966: Get To Know ASTHO, Workforce Well-Being

SUMMER JOHNSON: 

This is the award-winning Public Health Review Morning Edition for Monday, August 11, 2025. I'm Summer Johnson. Now, today's news from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.

This morning, we continue with "Get to Know ASTHO," where we highlight the work of ASTHO's expert staff. You'll hear what they do, why it's important, and the impact on ASTHO's members. Today, we hear from Carolyn Mullen, senior vice president of government affairs and public relations, who tells us how her career began.

CAROLYN MULLEN: 

So, it's a very long story, but I ended up working for Senator Specter as a receptionist. And the reason why I was hired for that job is because of my personality. He was known for being a very difficult and mean senator, and they thought I could handle it, so I literally knew nothing in my job. I would sit there and really fake it till I made it. I would Google terms. When people were talking, I was like, I had no idea what they were doing. I purchased Government for Dummies from the bookstore. I took out books from the Library of Congress my first couple of years, to learn about Medicare and Medicaid. I was eventually promoted to become a legislative aide on health care policy. And my advice to anybody who's starting their career is to be kind to everyone. The same people you meet on the way up, or the same people you meet on the way down.

JOHNSON: 

Mullen uses those same rules as she guides her team to connect with lawmakers in their work for ASTHO members, and she told us what she really enjoys about this role.

MULLEN: 

I have this incredible team of dedicated professionals who really know their stuff, and they come to work every day with positive energy, positive spirit. That's really rare in Washington, D.C. A lot of people go into work and it's for themselves, but 99.9% of the people in public health are in it for the right reasons, and that brings me joy. My team works incredibly hard to service our members. They're creative and innovative, come from a place of 'yes,' so, that really is a place of joy for me, is working with my team. The second place of joy is that when ASTHO says something, it means something. We can actually change legislation. Members of Congress call us for our advice. We are able to sit at the highest tables in the government, whether it be the White House, or HHS, or with federal agencies. And there are some days where I think to myself, pinch me, this is the coolest job on the planet that I get to be privy to these conversations on how to address these really complex issues.

JOHNSON: 

Mullen says the work of the ASTHO government affairs team is more important than ever.

MULLEN: 

The most challenging thing right now is just the unpredictable nature by which things are happening, whether it be through the administration or through Congress. Literally, the playbook of government affairs is being rewritten right now, and I don't know what the next chapter is going to entail. The way that we used to do advocacy and government affairs, I believe, is changing dramatically, and I am trying to keep my ears open, and that intellectual curiosity that really fueled me early in my career: it's fueling me right now. What is working? What isn't working? How are people able to move legislation or inform the administration? But again, all of it's changing, so it's creating a real challenge, and it's hard to predict what's going to happen next. And I like to provide my members with calm confidence, and a lot of times the last six months, the response that I've been giving them is, "I don't know, but please know that we are monitoring everything, and we will keep you informed every step of the way, because we truly are in unprecedented times."

JOHNSON: 

You can learn more about Mullen and the government affairs team by visiting ASTHO's federal government affairs webpage. We have a link to that in the show notes.

Juliane Walker is with the Wichita State University Community Engagement Institute, and says COVID showed us that public health needed a way to determine the well-being of its workforce. To do this, Walker and her team developed the "Public Health Employee Well-Being Assessment Guide."

JULIANE WALKER: 

We know the need now is for a resource designed specifically for public health agencies that can measure well-being across systems and not just from that individual perspective, and also offer concrete ways to really strengthen workplace culture, and also retention.

JOHNSON: 

The guide helps agencies assess areas like supervision, flexibility and more.

WALKER: 

There are 17 questions related to all aspects of workplace well-being, from things like workload management, rec- to recognition, in addition to stress level and workplace supportiveness, once you collect those responses from the assessment, you can really see where staff are thriving, but then you can also see where there's improvement that might be needed.

JOHNSON: 

Walker says the guide doesn't fix everything, but it's a great starting point.

WALKER: 

We're thinking about this in a way to shift the way that we work, listen, and also lead. So, the assessment and guide are really a starting point for building a culture where people feel safe, where they feel supported, and where they also feel connected, not only to the people within the organization, but also the work that they're doing.

JOHNSON: 

You can check this resource out yourself. The Public Health Employee Well-Being Assessment Guide is online now. Use the link in the show notes to learn more.

A new article published in the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice takes a deeper look at using AI to expedite content analysis of real-world public health documents. Read about the study, the process, and the results by using the link in the show notes.

Finally, today, ASTHO's, chief medical officer, Dr. Susan Kansagra, has teamed up with other public health leaders to author a blog article that provides insights from several executive leadership coaching events designed specifically for public health and community leaders. You won't want to miss the valuable information in this blog article. Make sure you read it today by clicking the link in the show notes.

That'll do it for today. We're back tomorrow morning with more ASTHO news and information. I'm Summer Johnson, you're listening to the award-winning Public Health Review Morning Edition. Have a great day.