Staff Spotlight: Debra Bruinooge & Cierra Kennedy
Published on: September 8, 2026
This month, we’re excited to welcome two new members to our Shared Services team.
Debra Bruinooge — Shared Services Program Manager
Deb Bruinooge joins the team as Shared Services Program Manager, working with the eight communities that make up the Cape Public Health Collaborative. Her path into public health has been an unconventional one — she spent many years in management and community-facing roles, including much of her career in retail management, before serving on the Yarmouth Board of Health, an experience that sparked her interest in the field. Most recently, Deb worked for the Town of Yarmouth Health Department as a housing inspector while completing her Master of Public Health.
In her new role, Deb focuses on listening to what each community needs, identifying opportunities where working regionally makes sense, and helping strengthen local public health capacity. Right now, she’s spending much of her time getting to know the staff in each community — learning what’s working well, where the challenges are, and where shared services can provide meaningful support. She’s most excited about building relationships with the people doing this work every day and finding opportunities for communities to learn from one another and collaborate in ways that don’t stop at town lines.
A lot of shared services work happens behind the scenes, and Deb’s goal is to make sure local health departments have access to the resources, expertise, training, and support they need when they need it. Outside of work, Deb is obsessed with cats — if she spots one in a window, on the street, or anywhere she reasonably shouldn’t be distracted, she will be distracted by the cat.
Cierra Kennedy — Public Health Training Hub Instructor
Cierra Kennedy is a Cape Cod native and public health professional with experience in environmental health, regulatory inspections, and local public health. She graduated from Sturgis West Charter School in 2018 before pursuing a bachelor’s degree in public health, beginning her studies at the University of Tampa and completing her degree at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2022.
Cierra began her public health career with the Barnstable County Department of Health and Environment as a Public Health Specialist Intern during the summer of 2022. In this role, she primarily conducted food establishment and swimming pool inspections throughout the Mid-Cape area. Following her internship, Cierra joined the City of Newton as an Environmental Health Specialist, where she spent three years gaining extensive experience across a broad range of environmental health programs — including food safety, housing, swimming pools, recreational camps, nuisance complaints, and other health inspection and regulatory activities.
With a goal of returning to the Cape and continuing to grow within the public health field, Cierra welcomed the opportunity to return to Barnstable County as the Public Health Training Hub Instructor for the Barnstable Regional Public Health Training Hub. In this role, she supports the professional development of the region’s public health workforce by helping coordinate training, resources, and educational opportunities for local health professionals throughout Cape Cod and the surrounding communities.
Having begun her career with Barnstable County, Cierra is excited to return to the region and contribute her experience to strengthening and supporting the local public health workforce. We’re glad to have her back on the Cape.
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