone, but from people learning together in real-time.

Peer Ambassadors did not join FLEXED to receive answers handed down from experts. They came to listen, compare approaches, test ideas, and learn how others navigate the same constraints, including limited staffing, evolving guidance, public mistrust, and high-stakes decision-making under different local conditions. What emerged was not just professional development, but a shared problem-solving infrastructure that extended well beyond the life of the project.

Peer-to-Peer Learning Grounded in Practice

Many ambassadors described how peer-to-peer learning accelerated understanding in ways formal training alone could not. Hearing colleagues walk through real outbreak responses, surveillance challenges, or communication missteps grounded abstract concepts in day-to-day reality. Even small process changes, such as structuring intake forms, framing public messaging, or coordinating internally, proved valuable.

“Peer learning helped us see that many of the challenges we face are shared across jurisdictions. Hearing how others navigated similar situations gave us practical ideas we could adapt quickly rather than starting from scratch.”

– Erie County Health Department

Several ambassadors noted that listening was central to their learning. Observing how peers explained risk to partners, justified decisions to leadership, or adapted guidance for a broad range of audiences strengthened their own practice. The value was not always in having the answer, but in knowing who to ask, where to look, and how to move forward without reinventing solutions.

Communication as a Core Public Health Skill

A recurring lesson across reflections was the central role of clear, plain-language communication, not only with the public, but within health departments and partner organizations. Ambassadors emphasized that strong technical knowledge and expertise lose impact if decision-makers or communities cannot understand it.

Peer discussions revealed practical strategies for translating complex epidemiologic concepts into accessible, actionable messages without sacrificing accuracy. Ambassadors emphasized the importance of tailoring communication for a broad range of audiences, including individuals with varying literacy levels, disabilities, or language backgrounds. Readability tools, plain-language guidelines, and structured communication frameworks were consistently cited as essential resources. 

“The opportunity to listen to peers talk through real scenarios strengthened how we approach communication, both internally and with our community. Clear messaging is just as important as the data behind it.”

– Fishers Health Department

These exchanges reinforced a key insight: communication is not an add-on to public health work; it is foundational to trust, compliance, and effective response.

Peer Connection Builds Confidence and Resilience

Beyond technical skill-building, ambassadors consistently described the relational value of peer connection. Being able to speak openly with others who understood the pressures of epidemiology and public health reduced isolation and normalized uncertainty.

“Peer engagement created space to reflect openly on what worked and what did not. Those conversations helped us refine our approach and feel more confident applying guidance locally.”

– Public Health Madison & Dane County

This connection was especially meaningful for professionals working in smaller or rural jurisdictions, or for those serving as the sole epidemiologist in their department. 

“As a smaller jurisdiction, connecting with peers helped normalize the challenges we face and highlighted strategies that fit our capacity. It reinforced that effective public health work looks different everywhere.”

– Two Rivers Health Department

Seeing how larger or differently resourced departments approached similar challenges helped participants adapt ideas realistically, while also recognizing the strengths that smaller jurisdictions bring: flexibility, creativity, and efficiency.

From Individual Insight to System Improvement

What makes the Peer Ambassador model distinctive is its ability to transform individual experience into collective knowledge. Structured conversations created space to surface lessons rarely captured in formal guidance, what did not work, how decisions evolved, and where professional judgment mattered more than protocol.

“The Peer Ambassador experience showed how individual insights become stronger when shared. Structured conversations allowed us to learn from each other in ways that formal guidance alone cannot.”

– Cuyahoga County Board of Health

When peer engagement is intentional, when time is protected, expectations are clear, and vulnerability is modeled, it can strengthen outbreak response and surveillance practice, improve internal workflows and cross-department communication, support onboarding and mentorship, reduce duplication across jurisdictions, and translate national guidance into locally actionable practice.

Applying This Model Beyond FLEXED

Ambassadors offered a consistent message for applying these lessons elsewhere: start small but be deliberate. Peer learning does not require new funding or large programs. It can begin with regular cross-jurisdiction check-ins, shared case reviews, or informal communities of practice focused on specific challenges. 

The FLEXED Virtual Community further supports this approach by providing an online space for continued connection, peer discussion, and exchange of resources and lessons learned from peers across the country.

Most importantly, peer engagement should prioritize learning over performance. When public health professionals are given space to share honestly, what worked, what failed, and what remains uncertain, the result is not only stronger practice, but a more resilient workforce.

The FLEXED Virtual Community is open to NACCHO members interested in applied epidemiology, peer learning, and practical problem-solving. Community members can participate in peer discussions, share resources, and stay connected with colleagues navigating similar challenges across the country. Whether you are responding to emerging threats, strengthening routine surveillance, or looking to learn from peers facing similar constraints, the FLEXED Virtual Community offers a space to learn, contribute, and stay connected. Interested LHD staff are encouraged to join the FLEXED Virtual Community and be part of this growing peer network.

Final Takeaway

Peer Ambassadors are more than program participants. They are catalysts for shared learning, trust-building, and practical innovation. By elevating lived experience alongside technical expertise, the Peer Ambassador model strengthens public health systems’ ability to adapt, improve, and endure together.

Explore the Resources Referenced by Peer Ambassadors

A list of communication tools, surveillance resources, preparedness frameworks, and peer-learning supports is available here. You can also access the FLEXED Facilitator Guide for Building & Strengthening Communication Partnerships and a FLEXED Curated Training List. 

Acknowledgments

NACCHO gratefully acknowledges the Peer Ambassadors and their local health departments who contributed their time, expertise, and reflections to inform this blog and the FLEXED Learning Community. Their willingness to share real-world experiences, what worked, what did not, and what they are still navigating strengthened learning across the community and helped shape future resources and technical assistance.

We thank the following local health departments for their participation in the first iteration of the FLEXED Learning Community:

Erie County Health Department; Fishers Health Department; Public Health Madison & Dane County; Two Rivers Health Department; and Cuyahoga County Board of Health.