Phyllis Jeden, J.D., serves as a Deputy Director for the Mid-States Region Office at the Network for Public Health Law focusing on the areas of health equity, health in all policies, and public health authority.
Phyllis received a Bachelor of Science in Community Development from Central Michigan University and is a graduate of Wayne State University Law School in Detroit. Phyllis worked with the Maurice and Jane Sugar Law Center for Economic and Social Justice during law school and served as a Fellow for the organization after graduation. She spent several years as a Staff Attorney for Lakeshore Legal Aid, where she also acted as an Ombudsman for Michigan’s MI Health Link Program. Prior to joining the Network, she worked for a private boutique law firm concentrating her practice in the areas of civil and probate litigation. Phyllis has experience in the areas of probate, public benefits, housing, consumer protection, employment, and in protection from abuse.
In her free time, Phyllis enjoys exploring the Michigan park system with her family, playing music and reading. Phyllis is the daughter of Iraqi immigrants and her experience as a first-generation Chaldean American has informed her worldview and encouraged her interest in public service, equity, and social justice.
by Overview The current legal and policy landscape has fueled anxiety and confusion for those involved in work related to diversity, equity, inclusion,…
This document summarizes the rights of minors to consent to various types of health care without the consent or knowledge of their parents. It also covers whether the law permits information concerning the minor’s health care to be shared with the parent. Though the details of this document apply only in Michigan, the legal provisions likely have counterparts in other states. Lawyers in other states may have developed, or could develop, comparable summaries for their states. You may wish to talk with your attorney, or visit the Public Health Lawyer Directory to find a public health attorney in your state.
by Overview March 26, 2026 | 12:00 – 1:30 p.m. CTThe past year was filled with federal actions that greatly impacted public health, both in…
Federal policies shape the environments that determine whether people and communities can live healthy lives. Since Donald Trump took office for his second term as president on January 20, 2025, he has signed a series of Executive Orders (EOs), many of which impact public health. The Network has created an EO tracker which compiles the 2025 EOs most relevant to the public health space through a lens of Health in All Policies (HiAP). Inclusion in this tracker is not exhaustive, and content may be updated or revised as additional Executive Orders are issued or identified.
Advancing health equity is central to the Network’s mission, and supporting the leaders driving this work is essential to improving community health. The Network recently launched the Equity Officer Peer Group for those working in equity to come together to learn and discuss successes, opportunities, and challenges in this work. Even if equity is just one aspect of your work, we invite you to join us in creating a supportive community for those working to advance health equity.
Though state and local health departments are commonly given broad authority to serve their mandate to protect the health of the people in their jurisdictions, they are also tasked with many affirmative duties. This fact sheet lists some of these key public health service requirements of the Tennessee Department of Health and the state’s local health departments.
Improving the social determinants of health, the conditions where people are born, live, work, and play is necessary to make progress towards health equity. Community power building can help pave the way to better health outcomes by targeting the underlying conditions that shape these outcomes. This policy brief discusses what community building is and focuses on local community power building opportunities, highlighting laws, local policies, organizations, and programs that may be leveraged by community groups in King County, Washington.
The Network for Public Health Law has developed several resources over the years to help aid those working to improve the social determinants of health (SDOH) and create more equitable health outcomes. This collection provides a non-exhaustive overview of many of these resources and categorizes them by SDOH area to allow community-based organizations and public health practitioners more streamlined access.
The private sector community benefits movement has the potential to have a positive and significant impact on social determinants of health. Public health practitioners and others working to improve the health of their communities should be familiar with this movement and consider opportunities to support these efforts towards the common goal of advancing health equity.
Community Benefit Agreements (CBAs) are agreements between companies implementing development projects and community coalitions who aim to procure benefits for their communities, like local hiring requirements and affordable housing. Join us to learn about this growing movement, how it connects to public health, and how it has already helped to advance the social determinants of health.
There is clear evidence of racism’s broad impact on health. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “A growing body of research from leading organizations demonstrates that racism itself—above and beyond other social determinants of health—negatively impacts health outcomes.” Yet, at the same time that jurisdictions across the nation have taken steps to progress health equity and recognize that racism is a public health crisis, there has also been an alarming trend of states actively restricting education on these crucial topics.
Join us for a webinar introducing the Network’s Racial Equity Dataset. This searchable database includes bills proposed and enacted in the 2021 and 2022 legislative cycles in the wake of the renewed racial justice movement in 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic. Features of the laws that were enacted, and that were still in effect on December 31, 2022, were compiled into a cohesive dataset, created using policy surveillance methods, to provide insight into the outcomes of those legislative sessions. Legislation identified, though not exhaustive, provides a bird’s eye view and a peek into relevant legal trends across the country.
