In this episode, Alysia Mihalakos, chief of the Center for Emergency Preparedness and Response at the Rhode Island Department of Health, shares how serving as a subject matter expert for Jodi Picoult's novel "Hollow Bones" helped bring the realities of public health preparedness to life, from emergency exercises and partnerships to resource constraints and post-pandemic workforce challenges.

Paul Cantey of CDC and U.S. Public Health Service discusses the current status of New World Screwworm in the United States and explains how federal, state, territorial, and local agencies are coordinating their response, early recognition and treatment, and what public health professionals should know.

Jessica Malaty Rivera from The Public Good Projects discusses the questions and concerns emerging around the new mRNA flu vaccine and why communicators should focus on providing clear information to encourage questions while keeping evidence-based information front and center.

In today's episode, Lawrence Greenblatt, an ASTHO member and state health director of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, discusses the state's approach to healthy aging. Later, hear from Jewel Mullen, an ASTHO alum and associate professor at Dell Medical School, about the importance of boundary-spanning leadership in addressing public health challenges.

Colin Gerber from the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists discusses the Data Science Team Training program and how the initiative helps public health staff build data science skills through project-based training, professional development, subject matter expert coaching, and peer collaboration.

CNMI Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation's Warren Villagomez, Patrick Fitial, and ASTHO Member Esther Muna discuss how the territory prepared for back-to-back super typhoons in 2026 and responded to their aftermath. They describe efforts to activate emergency operations, protect health care facilities, plan workforce coverage, and more before the storms arrived.

Brannon Traxler, ASTHO board member and acting director of the South Carolina Department of Public Health, discusses how coordination among public health, law enforcement, emergency medical services, treatment providers, and community partners has led to a two-year decline in overdose deaths.

In this episode, ASTHO's Anna Bradley explores practical tools, from CRM platforms to SharePoint and spreadsheets, and shares how intentional relationship management can help agencies build stronger, more sustainable connections with the organizations they serve. Discover how public health agencies can strengthen community partnerships by using customer relationship management (CRM) strategies to reduce duplicate outreach, improve coordination, and respect partners' time.

Maggie Nilz, senior analyst for preparedness at ASTHO, discusses how EMS systems are adapting to meet changing community needs and what policymakers are doing to strengthen the systems that support emergency care.

Jennifer Lloyd, assistant director for RecoveryOhio in the office of Governor Mike DeWine, shares about RecoveryRachel, an AI-powered treatment finder designed to help people quickly identify appropriate mental health and substance use treatment providers.