Government Relations Episodes

On today's episode, and as National Public Health Week kicks off, ASTHO CEO Joseph Kanter reflects on the “invisible wins” of public health. And ASTHO's Carolyn Mullen joins the conversation to explore how state and federal agencies collaborate in a complex and often polarized environment.

Carolyn Mullen, ASTHO senior vice president of government affairs and public relations, shares more of her story in this installment of "Get To Know ASTHO;" Juliane Walker, public health program specialist at the Wichita State University Community Engagement Institute, discusses the Public Health Employee Well-Being Assessment Guide...

Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, chief medical executive for the State of Michigan, discusses the launch of the Take Control of Your Birth Control program; Catherine Jones, ASTHO senior analyst for Government Affairs, tells us what the priorities are for the...

Catherine Murphy, Government Affairs analyst at ASTHO, previews a new blog article that details federal efforts for Long COVID; Ewa King, PhD, chief program officer at the Association of Public Health Laboratories, details a new online resource for...

Sarah Auer, program analyst for the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists, tells us about the Applied Epidemiology Competencies toolkit; Lillie Seels, director of Practice Transformation at the National Community Action Partnership, says...

Ben Fulgencio-Turner, director of the Climate for Health Program at ecoAmerica, discusses a new ASTHO training program that connects the impacts of climate change to public health; Dr. Marcus Plescia, ASTHO chief medical officer, tells the news site...

Dr. Matthew Biel, professor of psychiatry and pediatrics at Georgetown University Medical Center, worries about the impact of social media on young people; Carolyn Mullen, ASTHO senior vice president for Government Affairs and Public Relations, says...

Dr. Steven Stack, ASTHO president and commissioner of the Kentucky Department for Public Health, announces Dr. Joseph Kanter, ASTHO alum, as incoming CEO; Dr. Joseph Kanter, ASTHO’s newly-announced CEO, who joins ASTHO from the Louisiana Department of...

Catherine Jones, ASTHO Senior Analyst for Government Affairs, says there are discussions underway to ensure the AI is managed properly; Jeffrey Ekoma, ASTHO Senior Director for Government Affairs, tells us Congress remains busy as January nears an...

Kyle Gasaway, ASTHO communications manager for the Leadership and Learning Unit, talks about the very successful Diverse Executives Leading in Public Health program; Jeffrey Ekoma, senior director for Government Affairs, is monitoring progress on...

Melissa Magstadt, secretary of health for the South Dakota Department of Health, outlines how she works with nine sovereign nations in her state; Carolyn Mullen, ASTHO senior vice president for Government Affairs and Public Relations, tells us about...

Dr. Robert Goldstein, commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, says local agency partnerships are key to the success of new public health performance standards; Allison Nickrent, director of governmental affairs at the Illinois...

Dr. Karen Smith, Former California Public Health Officer, discusses how agencies can begin their One Health approach; an ASTHO report outlines how Idaho and New Jersey are taking a One Health approach to address environmental health concerns; Jeffrey...

Dr. Steven Stack, ASTHO’s New President and Commissioner of the Kentucky Department for Public Health, wants to find common ground to push public health forward in his new role; Georges Benjamin, Executive Director of the American Public Health...

Jessica Fepelstein, ASTHO Analyst of State and Community Engagement, explains the work the ASTHO Strategies to Repair Equity and Transform Community Health (STRETCH) Initiative is doing to promote health equity; Carolyn Mullen, ASTHO Senior Vice...

Alison Maffey, ASTHO’s Vice President of Social and Behavioral Health, explains the impact of President Biden’s proposed rule to make it easier to access in-network mental health care; Jeffrey Ekoma, ASTHO’s Senior Director of Government...

Dr. Janelle Palacios, Nurse Midwife and Researcher at Kaiser Permanente, says we need better data on the health challenges facing American Indian and Alaska Native mothers and their babies; Dr. Clifford Mitchell, Director of the Environmental Health...

Dr. Stephen Lee, Executive Director of the National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors, shares advice for building public health programs for the LGBTQ+ community; Heather Pangelinan, Director of Public Health Services at Commonwealth...

Dr. Edward Ehlinger, former chair of the HHS Advisory Committee on Infant and Maternal Mortality, says public health needs to look beyond numbers to best serve American Indian and Alaska Native mothers and their babies; Dr. Kimberlee Wyche-Etheridge,...

Dr. Susan Polan, Associate Executive Director for Public Affairs and Advocacy with the American Public Health Association, says the Policy Action Institute meeting will help public health officials address challenges; Dr. Brannon Traxler, Director of...

JoAnne McClure, ASTHO Senior Analyst for State Health Policy, details a new report written to help public health leaders address rising rates of congenital syphilis; Alex Kearly, ASTHO’s Director of Medicaid and Value-Based Payment, breaks down...

Dr. Thomas Dobbs, Dean of the John D. Bower School of Population Health at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, writes about problems impacting public health, such as underfunding, bureaucracy, and inadequate administrative support, in an...

Carolyn Mullen, ASTHO’s Senior Vice President of Government Affairs and Public Relations, analyzes the Build Back Better Act and looks ahead to the possibility of another continuing resolution in February; Dr. Nicole Alexander Scott, Director of the...

Sen. Kalani Kaneko of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, himself a former health official, shares how military veterans from the freely associated states aligned with the U.S. cannot access their health benefits if they decide to live on the...