After receiving her doctorate, she moved full time into the Public Health arena. She recently retired from her position as Director of Infectious Diseases, Bureau of Laboratories, Michigan Dept. of Community Health. The following is part of the nomination letter submitted by her staff of in Lansing:

From the beginning of her career, she lived her belief that our work goes beyond the walls of the laboratory. She has served at various times on the local board of health, as an instructor in clinical microbiology, and as a consultant on infection control to nursing homes and hospitals; while also raising a family and being active in her community. She has been a member of SCACM continuously for 36 years, serving 5 terms as Area Director and-- in one of the high points for her personally, one term as President.

Although her later responsibilities prevented her active involvement on the Board, she continued to encourage -- and succeeded in gently persuading -- many of her staff to become involved and we now serve as Interest Group coordinators, state directors, and board members. She has been a mentor for many other SCACM members, with a particular gift for spotting and nurturing hidden talents. Unrealized by many (which is how she prefers it), she has been the clinical microbiologist's biggest advocate at the state and national level; advocating and providing a voice for those who, without glory or fanfare….. or reimbursement…….. or enough trained staff, continue to serve amidst enormous challenges day in and day out in clinical laboratories. Concerned with educating the next generation of clinical microbiologists, she has served as an instructor for laboratory and public health programs at various institutions of higher learning. She was instrumental in establishing internship rotations at the state public health laboratory for molecular biology and public health microbiology. She has also worked with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Association for Public Health Laboratories on several initiatives, including new recommendations for culture confirmation of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli which were published in the October 2009 MMWR. Her research interests combine aspects of both clinical and public health laboratories. In her most recent position, she continued to promote full partnerships between clinical labs and public health; finding grant money to support state SCACM meetings, purchasing CLSI documents, putting on regional emerging infectious disease meetings, the list goes on. And while she has officially retired from her recent position as Director of Infectious Diseases at the Michigan state public health lab, she will never retire her passion and dedication to the field.