PHIG Partners Episodes

1062: Meeting Youth Where They Are: Expanding Mental Health Access and Youth Voice with PHIG
Feb. 3, 2026

1062: Meeting Youth Where They Are: Expanding Mental Health Access and Youth Voice with PHIG

How do public health agencies expand access to mental health support while genuinely engaging the next generation? In this episode, we speak with Heidi Laird and Xavier Foster from the Southern Nevada Health District about two PHIG-funded initiatives designed to do exactly that.
1054: Building Public Health for the Long Term: Inside the Public Health Infrastructure Grant
Jan. 20, 2026

1054: Building Public Health for the Long Term: Inside the Public Health Infrastructure Grant

What does it take to strengthen public health systems nationwide and why does flexible funding matter? In this PHIG Impact Report, we’re joined by SzePui Hughes, senior director of public health workforce and infrastructure at ASTHO to unpack the Public Health Infrastructure Grant (PHIG) and ASTHO’…
1047: PHIG IMPACT REPORT: How Wisconsin Is Reducing Administrative Burden in Public Health
Jan. 6, 2026

1047: PHIG IMPACT REPORT: How Wisconsin Is Reducing Administrative Burden in Public Health

In this episode and as part of our PHIG Impact Report series, Amy Perkins of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services talks about how the state is rethinking public health infrastructure funding to make life easier for local and tribal health departments.
1043: PHIG Funds Critical Services in New Hampshire
Dec. 16, 2025

1043: PHIG Funds Critical Services in New Hampshire

In today's PHIG Impact Report, Patricia Tilley, ASTHO member and associate commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, details the critical needs the Public Health Infrastructure Grant has helped address in her state.
1038: Kentucky’s Pertussis Surge: Preventable Tragedies and a Path Forward
Dec. 8, 2025

1038: Kentucky’s Pertussis Surge: Preventable Tragedies and a Path Forward

Kentucky is experiencing its largest spike in whooping cough cases since 2012, an alarming rise that has already claimed the lives of three infants in the past year. In this episode, Dr. Steven Stack, secretary of Kentucky’s Cabinet for Health and Family Services, joins us to unpack what’s driving …
1035: Building Sustainable Public Health Data Systems in Montana
Dec. 2, 2025

1035: Building Sustainable Public Health Data Systems in Montana

On today's installment of the PHIG Impact Report, we talk with Jenn Rico, data modernization and surveillance & informatics supervisor at the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services. Jenn shares how Montana has used PHIG funding to accelerate statewide data modernization, and investe…
1029: PHIG Impact Report: How Utah Builds a Modern Public Health Data System
Nov. 18, 2025

1029: PHIG Impact Report: How Utah Builds a Modern Public Health Data System

In today's installment of the PHIG Impact Report, Nicole Yerkes, data modernization director with the Utah Department of Health and Human Services, shares how the state is using PHIG funding to advance a unified, future-ready public health data system. She discusses innovations like AI-assisted ana…
1014: PHF Technical Assistance, Island Area Relationships
Oct. 20, 2025

1014: PHF Technical Assistance, Island Area Relationships

Helen Linda, public health workforce development coordinator at the Vermont Department of Health, explains the value of academic health departments and shares how she worked with the Public Health Foundation to assess the current state of her agency’s experiential learning environment; Emman Parian…
1010: PHIG For Workforce & Procurement
Oct. 14, 2025

1010: PHIG For Workforce & Procurement

Scott Murakami, PHIG workforce director and principal investigator with the Hawaii State Department of Health, shares how his department is utilizing Public Health Infrastructure Grant funds to support the state’s public health workforce; Melissa Touma, director of the public health infrastructure …
1008: Infant Mortality PH Emergency, Chagas Disease
Oct. 9, 2025

1008: Infant Mortality PH Emergency, Chagas Disease

Dr. Daniel Edney, state health officer for the Mississippi State Department of Health and ASTHO member, shares how his state declared infant mortality a public health emergency to offer services across the state more rapidly; Bonny Mayes, epidemiologist with the Texas Department of State Health Ser…
1007: Public Health Strategic Skills Guide, PHIG Procurement Upgrades
Oct. 8, 2025

1007: Public Health Strategic Skills Guide, PHIG Procurement Upgrades

Dr. Gen Meredith, associate professor with the Department of Public and Ecosystem Health at Cornell University, associate director of the Master of Public Health program, and director of Cornell’s Health Impact Score, explains how their new Public Health Strategic Skills Guide can help professional…
1006: PHIG Funding The Future Workforce
Oct. 7, 2025

1006: PHIG Funding The Future Workforce

In today's installment of the PHIG Impact Report, Celeste Jorge, epidemiologist and evaluator with the Connecticut Department of Public Health, discusses how her department is using the Public Health Infrastructure Grant.
1000: Rural Health Transformation Program, Youth Suicide Rates
Sept. 29, 2025

1000: Rural Health Transformation Program, Youth Suicide Rates

Catherine Jones, senior analyst of government affairs at ASTHO, breaks down what states need to know about the application for the Rural Health Transformation Program, and discusses ASTHO’s recent partnership with Cornerstone Government Affairs to host two expert panels on the subject; Dr. Lena Hei…