John Eich directs Wisconsin’s Office of Rural Health, which works to improve the access to, and quality of, rural healthcare in the state.  He joined the Office in 2005, and was appointed Director in 2006. His experience and skills are primarily in community development, program planning, systems analysis and design.

 

Prior to this, he directed a County Health Council in southern New Mexico—which assessed county health and wellness needs, built and maintained community coalitions to address them, and advocated for the county on a regional and statewide basis.  During his tenure, the Council was selected as a model Council for the state, and recognized for its leadership in developing evaluation and data assessment tools.

 

His larger professional background is quite broad, and includes experience in the social services, advertising and teaching.  He grew up in rural Wisconsin.

 

Prior to directing the Office of Rural Health, he taught long-term thinking to homeless teens, built adobe walls by hand, and booked Chinese acrobats across the US.  He chased a bobcat in the Gila Mountains, carried a Mayan plant across the Yucatan, and co-founded a makerspace.  He does not take speaker bios seriously, but loves a good root beer.