NVAC Public Member: Molly Howell, MPH

NVAC Public Member | Term: 2/12/2020 – 2/11/2024

Molly Howell is currently the Immunization Program Manager and Assistant Director for the Division of Disease Control at the North Dakota Department of Health (NDDoH). Molly has worked in the field of immunizations for the past 15 years. As Immunization Program Manager, she oversees implementation of immunization policies and activities in North Dakota, including evidence-based activities to increase immunization coverage rates, legislation, health care provider education, surveillance, and implementation of the North Dakota Immunization Information System (NDIIS). Prior to becoming the Immunization Program Manager, she worked as the Immunization Surveillance Coordinator, responsible for vaccine preventable disease surveillance, the perinatal hepatitis B program, and school immunization compliance. As a member of the NDDoH Immunization Program, Molly is most proud of the NDIIS being one of six Centers for Disease Control and Prevention IIS Sentinel Sites for the past eleven years, increasing human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination rates to almost 70% for females and males ages 13 – 17 starting the series, and increasing school-entry immunization rates from 90% in 2013 – 2014 to over 94% during the 2017 – 2018 school year. Before working at the NDDoH, she worked as an intern in infectious disease surveillance at the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department in Lincoln, Nebraska. Molly has a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln, and a Master of Public Health degree from the University of Massachusetts – Amherst.