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Amber Williams, ASTHO Senior Vice President for Leadership and Organizational Performance, previews next week’s webinar about strategic skills for public health professionals; Dr. Sejal Hathi, ASTHO Member and Director of the Oregon Health...
Amber Williams, ASTHO Senior Vice President for Leadership and Organizational Performance, previews next week’s webinar about strategic skills for public health professionals; Dr. Sejal Hathi, ASTHO Member and Director of the Oregon Health Authority, tells us her new role in Oregon is the perfect assignment; Dr. Khalilah LeGrand, the new Vice President for Communications and Public Relations at ASTHO, outlines her goals for the role; and authentic community engagement is on the agenda at the first national meeting of the STRETCH 2.0 initiative planned for February 21.
ASTHO Webinar: Lunch and Learn – Building Strategic Skills for Public Health Professionals
ROBERT JOHNSON:
This is the award-winning Public Health Review Morning Edition for Thursday, February 15, 2024. I'm Robert Johnson. Now, today's news from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.
AMBER WILLIAMS:
I'm looking forward to a really lively conversation.
JOHNSON:
ASTHO Senior Vice President Amber Williams looking forward to next week's webinar about strategic skills for public health professionals. The event on Thursday, February 22, features ASTHO CEO Mike Fraser, and de Beaumont Foundation President and CEO, Dr. Brian Castrucci.
WILLIAMS:
Brian and Mike are visionary and often disruptive leaders. My hope is that we're going to have an opportunity to really talk about the skill sets that complement the technical skills that are needed to be successful in public health today.
JOHNSON:
Williams says the live event will be an extension of the advice Fraser and Castrucci include in their new book about strategic skills.
WILLIAMS:
Where do they think individuals and employers should be focusing their development efforts? How can these skills help public health workers advance and which of these skills have most influenced their own careers?
JOHNSON:
She expects the event would appeal to a broad public health audience.
WILLIAMS:
First is any public health professional who's looking to build their political, strategic and leadership skills or otherwise just wants to increase their effectiveness. Additionally, we hope that those who are making decisions in their organizations about workforce development and those who conduct public health workforce trainings will attend.
JOHNSON:
You can sign up for the event and buy the book using the links in the show notes.
The Oregon Health Authority has a new director. Dr. Sejal Hathi says it's the perfect assignment.
SEJAL HATHI:
I think the state has been on the vanguard of bold, progressive health policy for decades.
JOHNSON:
Hathi is an ASTHO member. She was a State Health Officer and Deputy Health Commissioner in New Jersey before moving west. Hathi says she's excited to work in a state that's so fully committed to health equity.
HATHI:
The Oregon Health Authority really is the first and only organization that I've worked for that has made it a goal to achieve health equity and eliminate all health inequities in its state by 2030.
JOHNSON:
Like others across the country, Hathi says Oregon has a lot of work to do as it recovers from the pandemic.
HATHI:
We are treating a secondary behavioral health pandemic, seeking to reverse deep-seated institutional and social distrust, shoring up our workforce and waging really a generational reckoning on, on race and on equity.
JOHNSON:
Also today, ASTHO has a new senior executive on the communications team. Dr. Khalilah LeGrand is the new vice president for Communications and Public Relations.
KHALILAH LEGRAND:
One of my goals that I mentioned to my boss is that I do want to do a little more investigation and research on the landscape of social media, best practices in media because again, COVID taught us a lot about communications. And it really did open up the door for communicators to do some innovative things.
JOHNSON:
LeGrand comes to ASTHO from Nebraska, where she led communications before being named Chief of Staff at the state health department. LeGrand wants to use that experience and her time in Virginia Public Health to continue promoting the voices of ASTHO's members.
LEGRAND:
We have some wonderful state health officials and we want to continue to make inroads for them to get on national news and to be seen as respected and appreciated in their own light. And so, as much as we can do that and continue to look at the national landscape and how we can support and share our stories, we want to continue to do that.
JOHNSON:
Finally this morning, authentic community engagement is on the agenda at the first national meeting of the STRETCH 2.0 initiative planned for next Wednesday, February 21. The conversation is one in a series to be developed by ASTHO, the CDC Foundation, and the Michigan Public Health Institute. If you work in the health equity space, save your seat now. There's a link to the event in the show notes.
Before we go, a reminder also to follow this newscast on your podcast player and connect with ASTHO on social media. We are on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.
That'll do it for today. We're back tomorrow morning with more ASTHO news and information. I'm Robert Johnson. You're listening to the award-winning Public Health Review Morning Edition. Have a great day.
