National Public Health Week Episodes

Public health doesn’t stop at hospitals or health departments, it lives in barbershops, grocery stores, schools, and small businesses. In this episode for National Public Health Week, Megan DeNubila-Griffin, ASTHO assistant director of chronic disease and health improvement, explores how agencies are building meaningful partnerships with non-traditional community players to address the social and environmental factors that shape health. From collaborating with local business owners to rethinking transportation and food access, this conversation highlights how public health leaders act as conveners, bringing the right voices to the table and asking who’s missing. Megan shares real-world examples, including a multi-year collaboration in Walworth County, Wisconsin, that shows how cross-sector partnerships can drive measurable impact.

In this National Public Health Week conversation about community leadership and tobacco control, Josh Berry, director, chronic disease risk factors, at ASTHO, breaks down how state and territorial programs partner with trusted, on-the-ground community organizations to reach at-risk populations and drive real impact. These long-standing relationships aren’t just helpful, they’re essential to building credibility and delivering results where they matter most. But the landscape is shifting. With the elimination of the CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health and growing uncertainty around funding, programs across the country are being forced to adapt and do more with less while trying to maintain core services like quitlines, surveillance, and policy engagement.

In this National Public Health Week conversation, ASTHO Chief Medical Officer, Susan Kansagra, explores how public health can better integrate innovation into everyday practice, from leveraging improvement frameworks to building partnerships with academic and research institutions.

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.

Dr. Joseph Kanter, ASTHO CEO, highlights public health workers as National Public Health Week wraps up this weekend; Dr. Scott Harris, ASTHO president and Alabama state health officer, outlines public health priorities to Congress; Jacki Tulafono,...

Alexis Travis, ASTHO Alumni Society chair, and assistant provost and executive director of University Health and Wellbeing at Michigan State University, details a few priorities for National Public Health Week; Arnice Yuji, Director of the Bureau of Health System Administration...

Dr. Joseph Kanter, ASTHO CEO, looks forward to a smooth transition as he begins his new job; Rebecca Adamson, preparedness section director at the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, discusses the sixth day of National Public Health Week as...

Dr. Sameer Vohra, director of the Illinois Department of Public Health and ASTHO member, tells us how his department uses good data to better serve his state; Paula Nickelson, director of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services and an...

On the final day of National Public Health Week, Laura Holtrop-Kohl, Utah Department of Health and Human Services HEAL Public Health Nutritionist, explains the value of making nutritious food widely available; an ASTHO blog article explains how food...

On Day Six of National Public Health Week, Dr. Alexis Travis, former Senior Deputy Director for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, says accessibility accommodations must continually evolve to be effective; Dr. J. Nadine Gracia,...

On Day Five of National Public Health Week, Elke Shaw-Tulloch, Idaho Public Health Administrator for the Idaho Department of Health & Welfare, explains the challenges facing rural health care; a new ASTHO micro-learning teaches the connection between...

On Day Four of National Public Health Week, Dr. Mark Levine, Commissioner of Health at the Vermont Department of Health, says mental health must be considered if we want to advance public health; Kate Woodsome with the Washington Post discusses key...

On Day Three of Public Health Week, Kelly Cleland, Executive Director of the American Society for Emergency Contraception, says college students need access to emergency contraception and related services; a new ASTHO blog article outlines how...

On Day Two of Public Health Week, Rich Hamburg, Executive Director of the Safe States Alliance, discusses policies that would help reduce gun violence in America; the Public Health Foundation has a new video explaining the CDC’s Advisory Committee...

Dr. Steven J. Stack, Commissioner for Public Health with the Kentucky Department for Public Health, kicks off our coverage of National Public Health Week with a focus on how the idea of community impacts public health; Abigail Echo-Hawk, Director of...

Nathaniel Counts with the non-profit Mental HeaIth America explains the effort to redefine health to include a consideration of mental wellness, as we conclude our seven-part series of conversations with public health leaders in recognition of...

Joan Adam, South Dakota’s Secretary of Health, discusses the health equity gap as part of our recognition of National Public Health Week; Dr. Jose Montero, Director of the Center for State, Tribal, Local, and Territorial Support at the CDC, outlines...

Dr. Joseph Kanter, Louisiana’s State Health Officer, explains the importance of collaboration and resilience in public health; ASTHO considers two states with children’s cabinets in a new blog article now online; and CDC Director Dr. Rochelle...

Dr. Laura Parajon, New Mexico’s Deputy Secretary of Health, reacts to the findings of the new PH WINS survey and tells us how we can begin to support and rebuild frontline teams; Dr. Jose Montero, Director of the Center for State, Tribal, Local, and...

Dr. Georges Benjamin, Executive Director of the American Public Health Association, says health equity impacts every public health consideration; the 2022 Preparedness Summit begins in Atlanta; data collection for the 2022 ASTHO Profile of State and...