Workforce Retention Episodes

1152: Building a Strong Public Health Workforce Through Onboarding
June 24, 2026

1152: Building a Strong Public Health Workforce Through Onboarding

On today's episode, Mary Ramirez from the South Carolina Department of Public Health discusses the agency’s innovative onboarding program for new employees.
Guest: Mary Ramirez
1130: From Recruitment to Retention: Strengthening the Public Health Workforce
May 20, 2026

1130: From Recruitment to Retention: Strengthening the Public Health Workforce

On today's episode, ASTHO'S Brianna Gorman discusses ASTHO’s new Workforce Employee Experience Implementation Tool. Later, LaShonda Freeman with the South Carolina Department of Public Health discusses South Carolina’s Supplemental Tuition Assistance Policy Program (STAP).
1114: PHIG Impact Report: Inside Multnomah County’s Workforce Resilience Strategy
April 28, 2026

1114: PHIG Impact Report: Inside Multnomah County’s Workforce Resilience Strategy

In this episode, Kirsten Aird, from Oregon’s Multnomah County, explores how strategic investments are strengthening workforce capacity, stability, and community impact.
1079: PHIG Impact Report: How Missouri’s Pathways Internship Program Is Creating the Next Generation of Leaders with Help from PHIG
March 3, 2026

1079: PHIG Impact Report: How Missouri’s Pathways Internship Program Is Creating the Next Generation of Leaders with Help from PHIG

Public health agencies across the country face a growing workforce shortage—but Missouri is tackling the challenge head-on. On today's installment of the PHIG Impact Report, we explore how Missouri internship programs are building a diverse, skilled pipeline of future public health professionals while strengthening partnerships between state and local agencies. Scott Allen, an administrator and health officer of the Webster County Health Unit, shares how hands-on internships are giving students ...
1075: From Pipeline to Public Trust: Strengthening the Next Generation of Public Health
Feb. 24, 2026

1075: From Pipeline to Public Trust: Strengthening the Next Generation of Public Health

On today's episode, ASTHO's Kimberlee Wyche Etheridge highlights why workforce pathway programs, mentorship, and hands-on partnerships between universities and health departments are critical. Then, Brian Castrucci, president and CEO of the de Beaumont Foundation, discusses his recent article, focused on ways the public health field can communicate its impact.
1065: Steady Hands: Leading Public Health Teams Through Chaos Without Losing Your Cool
Feb. 9, 2026

1065: Steady Hands: Leading Public Health Teams Through Chaos Without Losing Your Cool

What does calm leadership actually look like when everything feels urgent, political, and on fire?  In this episode, John Auerbach, senior vice president of health at ICF, offers a preview of ASTHO’s upcoming Insight & Inspiration webinar, 'Steady Hands, Steady Teams: Leading with Confidence and Composure,' on February 11, and digs into the real-world skills behind steady leadership in volatile times. From pandemic burnout to nonstop crises, today’s public health leaders are navigating faster information cycles, rising mistrust, misinformation, and exhausted teams. So how do you keep people focused, grounded, and moving forward? We’ll also hear from Dr. Manisha Juthani, ASTHO president and Connecticut commissioner of public health, who is co-hosting the webinar.
1044: The Jobs Public Health Needs Now: Rethinking Workforce for the Data Age
Dec. 17, 2025

1044: The Jobs Public Health Needs Now: Rethinking Workforce for the Data Age

As health departments modernize their data systems, an unexpected challenge has emerged: traditional public health job classifications no longer match the reality of today’s data landscape. In this episode, Ari Whiteman, ASTHO’s senior advisor for public health data and informatics workforce, talks about why the field urgently needs new informatics-focused roles, and what it will take to build them.
991: PHIG Funding + Interoperable Systems
396
Sept. 16, 2025

991: PHIG Funding + Interoperable Systems

In today's installment of the PHIG Impact Report, Dr. Edward Simmer, ASTHO member and the interim director of the South Carolina Department of Public Health, discusses how his department is using the Public Health Infrastructure Grant.
962: Data Modernization + PHIG
367
Aug. 5, 2025

962: Data Modernization + PHIG

In today's installment of the PHIG Impact Report, Dr. Brooke Cunningham, ASTHO member and the commissioner of health for the Minnesota Department of Health, discusses how her department is using the Public Health Infrastructure Grant.
958: Public Health & Politics, Community Connections Through Storytelling
365
July 30, 2025

958: Public Health & Politics, Community Connections Through Storytelling

Dr. Katelyn Jetelina, epidemiologist and CEO of Your Local Epidemiologist, addresses the intersection between health and politics and provides words of encouragement to her fellow colleagues in public health; Grace Lee, senior analyst for infectious disease infrastructure and policy at ASTHO...
947: PH Workforce Survey, STI Education Credits
354
July 15, 2025

947: PH Workforce Survey, STI Education Credits

Dr. Brian Castrucci, president and CEO of the de Beaumont Foundation, shares how the 2024 PH WINS survey can help state and local health departments develop more strategic workforce development plans; Dr. David Spach, editor-in-chief of the National STD Curriculum...