Meet our Senior Leaders / Swain Strickland - Director of Community Health - Biography

Swain Strickland is the Director of Community Health for the Volusia County Health Department. The Community Health program includes community-based health education and prevention initiatives in the areas of childhood obesity prevention, healthy lifestyles, diabetes, tobacco prevention, worksites wellness, cancer prevention and screening. Swain also oversees organizational development activities as well as community health assessment and health improvement planning. Swain entered the public health profession after graduating from the University of Florida with a Master of Public Health in 2009. After focusing on policy and management during his education, Swain joined the Levy County Health Department where he served as the Healthy Communities, Healthy People Coordinator and the Students Working Against Tobacco (SWAT) Coordinator. During his time in Levy County, Swain initiated a free community Zumba program that helped hundreds of women exercise regularly. Additionally, he worked with hundreds of passionate SWAT youth that were effective in changing local tobacco policies. Swain is very interested in the power of people to affect one another for positive and healthy change. While there are many difficult health issues facing Volusia County residents, Swain believes that the Volusia County community can make a positive difference.